Is ADHD Energy Management More Important Than Time Management | ADHD Motivation Tips
For years I bought into the idea that my success as an entrepreneur was due to my waking up at the crack of dawn. You know like all those books about successful entrepreneurs tell you to do.
But it turns out that without realizing it, I was actually working my body’s natural ebbs and flows, aka my chronotype, to knock out tasks that required motivation or extra focus first thing in the morning.
And since task initiation and motivation are two executive functions many of us with ADHD struggle with, I wanted to take a little time today to discuss how energy management or working with your natural energy cycle throughout the day may just be more important than time management when it comes to getting things done as an entrepreneur and mom with ADHD. And we’ll finish up with some energy management strategies that can help boost your ADHD productivity by working with your natural tendencies.
ADHD Energy Levels
I mentioned above that in my humble opinion, managing your energy levels as a mom and business owner with ADHD may actually be more important that managing your time. Which is why I wanted to start by explaining a bit about how ADHD affects your energy levels and maybe even answer the question “Can ADHD cause low energy?”
And if you’ve been running around in any ADHD circles online, you have no doubt heard about dopamine.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter or a sort of messenger in your body that carries information from a nerve cell to another nerve cell, muscle, or gland. Dopamine specifically transmits messages about pleasure, motivation, and learning.
When dopamine levels are normal, we typically experience an increase in concentration and focus. You may be in a better mood. Or find it easier to motivate yourself to start or finish a task.
On the flip side, when dopamine levels are low, you may experience brain fog, a struggle to focus, mood swings, and fatigue. Low dopamine levels impact your physical, emotional, and mental effort.
And inconsistent dopamine regulation is one of the things those of us ADHDers often struggle with…
Sometimes we have plenty and we’re feeling motivated and focused.
Sometimes we don’t have enough and we feel exhausted or unable to concentrate.
And sure, as with many ADHD related experiences, the neurotypical population will totally experience similar symptoms if they’re experiencing high or low levels of dopamine. The difference is that us ADHDers may experience these inconsistencies more regularly and more intensely.
How Chronotypes Impact Energy Levels
There is one other energy related topic I’d like to discuss before sharing my energy management strategies, and that is chronotypes.
If you’ve ever gone camping for a few days where there is little artificial light or electronic distractions, you may have noticed that your sleep and wake cycles change. This may be due to the fact that you have fewer things impacting the natural tendencies and you are reverting to your chronotype.
Chronotypes are your body’s natural inclination to sleep or wake at certain. They are closely related to circadian rhythms but where your circadian rhythm regulates your sleep-wake cycle and can shift if you lifestyle requires it, your chronotype is influenced by your genes.
Researchers have linked chronotypes to the PER3 circadian clock gene, the gene linked to being an early bird. When this gene appears shorter, people have a tendency to be a night owl.
Longer and you might be a morning person.
In his book, The Power of When, Dr. Michael Breus, clinical psychologist and sleep expert, denotes 4 types of chronotypes…
The Lion, which is traditionally thought of as the early bird, with a natural tendency to wake early, have more energy early in the day, and go to bed earlier.
The Bear, which is the chronotype a majority of society tends to fall into, sees the bulk of their energy between the hours of 10am and 3pm. Since so much of the population falls into this bear chronotype, it may help to understand why we as a society have gravitated towards work 9a-5p.
The Wolf, which is traditionally thought of as a night owl. Their peak energy times may show up much later in the day, usually around 4-6pm or maybe even later.
The Dolphin, which typically experiences several peaks and valleys in their energy throughout the day.
So what does all this chronotypes mumbo jumbo have to do with your ADHD energy management?
Photo courtesy of Sleep Doctor, https://sleepdoctor.com/sleep-quizzes/chronotype-quiz
As you can see from this graph overlapping the 4 different chronotypes as laid out by Dr. Breus, different segments of society should be doing different types of activities at different times based on their chronotype.
As a person with ADHD, it can be helpful to know when your peak energy times fall naturally so that you can schedule tasks that require focus and attention during those peak times.
It may also help you to see why you may always feel sleepy and struggle to pay attention if you have an 8am meeting or if you try to watch a movie at 8pm.
ADHD Energy Management Strategies
This leads me to wrap up today with some strategies to help you manage your energy levels so that you can better cope with your busy life as a mom and entrepreneur with ADHD.
ADHD Energy Management Strategies: Figure Out Your Chronotype
As we just discussed, knowing your chronotype helps you work with your natural energy ebbs and flows. And I totally get that you are rarely 100% in control of your schedule, especially if you’re a mom or you’re still working a job where you aren’t your own boss.
But when you know your peaks and lows, and you do have some say in what gets scheduled when, you can prioritize tasks that maybe need more focus or that you find you are more resistant to during your higher energy times.
And this doesn’t have to just be related to your work or your business. I used to struggle with doing the dishes after dinner. Upon learning I was a Lion, aka morning person, I shifted my housework time, especially for tasks I loathe like the dishes, to the morning where my energy levels are higher and I have less resistance to initiating that task.
ADHD Energy Management Strategies: Boost Your Dopamine
Ever have a task or project that you NEED to work on, but you are just not feeling it? That may mean that it will take even more dopamine and executive function to get your in the zone.
For instance, let’s say you’re a Wolf or night owl but you’ve got an early call tomorrow morning. You know that your energy levels may be lower in the morning and it may be more difficult for you to focus. A solution may be to plan a dopamine inducing activity before your call. Take a run. Get some sun. Take a cold shower. Play a game on your phone.
Anything that will help you get that executive function switched on and firing so you can stay more alert and focused on your call.
ADHD Energy Management Strategies: Get Plenty of Rest
REST is an essential element of energy management.
And look, I get how difficult it is for us ADHDers to rest…For as long as I can remember, my family has joked that I’m the Energizer Bunny and I keep going and going and going.
To be honest, I used to really get down on myself that I couldn’t “rest”. But then I reframed my definition of “rest”. Sure, I do try to get plenty of sleep, especially since I wake up around 5am.
But my “rest” can also include activities I enjoy that help me recharge my batteries. It could look like a lunch date with my friends or a date night with my spouse. Rest can be baking cookies or crafting. If it is helping to recharge me, it can be active and still be rest. At least in my book. 😉
I’m curious if you’ve ever thought about creating your schedule around your energy peaks and flows versus strictly your calendar and clocks. Or maybe you have questions about what particular activities you should be doing at what times in order to work best with your ADHD.
I love helping my clients discover how to best work with their energy levels to feel more productive, build a successful business, and have some left in the tank to enjoy their family life.
If you’d like to discuss how I can help you with managing your time, your energy, and your ADHD, click the button below to schedule a free, no-obligation call.
