Over the years, I've noticed that my own pattern with ADHD burnout is very similar to what many clients have experienced as well. This is just based on my own observations, and as all of us are different, it may look different for you. But, approximately, here are the stages we tend to go through:


-Overstimulated: We take on too much in one week, or we get locked into a hyperfocused state for way too long a stretch, or we overcommit to too many people in a row.
-Ignore: This for me is the key state I've learned to identify, when I start to "over-ride" early signs of stress and exhaustion.
-Pushing Through: For me, this is a dangerous stage because after ignoring the stress, I sometimes will start getting busier, which really doesn't help the stress or exhaustion at all!
-Shutting Down: Now, my body is tired. Decisions become difficult. I get stuck on problems that didn't feel so hard even a few days before. I can't find my phone.
-Beyond Tired: Now we've gone way past normal exhaustion. Sleep is impacted. Even if we get a break, we aren't resting during it and resetting.
-Avoidance: Here is where I see procrastination/shame/guilt start kicking in for people. They now struggle to complete everyday tasks. This is your brain and body telling you you're exhausted. But, we also add an unnecessary layer of beating ourselves up on top of it, which completely shuts us down altogether!


What can we do to break out of the cycle?


-Begin to notice the early signs of stress and fatigue as they are happening to you.
-Pause. Rest. Take breaks early in the cycle. Go back into your body to check in more often. Figure out what you need more of: Fun, creativity, relaxation, connection? Then find ways to make these things important in your week to do.
-Be kind to yourself. Tell yourself to rest. Tell yourself you've done enough for one day. Be kinder to you. All day long!


What does your ADHD burnout cycle look like?


For more tools, check out my books on ADHD: risawilliams.com
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by Risa Williams, LMFT

Do you frequently find yourself stressed out about everything you need to do? In my newest book, The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit, I provide some tools for simplifying your weekly to-do list down.

Two common to-do list problems:
1) You keep your to-do list inside your head, and it keeps growing and growing. It's really overwhelming to have this much info floating around mentally and it can be hard to prioritize tasks that aren't listed out in front of you.

2) You write down your to-do list but it's way, way too long. Looking at your to-do list makes you feel stressed out and you want to procrastinate doing any of it.

Simple ways to fix these your to-do list:
​1) Keep one simple 3-5 item to-do list each week. This is for tasks that need to happen in this specific time frame. I recommend keeping it on a "Weekly Post-It" that you place by your computer.

2) Put all other tasks on a running list of things you need to do that don't need to happen this week. Schedule a time at the end of the week to tackle one of these "Odds & Ends" tasks and don't add any more until you complete one.

Getting in the habit of starting your week off by writing these two lists can help keep you on track with finishing tasks you need to do. It can also help reduce your overwhelm and stress each week. Don’t overwhelm your brain by trying to keep it all in your head all the time!

What to-do list tricks work best for you?