Six Simple Ways To Stop The Evening Crash If You Have ADHD
A lot of ADHD advice focuses on motivation.
But motivation isn’t the real problem at 5pm.
The real problem is that your brain has already paid full price for the day.
By the time evening shows up, you’ve used every token your nervous system had.
Every plan.
Every decision.
Every little executive function checkpoint.
So when the clock hits five, it feels like the world goes dim.
The trick isn’t to fight that feeling.
The trick is to set up your life so you need less energy in that moment.
Here’s the practical version.
1. Make your evening choices earlier in the day
Your 5pm brain cannot make decisions.
Your 11am brain can.
Use that window.
Pick tonight’s dinner, the clothes for tomorrow, and any small errands before lunch.
Lock them in.
No thinking later.
Just follow the script.
This one shift alone removes a surprising amount of friction.
2. Create a low energy mode for the end of the day
You don’t need to be heroic at 5pm.
You need defaults.
Build a handful of low lift routines you can drop into without thinking.
Examples:
A simple end of day shutdown ritual
One tiny cleanup loop
A no-brain dinner plan
A “bare minimum” list that still counts as a win
The pattern matters more than the output.
3. Protect your transitions
ADHD burns the most energy when switching tasks.
One messy transition at the wrong moment can wipe out the rest of the night.
Try this:
End work with one clear next step written down
Put everything you need for tomorrow in one visible spot
Give yourself a five-minute buffer before shifting roles
These tiny seams save you more energy than you’d expect.
4. Decide what “enough” looks like ahead of time
Evenings get heavy when you’re trying to hit an invisible standard.
Define your minimum version:
Minimum tidy
Minimum meal
Minimum social energy
Minimum self care
Lowering the bar is not failure.
It’s strategy.
5. Use micro resets to recover small bursts of energy
Not breaks.
Resets.
Quick pattern interrupts that turn your brain back on:
Step outside for sixty seconds
Change rooms
Drink cold water
Sit on the floor for a moment
Turn on a single light that signals the day is shifting
These are small but they move the needle.
6. Don’t wait for motivation. Build scaffolding instead
Your evening problems are usually morning problems in disguise.
Energy drops because everything is still on your plate.
Scaffolding looks like:
Defaults
Pre-decisions
Routines that carry you
Tools that reduce choice
Systems that catch you when you fall off
Your brain loves rails.
Give it rails.
A quiet note
Evening energy isn’t about discipline.
It’s about design.
And if food is part of the struggle, or you want to build more no-brain defaults, I made something that helps you feed yourself without shame or pressure.
A no-shame guide to getting food on a plate when your energy drops.
Grab it here 👉 The Offline Brain Cookbook
If you want a calmer evening routine with half the effort, this will get you there.