Dip Window

What is Dip Window?

Dip Window identifies the time of day when your energy consistently drops lowest. If your afternoons regularly come in 1.5+ points below your other windows, that's your dip.

This is the counterpart to Peak Window. Where Peak Window shows you when to push, Dip Window shows you when to ease off.

Why it matters

For ADHD brains, the dip window is often where frustration builds. You're trying to be productive, but your brain isn't cooperating. Without knowing it's a predictable pattern, it can feel like a personal failure. "Why can't I focus? What's wrong with me today?"

The answer is usually: nothing is wrong. It's 2pm and your brain does this every day at 2pm. Knowing that changes how you respond.

How it works

Dip Window compares your average energy across Morning, Afternoon, and Evening windows. If one window is at least 1.5 points below the average of the others, it flags that as your dip.

If your energy is fairly even across all windows, no dip is detected. That's fine too.

Reading your results

Value	What it means
Morning / Afternoon / Evening	This window is consistently your lowest, with the average and gap shown
None	No significant dip detected. Your energy is relatively even across the day

What you can do

• Don't fight it. Trying to power through your dip window with demanding work is a losing battle. It drains your resource pool faster and makes the rest of the day harder.
• Plan around it. Use your dip window for low-stakes tasks: emails, light admin, walking, or a break.
• Watch for changes. If your dip window shifts or gets deeper, it might be connected to sleep, meals, or medication timing.

Sources

1. Sergeant, J.A. (2005). "Modeling attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a critical appraisal of the cognitive-energetic model." Biological Psychiatry. PubMed 11513813
2. (2026). "ADHD as a circadian rhythm disorder: evidence and implications for chronotherapy." Sleep Medicine Reviews. PMC12728042