Short answer: If you have no energy after work, plan your evenings for the energy you have, not the energy you wish you had. Take a short, deliberate switch-off when you get in. Do one small thing that matters to you at its two-minute size, and count real rest as part of the plan. If you’ve been tired for weeks without knowing why, see your GP.
You get home, sit down for a minute, and the evening’s gone. The plans you made at lunchtime, the walk, the reading, the thing you’ve been meaning to start, all feel impossible by six o’clock.
This is common, and it isn’t a character flaw. A working day uses up more than time, so plan a smaller evening.
Why do I have no energy after work?
Usually for ordinary reasons that add up. Long hours, a commute, poor sleep, skipped meals, a lot of caffeine, looking after other people at both ends of the day. Mental and emotional work tire you too.
It can also be a sign of something else. The NHS lists common causes of tiredness.
It suggests seeing a GP if you’ve felt tired for a few weeks and aren’t sure why, or if it’s affecting your daily life. That’s worth ruling out before you blame yourself.
How can I switch off after work?
Give the end of work a clear edge. A review of recovery research by Sonnentag points to four things that help people recover from work. They are switching off mentally, relaxing, doing something absorbing that isn’t work, and having some control over your own time.
The first of those, detaching, is the one most people skip. Try a short routine that marks the change.
- Close the loop. Write tomorrow’s first job on a note before you leave. It stops work following you home.
- Change something physical. Clothes, shoes, a shower, ten minutes outside.
- Keep the phone out of it for a while. Work messages at seven undo the switch-off at six.
None of that needs energy, only a decision made in advance.
What can I do with the energy I have left?
One small thing. Not the full plan you made at lunchtime. The two-minute version of it.
A walk becomes putting your shoes on and going to the end of the road. Reading becomes one page. Starting a project becomes opening the document.
Tie it to something that happens every evening, like taking your coat off or putting the kettle on. Then you don’t have to remember.
This is the idea at the centre of GROWTH by DESIGN: build the change for your tiredest day, not your best one. A tiny step done most evenings does more than a big one done once a fortnight.
In research that Gardner, Lally and Wardle summarized for GPs, habits formed through repetition in the same setting. Missing the occasional day didn’t seriously set people back.
Does rest count?
Yes. Rest isn’t what you do when the plan fails. It’s part of the plan.
The difference is whether you chose it. An evening you decided to spend on the sofa with a film is recovery. An evening that slid there while you felt guilty about the gym isn’t, even though it looks the same from the outside.
Decide in the morning what tonight is for. If the answer is rest, that’s a plan kept.
The bad-day version. Some evenings the smallest version is too much. On those, the plan is food, water, a switch-off and bed at a sensible time. That’s a complete evening, and tomorrow is a separate day.
What helps with tiredness during the week?
The NHS self-help tips for tiredness are plain and worth trying one at a time.
- Eat regularly, including something at lunchtime.
- Move a little. Short activity tends to help energy, not use it up.
- Keep a sleep routine, going to bed and getting up at similar times.
- Cut back on caffeine, especially after midday.
Pick one and try it for a fortnight before adding another. Changing everything at once makes it hard to tell what helped.
When is it more than being tired after work?
See your GP if you’re exhausted most days for weeks, or if rest doesn’t help. The same goes if tiredness comes with other changes, such as low mood, weight loss or feeling unwell.
If work itself feels like it’s grinding you down, the article on feeling burnt out may help. The Emergency Kit is there for the bad days.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I have no energy after work?
Common reasons are long hours, poor sleep, skipped meals, caffeine, mental and emotional load, and caring for others. If you’ve felt tired for a few weeks and aren’t sure why, or it affects daily life, the NHS suggests seeing a GP.
How do I get energy after work?
Plan evenings for the energy you have: mark the end of work with a short switch-off routine. Then do one small thing at its two-minute size, tied to something you do every evening. Regular meals, some movement and a steady sleep routine also help.
Is it OK to do nothing after work?
Yes, if you choose it. Rest you decide on in advance is recovery and part of the plan. What tends to feel bad is an evening that drifts while you feel guilty about something else.
How do I switch off from work in the evening?
Write tomorrow’s first job down before you leave, change something physical when you get home, and keep work messages out of the evening. Sonnentag’s review links switching off mentally with better recovery.
Read next: How to build a habit when you’re exhausted and Feeling burnt out? What to do when you’re running on empty.
Want a start that fits a tired week? The free One-Page Change Plan puts your change on one printable sheet: nine steps, in order, sized for a bad day. It comes with the GROWTH Readiness Scorecard.