When left unchecked, ADHD burnout can lead to feelings of overwhelming exhaustion, reduced productivity, and a sense of helplessness or despair.
These consequences can negatively impact various aspects of life, including work performance, personal relationships, and overall mental health.
Click on a burnout cause to see a quick tip:
Recovering from ADHD burnout is crucial to regain a sense of control, improve well-being, and prevent long-term adverse effects on one’s quality of life.
Ultimately,learning strategies to manageADHD burnout is vital for maintaining mental health, fostering personal growth, and enabling individuals to lead fulfilling lives while effectively managing the challenges associated with ADHD.
Below are 12 tips to help with managing burnout:
1. Identify what is causing burnout
Take time to reflect on situations, environments, and activities that drain your energy or cause you to feel overwhelmed, anxious, or stressed. This can be a good place to start if you are unsure how to deal with these stressors.
Write down situations or experiences you find stressful, for example:
You could also group these stressors into categories based on location (e.g., Work Stressors, Home Stressors) or based on their type (e.g., Environmental Distractions, Task-Related Demands, Time Management Challenges, and Organizational Difficulties).
By identifying and categorizing your stressors, you can gain a clearer understanding of what triggers your ADHD burnout. This awareness can help you develop targeted strategies to minimize or cope with these stressors more effectively.
2. Weekly task allocation
For individuals with ADHD, managing tasks and preventing burnout can be particularly challenging, causing overwhelming feelings and frustration.
By implementing a simple yet effective task allocation strategy, you can take control of your week, prioritize your tasks, and reduce the risk of burnout.
This strategy will require a weekly planner or calendar, either a paper one that can be put in a highly visible location or alternatively on your phone calendar.
3. Align your life with your authentic self
To prevent ADHD burnout, ADHD life coachCaren Magillsuggests getting “really real” with yourself and aligning your life with your authentic values and passions. She explains that doing so will bring clarity to your decisions.
By following these steps, you can create a life that reflects who you are and supports your well-being, ultimately reducing the risk of ADHD burnout.
4. Break down tasks
For individuals with ADHD, tasks can often feel overwhelming, leading to avoidance orprocrastination. When faced with numerous tasks, especially those with multiple steps, it’s easy to become overloaded and experience burnout.
To make tasks more manageable and less daunting, try breaking them down into smaller, more achievable steps.
By breaking tasks down into smaller, more manageable steps, you can reduce feelings of overwhelm and make progress more easily. This approach can help you maintain motivation, build momentum, and ultimately reduce the risk of burnout.
Additionally, seeing your progress through checked-off steps can provide a sense of accomplishment and help you stay on track.
5. Make tasks more fun
ADHD coachSkye Rapsonsuggests that making tasks more enjoyable can help reduce burnout for individuals with ADHD.
For her, she explained how she uses a button that plays air horn sound effects as a way to celebrate small wins, such as sending an email. By adding this playful element to the task, Skye finds that it makes the process more engaging and rewarding, even though it may seem like an unconventional idea.
The main idea behind this tip is to incorporate elements of fun and novelty into your tasks, which can helpincrease motivationand reduce the likelihood of burnout. Some other ways to make tasks more enjoyable include:
By experimenting with different ways to make tasks more enjoyable, individuals with ADHD can help maintain their motivation, reduce the risk of burnout, and develop a more positive relationship with their work and responsibilities.
6. Know your limits
People with ADHD often struggle withimpulsivityand may take on more tasks than they can realistically handle. This can be due to a desire to please others, prove themselves, or simply because they underestimate the time and energy required to complete the tasks at hand.
If you find that you are already overloaded with responsibilities and are becoming overwhelmed, try to consider what you are reasonably capable of, even if that means you appear to be ‘doing less’ than others.
It’s easy to see other people juggling multiple projects, commitments, and social engagements, seemingly with ease. However, if this lifestyle does not align with your abilities or mental well-being, it’s crucial to recognize and respect your own limits.
Practice saying ‘no’ to non-essential requestsbeforeyou have reached your limit. You don’t need to over-explain or justify your decision with reasons you think others will find acceptable. A simple, polite “no” or “I’m sorry, but I can’t take that on right now” is sufficient.
7. Make future ‘you’ happy
It can be common for people with ADHD to procrastinate on tasks and then be left with an overwhelming to-do list that never gets any smaller.
When you have several tasks to do, it might be helpful to ask yourself: “How can I make future me happy?”
For example, you might want to spend the upcoming weekend relaxing or engaging in your favorite hobbies. However, you know that you have to go grocery shopping, return a package, and have chores to do, but you do not think you will have motivation to do them at the weekend.
Instead, consider completing your errands after work, when you are already in the mindset of ‘doing things.’ You might already be away from home, so initiating other outside tasks can be easier.
Likewise, you could try doing some cleaning tasks on a Friday evening meaning you will be starting your weekend with a lot less to do and more time to relax and recharge.
Tips for completing chores:
8. Take regular breaks
Schedule frequent breaks throughout your day to rest, recharge, and avoid pushing yourself beyond your limits.
There is often an expectation that we need to always be productive and busy but that might not be feasible for your well-being and happiness.
Building regular break time into your routine gives your brain a reset and helps prevent burnout from being constantly busy without respite.
Try to reframe taking breaks as productive for your brain’s health rather than unproductive.
Also, make sure you are using your allocated vacation days at work. Spread these out throughout the year to ensure you are giving yourself some time off at regular intervals.
9. Make the most of your downtime
When you have free time, use this as an opportunity to reset your brain and prevent a burnout.
How this looks is up to you. You may choose this time to pursue your interests and hobbies, or you may choose to simply lie down and do nothing for a while (which, as said previously, is productive for your brain health!).
Remember that you will need to return to your responsibilities afterward, so do not extend your downtime and neglect your other tasks completely.
Below are some ideas for things you can do in your downtime:
If you know that you are prone tohyperfocusingduring your free time to the detriment of your other duties, set a timer (or several!) for when you would like to reasonably switch tasks. Alternatively, have a friend or someone you live with help to gently remind you that it is time to stop.
10. Learn to unmask
One of the primary causes of ADHD burnout is the constant effort tomask or camouflage ADHD traitsto fit in and meet societal expectations.
This can include trying to force yourself to focus for extended periods, suppressing your natural energy and enthusiasm, or pretending to be organized and punctual when it doesn’t come naturally to you.
You can start doing this in a safe environment first, such as with close friends or family, until you become comfortable before gradually expanding your authenticity to other areas of your life, such as work or social situations. Remember to be patient with yourself and prioritize your well-being throughout the process.
By gradually unmasking and embracing your authentic self, you can reduce the stress and exhaustion that comes from constantly trying to be someone you’re not.
This can help you conserve energy, build more genuine connections with others, and ultimately reduce your risk of ADHD burnout.
11. Ask for accommodations
This may include flexible working hours, requests for a quieter workspace, or extra check-ins with supervisors.
If you want to ask for accommodations in the workplace or at school, for instance:
Remember, advocating for your needs is a strength that sets you up for success and reduces burnout risk.
12. Consider if your job is right for you
If yourworkplace is causing you to constantly experience burnout, you have tried asking for accomodations that were not granted, or the accomodations are not working, it may be worth evaluating if this job alligns with your needs.
While it is not possible for everyone to easily change jobs (due to financial or other circumstances), if you are in a position where you can explore alternative career paths, then this may be worth doing.
Reflect on your “ideal work day” and compare it to your current reality. Ask yourself:
If there’s a significant mismatch between your ideal and reality, it may be time to explore alternative jobs or careers that better align with your strengths, interests, and needs as someone with ADHD.
Summary
Here’s a summary of the main tips for preventing or managing ADHD burnout:
By implementing these strategies and prioritizing your well-being, you can effectively prevent and manage ADHD burnout, leading to a more balanced and fulfilling life.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
