i've had this garfield panel saved forever and i even marked in my calendar today as "the monday that wouldn't die" so uh. happy(?) monday the 22nd aka the monday that wouldn't die
for all you people with a small amount of daily energy who often experience burnout from the "simplest" tasks, whether that stems from neurodivergency, mental illness, disability etc. :
a really really useful advice i recently got was to check on my energy "battery" before initializing tasks. visualize it like the battery widget your phone.is your "battery" enough for you to complete the task without shutting down?
a life saving addition to this for people like me who struggle with numbers, was to imagine it colored. for me 100%-70% is considered green , 60-40% is yellow, 30%-20% is orange and 20-0% is red.
A number like 35% might seem big, however it is on the orange category.
if your battery is nearing (or past) orange, perhaps you should take a break. keep in mind some activities drain your battery faster than others!
it is equally important to fill your energy battery as well. make a list of tasks that make you feel good and relaxed. listening to music, watching your favorite show, sleeping,dancing, spending time with family/friends/pets, anything! it may be difficult to think of things like this at first so whenever you think of one make sure to note it down. you can check that list whenever your battery is very low so you dont spend extra time and stress trying to figure out how to get rid of tiredness.
of course everything mentioned here can vary from person to person, from the battery color ranges to the calming activities. remember to check on your battery frequently during the day, you can even draw one (essentially a rectangle) in your notebook which you can fill with (colored if you like) pencil and gradually erase (or add!) during the day as a visual of your energy.or use cut out pictures with velcro, whichever suits you best.
hope this helps you as much as it helped me. take care !
Please remember that some ADHDers cope with their traits by becoming efficient.
My husband has combined ADHD, with very strong hyperactivity traits, executive function difficulties, strong time blindness, and memory issues.
To cope, he has become obsessed with being on time, writing everything down, sticking reminders everywhere etc. Not because it is a solution (it's not, he's rarely on time anywhere) but because years of trauma have made him terrified of forgetting.
He may have to go to the shops just to pick up some items. He will iron his clothes, be showered and dressed by 6am, but not go until 11am.
It looks like he's being proactive. But he's actually just scared himself into getting ready. He forgets his medications, to shower, to eat... Unless if there are consequences. Then he becomes a nervous wreck to simulate that he's under control.