Key ADHD Strategies for Avoiding and Resetting from Mid-Year Burnout
Somehow, it’s the middle of June.
January lasts five years, April showers bring May flowers (and also lasts five years), and somehow six months have elapsed in 2025.
Time’s not real - but your mid-year exhaustion might be.
So, let’s talk about it.
There’s this weird mid-year burnout spiral a lot of us ADHD professionals tumble into around June or July.
The energy from January’s big goals has evaporated, your systems feel like they’re leaking oil and grinding to a halt, and suddenly the thought of opening your inbox feels like standing at the edge of a cliff.
Feel pretty accurate?
First, the affirmation: this phenomenon is extremely common and not at all a reflection of your value, ability, worth, dedication, skill, or intellect.
It is part of being a human in systems that constantly demand more combined with a brain that struggles to find that “off” switch.
So take this comfort: burnout is common across the board.
But for ADHDers, it can be particularly sneaky because our fast brains, big dreams, and inconsistent fuel tanks set us up for a boom-and-bust cycle that can feel impossible to escape.
The happy news is that there are ways to interrupt that cycle, recalibrate, and actually prevent burnout before it takes you down - and that’s our focus for today.
Let’s walk through some ADHD-informed, research-backed, and community-tested strategies that will help you reset and reclaim your momentum—without pretending you're a productivity robot.
First, What Does Mid-Year Burnout Look Like for ADHDers?
Burnout isn’t just about being tired. For ADHD folks, it often shows up as:
Executive function flatlining: You suddenly can’t start tasks, stay on track, or make even basic decisions.
Emotional dysregulation: Every little thing makes you cry, rage, or numb out.
Avoidance behaviors: Doomscrolling, hyper-cleaning, bingeing shows, taking up a new project or hobby —anything but doing the thing.
Shame spirals: “Why can’t I just keep it together like everyone else?
Rejection sensitivity overload: Even constructive feedback feels like an attack.
The Big Quit fantasy: Googling new jobs, planning your van life escape, or deciding to delete your entire inbox and start over.
If you're nodding along… yeah, me too actually.
Damn.
Mid-year burnout hits differently when your nervous system is already running hot.
Why Mid-Year Is a Burnout Hot Zone for ADHDers
There are a few culprits here:
The novelty has worn off: ADHD brains crave stimulation. By June, the dopamine rush from your New Year’s goals has fizzled out.
Overcommitment hangover: Many ADHDers ride a wave of hyperfocus into over-promising and over-planning early in the year. Our Q1 and Q2 goals and KPIs might be high, and we work freaking hard to meet them. But that sustained and consistent effort? It crashes hard by summer.
Routine disruption: Reddit user not-a-neurotypical notes, “I lose all structure when my kids are out of school. Suddenly I’m parenting, freelancing, and melting down all at once.”
Cumulative nervous system overload: Chronic stress builds slowly and invisibly for ADHDers, especially those who mask their symptoms in professional settings (Waddington et al., 2021).
ADHD-Friendly Strategies for Avoiding Burnout
🌀 1. Plan to Re-Plan
Most productivity advice assumes linear progress. That doesn’t work for us. Reddit’s ADHD subreddit frequently mentions a strategy called “calendar forgiveness”: instead of shaming yourself when things fall apart, you just re-plan and keep moving.
🛠 Try this:
Schedule monthly or quarterly “reset sessions” to update your calendar, commitments, and systems.
Use visual goal-setting tools like mind maps (Tuckman et al., 2002).
Do it with a friend or accountability buddy. As @neurospicybiz on Instagram says: “Planning alone = panic. Planning together = possible.”
💡 2. Add Safe Novelty
You don’t need to start a whole new business to feel engaged. Instead, build micro-novelty into your week or month.
🛠 Try this:
One user on the r/adhdwomen subreddit rotates “theme weeks” (like Cozy Chaos Week or No Meetings Week) to keep things fresh.
Switch up your workspace with mood lighting, a new playlist, or a small desk trinket that brings joy.
Take your meetings in public to change your environment and keep you engaged in connection and development.
Incorporate “weird breaks” like dancing, sketching, or even short bursts of cleaning to trick your brain back into action.
🧠 3. Know Your Burnout Signals
Twitter user @adhdhustle writes, “I always know I’m on the verge of burnout when I stop answering emails and start staring at the wall.” That kind of insight is gold.
🛠 Try this:
Make a list of your “uh-oh” signals and share it with someone close to you. Shoot, post it someplace you can frequently see it so you have the consistent reminder and can proactively create time to rest and recalibrate.
Keep a sticky note on your monitor with a gentle reminder: “You don’t need to push through. You can pause.”
Track energy levels with emojis or color codes in your planner or calendar. Hold your judgment: star charts, stickers, and gel pens are effective for a reason.
How to Reset When You’re Already Burned Out
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Too late, Max—I’m already toast,” here’s what to do next.
🛑 1. Emergency Brake, Activated
Step away from the overwhelm. Reddit user crashplaner shared: “I had to cancel three meetings, unplug everything, and lay on the floor for an hour. Best business decision I’ve made all year.”
🛠 Try this:
Pause everything non-essential. Literally say, “This can wait.”
Use a “triage board” (think Kanban with three columns: Now, Later, Nope).
Give yourself a social media break and set up a bounce-back message if needed.
🐢 3. Rest Like You Mean It
True rest means stepping out of urgency mode. ADHD TikTok creator @adhdjesse shares her "10% Rule": only do 10% of what you think you should do when you’re in burnout.
🛠 Try this:
Put “nap” or “watch clouds” or “Zentangle” on your to-do list and actually check it off.
Use sensory tools: weighted blankets, lavender oil, noise-canceling headphones.
Make rest visible. Share with your accountability buddy what productive or work-related tasks you didn’t do and why.
🧭 3. Reconnect with Your “Why”
Burnout disconnects us from purpose.
ADHD makes it worse because we often rely on momentum instead of meaning.
One ADHD business owner on Twitter wrote: “I had to come back to why I started this in the first place—then I could get back to work.”
🛠 Try this:
Ask: “What do I want this season to feel like?”
Use visual prompts—sticky notes, art, quotes, values maps—to spark connection.
Pick one meaningful, non-work or productivity-related micro-goal and protect it fiercely.
Ask yourself: “Does this work serve me, too?” If not, it’s time for reassessment and change.
Community Wisdom: Other Mid-Year Reset Tips
I gathered a few favorite community-sourced gems:
✨ “Don’t start a new planner. Tape new pages into your old one. Keep the wins visible.” – u/fiberfrenzy
✨ “Take ‘think weeks’ like CEOs do. But make yours ADHD-friendly: 3 days max, no back-to-back meetings, lots of floor time.” – @businessbutspicy
✨ “Make an ‘I Did My Best’ board. Every sticky note = a small win. Helps reframe spirals.” – seen on @theminiadhdcoach
✨ “Give yourself a ‘work-from-bed’ pass once a month. Use it like a snow day.” – TikTok comment, @neurodivergentplanner
Final Thoughts: Reset, Don’t Restart
Burnout isn’t a signal to throw everything out and start over—it’s your body and brain demanding to change your pace, your systems, and your story.
Mid-year can be a turning point, not a collapse.
You don’t need to become a productivity machine. You don’t need to prove your worth through grind. You do need rest, support, and a structure that supports your nervous system.
Let it be messy. Let it be nonlinear. Let it be yours.
And if you need help building ADHD-informed systems that work with your brain, I’ve got you. Group coaching and individual coaching options are available—reach to mcasero@prismintegratedhealth.com and I’ll get you back on track with research-based care, strategy, and plenty of humor.
Take a breath.
Mid-year isn’t the end—it’s the recalibration.
References & Resources
Kooij, J. J. S., et al. (2010). Adult ADHD: Diagnostic assessment and treatment. Springer.
Tuckman, B. W., et al. (2002). Using mind mapping to enhance project planning. Journal of Management Development
Waddington, H., et al. (2021). “ADHD, masking, and emotional labor in adults.” Psychiatric Quarterly.
Reddit threads: r/ADHD, r/adhdwomen
TikTok creators: @adhdjesse, @neurodivergentplanner
Instagram: @theminiadhdcoach, @neurospicybiz, @adhdhustle
