How to Work with ADHD

What is ADHD?

Before we dive in, it’s important to provide some context about ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This is a mental health condition (yes, it’s a disorder) that impacts the area of the brain responsible for executive function. This area handles various tasks, including decision-making, prioritization, concentration, emotional control, impulse control, time management, and more.

Someone with ADHD may deeply want or know they need to do something but find themselves completely unable to act on it. This is often referred to as decision paralysis. They might recognize that Task X is their top priority but get sidetracked by Task Y, unable to start on Task X at all.

Moreover, ADHD often doesn’t occur in isolation; it frequently coexists with other disorders such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, Tourette syndrome, autism, OCD, and tic disorders. This phenomenon is known as comorbidity.

These are just a few ways ADHD can affect someone's daily life. It’s important to clarify this because there are many prejudices and lack of understanding about a condition that significantly impacts the lives of many individuals.

How is it to Work with ADHD?

Now that we have some context about ADHD, let's explore how it affects day-to-day work life. As mentioned earlier, organization can be a real challenge. It’s not as simple as just using a planner or a notebook; many of us have tried that. Maintaining focus on a single task or sustaining attention over a long period can be tough. While the average attention span for a person is around 55 to 60 minutes, someone with ADHD might be more in the range of 20 to 25 minutes.

Context changes can also be detrimental. Once someone with ADHD finally focuses on a task and starts to make progress, a shift in context can disrupt that concentration completely. It may take a considerable amount of time to regain that focus, if it can be regained at all. This affects everyone, but in someone with ADHD, the challenges are notably amplified due to the reasons we’ve discussed.

However,staying in the same context for long periods is also not feasible. The time available for any given context or task is unpredictable and heavily influenced by our brain’s response. This unpredictability makes it quite difficult to manage tasks and organize time. One moment you might enter a laser-focused mode and accomplish tasks at an impressive speed, while the next, you might struggle to complete a simple task in a reasonable timeframe.

But it's not all doom and gloom. There are certain tricks and habits that can significantly help mitigate these challenges.

Tips and Advice

As we have mentioned before, there are certain tricks and habits to enhance stable and predictable productivity in daily life. Here are a few recommended tips that have personally helped me.

Get Organized

To stay organized, it’s beneficial to establish a routine and strive to stick to it. A disruption in your routine can throw off the rest of your day and hinder your ability to complete tasks effectively. However, when done right, a solid routine can enhance productivity during work hours and in personal life. Find an organizational system that works for you, as everyone’s needs are different.

Prioritize Tasks

Prioritizing tasks can feel overwhelming.. Fortunately, we can rely on colleagues to help clarify these priorities. This clarification is important because if we don’t have a clear understanding of our priorities, we might experience the decision paralysis we mentioned earlier and get completely stuck. It is also important to recognize that our brain often doesn't respond to priorities in the same way that they respond to urgencies. You might have a task with a deadline that you’ve been putting off because it doesn’t feel urgent yet. Suddenly, the deadline is looming, and you panic, grabbing your favorite snack and entering laser focus mode, completing the task in record time.

While there’s not much to be done about this other than relying on willpower to tackle tasks, it’s essential to understand that it’s not your fault, and you’re not alone in this struggle. The following point may also help.

Caffeine and Music

Caffeine and music can significantly assist in getting into focus mode, thereby improving productivity for different reasons:

Caffeine

As mentioned earlier, ADHD impacts the area of the brain responsible for executive function. One effect is that it speeds up that part of the brain, causing the rest to lag behind. When consumed responsibly, caffeine can help synchronize brain function, enabling you to maintain a rhythm and facilitating focus—sometimes even leading to what’s known as “hyperfocus.” This is a period where someone with ADHD achieves an intense level of concentration on a specific task or topic. In this way, you can effectively meet your goals or complete tasks in a reasonable timeframe.

Music

Listening to music you enjoy while working can enhance concentration in several ways, notably improving motivation and mood. Additionally, it provides a "background" focus that can keep your attention on one thing, reducing the distractions from various auditory stimuli in your home or office.

Healthy Habits

There are some healthy habits that may not fit into the category of tricks but can still aid in our daily lives, both professionally and personally.

Exercise

It is extremely important, as it releases many hormones that benefit us in various ways. It helps release energy and supports brain function. It’s essential to stay active,whether you have ADHD or not.

Balanced Diet

Maintaining a healthy diet can help stabilize energy levels—both physical and mental—reducing the challenges you might face. Like exercise, a balanced diet is important for everyone, regardless of whether they have ADHD.

Quality Sleep

If concentration is already a challenge, it becomes nearly impossible without a good night’s sleep. So, establish a sleep routine that fits your lifestyle.

Things to Avoid

Now that we have covered some tricks and habits to help improve productivity, let's look at some habits to avoid.

Avoiding External Stimuli

We should minimize external distractions as much as possible, as they can disrupt our focus and lead to negative consequences.

Taking Breaks

Neglecting to take necessary breaks can be detrimental. As previously mentioned, someone with ADHD generally has a significantly shorter attention span than someone without it. Therefore, it is important to respect those breaks and listen to your mind when it needs a pause.

Being Too Hard on Yourself

Studies have shown that people with ADHD and its comorbidities often face a higher volume and intensity of negative feedback, both externally and internally, for behaviors beyond their control. It’s vital to recognize that ADHD is a mental health condition, and understanding this is crucial for how we approach and respond to it.

There’s Always Hope

After reading this, some of you may feel that everything is hopeless or that having ADHD or its variations means you’re unable to handle certain jobs or even function in daily life. That’s not true. There are increasing examples of individuals with ADHD and other mental health conditions proving that with effort and perseverance, even within the constraints of external and internal factors, improvement is possible, and one can excel in many fields.

It is important to avoid making excuses or using your diagnosis as a shield. Instead, seek to understand it, know what it entails, and from there, work to become the best version of yourself.

Conclusions

ADHD is a controversial topic; unfortunately, some people still deny its existence or believe you just need to “focus harder.” For this reason, I felt it was important to highlight some of its effects at work and daily life, and hopefully offer some strategies that can help.

It’s equally important to convey that despite all the challenges, it is entirely possible to be capable and even excel if one works hard to improve and strives to become their best self.

So, let’s maintain good habits, stay organized, and keep a positive mindset. Let’s minimize distractions and be patient and compassionate with ourselves.