Hyperfocus, Crash, Repeat: When Your Energy Comes in Waves
If you’re anything like me, spring has a way of kickstarting your brain into hyperdrive.
The sun comes out, the days get longer, and you have IDEAS. You sign up for things. You buy supplies for a new hobby you just learned about last week. You might even make a meal plan and get groceries.
For a lot of folks, the beginning of spring has you feeling like a person who has their life together for the first time in months. Cut to a few weeks later, and you’ve probably just cancelled plans to stay in and order dinner while ignoring the pile of art supplies that are taunting you from the corner.
It’s pretty normal to cycle through periods of hyperfocus and crash out mode when the world around you is constantly throwing curve balls at your face. And while it might be even more familiar to my ADHD friends, it’s something that many folks experience to some degree.
So what do we do with the shame that shows up when the energy disappears? And is there a way to work with these cycles instead of feeling defeated by them?
When Shame Shows Up
If you’re familiar with the swing from focus to crash, you might also be familiar with the voice that often shows up the moment you cancel those plans and sink into the couch. It’s the one that’s really good at making you feel bad for resting.
“You're so lazy. You were finally starting to feel productive. Why do you always do this?”
For a lot of us, that voice comes from hustle culture and western capitalism, which has spent decades telling us that our worth is measured by our productivity. And if you’re a former church kid, you may have also been taught that rest as laziness and laziness as sin.
So in case no one has told you lately, rest is not a moral failing. It is a biological necessity.
You are allowed to have low-energy days, weeks, and seasons. You are allowed to cancel plans, eat the takeout, and let the art supplies sit. None of that makes you a failure. It makes you a person.
It’s a Season, Not Your Identity
Even when you’ve learned that rest is good and your value is not actually tied to your productivity, the shame spiral can sneak up on you in other ways.
"I knew I'd quit. I always do this. What's wrong with me?"
One thing I try to remind myself and my clients is that a crash is just a season, not your identity. Your brain and body were never designed to sustain high-intensity focus indefinitely. The dip that follows a high-energy period isn't a sign that something went wrong. It's just what comes next.
For neurodivergent folks especially, the contrast between hyperfocus mode and the flat "nothing" that follows can feel dramatic and disorienting. One day you're unstoppable. The next day responding to a single text feels like climbing a mountain. In flip-flops. While it’s raining.
But just like you’re not actually invincible during the energetic moments, you’re also not actually worthless during the crash out. In fact, your energy levels don’t actually define your identity at all.
What Works for You?
Before you jump straight to “fix it” mode, I want to remind you that not everyone even needs to be more consistent with their energy. Consistent energetic output is not morally superior to inconsistent output.
Some people have lives, jobs, and relationships that can genuinely accommodate big swings in capacity. Some people thrive on intense creative bursts followed by taking real rest without shame.
If the hyperfocus-rest-repeat cycle is working for you and you have systems in place to make that sustainable, that’s great.
However, if that cycle is interfering with your ability to function day-to-day, or if you’re actually just crashing from exhaustion instead of intentionally resting, it might be worth it to learn to ride those waves in a more gentle way.
No one should ever be forced into a cookie cutter productivity mold that wasn't built for your brain. Instead it can be helpful to understand your own rhythms well enough to work with them instead of against them.
If You Want to Focus on Consistency
If you want or need more consistency, start by noticing how your energy and ability to focus change over time. Try to get curious about how your brain works, instead of judging yourself every time you get tired.
Once you’re able to notice how your capacity fluctuates without judging yourself for it, you can start to work with ebbs and flows. Here are a few ideas that have worked for some folks, but remember to ask yourself what’s working for you.
During high-energy periods:
Make a list of your ideas without committing to all of them immediately
Start some things in small, low-stakes ways instead of rushing all in immediately
Put time for rest on the calendar and treat it like a non-negotiable
During low-energy periods:
Pick one small thing that will keep you connected to your commitments (if you know you’ll be coming back to them)
Rest without shame
Ask yourself what you actually need: sleep, quiet, a snack, a walk, some truly terrible reality TV
During seasons of change:
Check back in with yourself with curiosity and see what you have capacity for
Instead of going full speed ahead or burning out completely, ask yourself, "What would feel good to pick back up (or let go of) this week?”
Coming Back, Not Starting Over
A lot of us probably remember being taught that you’re either all-in, or you’re completely out. Most of us probably prayed some version of, “Don’t let me be lukewarm,” at some point, right?
But most things aren’t actually all or nothing. You can wander off and then return to things. Even weeks or months later. Even if the original plan looks different now. Even if you have to start a little further back than you'd like.
Returning to something is not starting over from scratch. It's continuing from a different point, probably with more experience and knowledge than you had before.
The shame likes to tell us that the door has closed, the opportunity is gone, the thing is ruined. It's not. You just paused.
And if you decide you actually don't want to come back to something, that's also fine. Letting something go is not the same as failing at it.
You Know Yourself Best
There is no universal right answer for how to manage your energy. Some folks will read this and realize the waves are actually working fine, and they just need permission to stop feeling guilty about them. Others will want to experiment with finding a bit more consistency.
The only goal is to understand what works for you and to approach your own rhythms and seasons with a little more curiosity (and a lot less judgment.)
