Procrastivity happens when you avoid a high-priority task by engaging in a lower-priority, less time-urgent activity. It can be tricky to tell if you’re in this state because the less-critical task you’ve escaped to (perhaps unwittingly) is still beneficial. Regardless, procrastivity is most often self-defeating and often hard to cease. Here, learn how to check in with yourself to ensure that you’re focusing on what’s most important.

1. Is the task on your to-do list?

It’s a straightforward question that will force you to be honest about how you use your time. It also underscores the importance of having a prioritized to-do list and an implementation plan for your tasks.

[Get This Free Download: The Eisenhower Matrix to Learn Prioritization]

Take the task of tidying your workspace. If this is not on today’s to-do list, and yet you’ve found yourself doing just that in lieu of other tasks, then it’s a clear-cut case of procrastination. But what if tidying your desk is on your list? If there is anything else on your list that needs more immediate attention and carries significant consequences if delayed or unfinished — like that major project due tomorrow — then you know that choosing to tidy is a form of procrastivity.

A prioritized list is not enough; you need an implementation plan that specifies not just what tasks you’ll do, but when and where. You can plan, for example, to put the finishing touches on your project at 2 pm. If you’re doing anything else at that time, then you’re procrastinating.

2. Are you rationalizing?

Procrastivity distorts your thoughts and tricks you into believing that you’re being productive. If you have any of the following distorted positive thoughts ¹ while engaging in a task, then you know it’s procrastivity talking:

• “I’ll just do this one thing first.”
• “I do better waiting until the last minute to start an important task.”
• “I can’t stop this task right now, might as well continue with it.”
• “Though this task usually sucks me in, I’ll just do it for a minute.”
• “I have plenty of time — I’ll just do one more thing before I jump to the other important task.”
• “Being impulsive is just part of who I am.”
• “I know I’m supposed to be doing something else, but I want to do this now.”

[Read: The Everyday Rationales That Let Procrastination In]

Practice checking in with your thoughts as you perform tasks. The more you do this, the more likely you’ll catch yourself when you do engage in procrastivity and get back on track.

Busy vs Productive: Next Steps to Combat Procrastivity

• Get This Free Download: Stop Procrastinating and Finish Your To-Do List TODAY
• Read: How to Finish What You Start
• Read: Why ADHD Minds Struggle to Meet Goals with Action

The content for this article was derived from the ADDitude ADHD Experts webinar titled, “Unraveling ADHD Procrastivity: How to Outsmart Procrastination and Improve Productivity” [Video Replay & Podcast #501] with J. Russell Ramsay, Ph.D., which was broadcast on April 18, 2024.

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Sources

¹ Knouse, L. E., Mitchell, J. T., Kimbrel, N. A., & Anastopoulos, A. D. (2019). Development and evaluation of the ADHD Cognitions Scale for adults. Journal of Attention Disorders, 23(10), 1090–1100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054717707580

When solving a particularly sticky problem, it helps if your brain is adept at divergent thinking — that is, generating original ideas by considering diverse and unprecedented possibilities.

Unsurprisingly, neurodivergent brains tend to be aces at divergent thinking. Folks with ADHD tend to think fast, dream big, and innovate solutions that are totally unexpected and brilliant, making them perfect people to turn to when there’s a problem that stumps everyone else.

From software snafus to construction conundrums, tough problems are no match for ADHD brains. Here, ADDitude readers share their problem-solving success stories.

“When I was buying a new mattress, the sales person told me I needed to rotate it top to bottom, once a month. I’m a single mum and having to handle a double mattress on my own didn’t sound fun. I thought for a second and said, ‘Can’t I just rotate my body instead of the mattress?’ The person looked at me for a second and said “Wow, actually yeah. No one has ever suggested that before.” —Emma, Scotland

“I came up with this crazy idea to design costumes for my colleagues and I to wear to a presentation for the higher-ups that really made this project idea hit home. It was fun and effective.” —Jen, Ontario

[Read: 17 Things to Love About Your ADHD!]

“Door handle fell off. Fixed it with a shoelace and two pencils.” —Miriam, Ireland

“An ability to see patterns allowed me to devise a flow chart that simplified an admissions process in a mental health facility. It also allowed me to ‘see’ an element that might be missing during an intake interview. This led to better diagnosis and care.” —Rinda

“I am often coming up with suggestions that are totally logical to me and not to others. Yesterday, I helped a friend and her daughter hang something in the stairwell. I suggested using one ladder as a base to support for the other ladder, which made the job easy.” —Lisa, Washington

[Read: What I Would Never Trade Away]

“I fix all temporary problems in my house with painter’s tape. It makes a great seal, picture hanger, cable organizer, label. The only thing it can’t do is my taxes!” —Yvette, Canada

“As a nurse practitioner working in a student health clinic, I unleashed my creativity and developed an on-line reference for students that was wildly popular! —An ADDitude Reader

“I can make the simplest dish for lunch even when my fridge is almost empty.” —Boon, Malaysia

“ADHD has allowed me to find workarounds within proprietary software at work faster and more frequently than others. Sharing workarounds when something is broken helps stop productivity loss until a permanent fix is made.” —An ADDitude Reader

“I saved a deadline once with my ADHD thinking. Pre-internet, my East Coast publishing company discovered that we forgot to fact check an important detail with a federal government bureau that had closed for the day. While my bosses pondered disaster, I realized that all we had to do was call other branches on Pacific Time that were still open, to get the info. We made our deadline!” —Dee

“At my first real job I was given a task that regularly took people three days to do. I found a different way of doing it that got the same results but took one day.” —Erin, Missouri

“At work, colleagues were attempting to reorganize a room so that a light fixture was not accessible when you stood on the bed. They were discussing moving wardrobes when I came in and said, ‘Why not cut the legs off the bed?’ So, we did, much easier!” —Lisa, Wales

ADHD & Problem Solving: Next Steps

• Free Download: Your Free Guide to All the Best Parts of ADHD
• Read: Who Says One Kind of Thinking Is Better Than Another?
• Quiz: ADHD Myth or ADHD Reality? Check Your Knowledge
• Read: How My ADHD Makes Me a More Dynamic, Resourceful, Passionate Leader”

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

Art is Hayley Wall’s love language. Since Wall was a young child, she has found her footing as a communicator through drawing. Wall struggled academically as a child due to dyslexia and undiagnosed ADHD and autism, but she says, “What I did have was this gift where I could create images and I could tell stories.”

When Wall graduated from university and considered where to take her art, she was drawn to the topic of disability. “I was exploring the things I felt were important, the things that needed to be spoken about,” Wall explains. “My mom is disabled, so that’s been around me for a long, long time and it’s felt like people with disabilities are always the last to be thought of.”

Wall was asked to illustrate an article on chronic illness for the cover of Sick magazine, and then another on the same topic for It’s Nice That. These illustrations caught the attention of The New York Times, which commissioned Wall to illustrate a package celebrating the anniversary of The Americans with Disabilities Act. Her work became known for her signature bodies — large, gender-fluid forms, typically without faces, that exude strength, joy, and confidence.

As Wall’s art career gained momentum, so too did her personal journey to understand her own neurodivergence. Though Wall struggled with mental health challenges all her life, it wasn’t until she was 34 that she received a diagnosis of ADHD and autism.

Below, Wall shares her creative process, the challenges and joys of being a neurodivergent artist, and her commitment to a future that celebrates different minds and bodies.

[Read: “Happily Neurodivergent — at Last”]

Q: How did your diagnoses come about?

I’ve always wondered, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ and always struggled with my mental health. It was a feeling of being too much — too emotional, too sensitive, I always carried this feeling of, I just don’t fit in.

When I was 30, I sat down with my partner at the time, and was like, ‘I found this article about adults that have been diagnosed with ADHD and I’ve just done multiple quizzes. Can you do the quiz as well, please?’ They did, and they scored really low. I was like, ‘So you don’t do that? And that?’ It made me think, ‘OK, I think something’s going on.’ I approached my general practitioner, and from there, it took four years to get a diagnosis.

When I was 36, a year ago, I got diagnosed with autism and a mental health condition. I’m coming to terms with all these diagnoses and trying to understand how to navigate them. To me, what’s more important is not the label but just working out what I need.

Credit: Hayley Wall, illustrator

[Self-Test: Autism Test for Adults – Signs of ASD]

Q: When did your love of art begin?

I was a kid who bounced off the walls, I had so much energy. I wouldn’t shut up, and I would cry and scream. To calm me down, my parents would give me pens and paper and I would draw. It was the one time I was calm and focused.

Q: How does your ADHD inform your work?

After graduating, it took me 8 to 10 years to establish myself. I’ve done so many random jobs. I’ve worked as a nanny, in factories, in cafes. But running parallel to that was my hyperfocus, which kept me on track to pursue art. My hyperfocus is the reason I’ve been able to turn art into a career.

My work is all about bodies, usually gender ambiguous bodies. They are these big bodies that take up space — maybe because I’ve always felt really small and inferior. The bodies in my work are powerful. I can live through them.

The whole ‘taking up space’ idea is a big f&*k you to society for being like, ‘You have to be like this, or like that.’ It’s, ‘No, we can be whomever we want to be.’

Q: Can you tell us about your creative process?

A commission will come through and it’s like jumping on a roller coaster. There’s a voice that goes, ‘Here we go.’

I center myself and breathe to remove any negative voices and let the process take me.

As I read the commission, the visuals start coming, and my brain is joining dot-to-dots. I have a background in dance, and the dancing lives in my work now. Sometimes I’ll get myself or my friends into different positions and I’ll draw from that. I create loose, playful hand-rendered drawings and textures, and then I bring it onto my computer to work with.

Once I’ve got my concept down, I enter the most playful part of the process. I can enjoy coming to the end of the roller coaster nice and slowly.

Q: What’s the hardest part of your job?

The first bit of the process, mind-mapping concepts, is hard because I’ve got so many ideas, and I need to hone in. It’s the organization of thoughts that’s hard.

What crushes mind-mapping is impostor syndrome, a feeling I’ve carried of being inferior. I wish I was able to remove that saboteur voice that creeps in to say, ‘You’re not good enough,’ so I could just let my brain run free.

Q: What ADHD supports have you found helpful?

Freelance work is definitely hard because you don’t have HR, you don’t have colleagues to turn to. You are your absolute everything, and it’s really tough.
I was doing it for a long time all by myself, and I reached burnout. My mental health crashed.

In the UK, we are very lucky in terms of the benefits we get from the government. The ‘Access to Work’ program offers a sort of grant or reimbursement scheme to cover the cost of a support worker. It has been very helpful to me, and I’ve used that to have somebody support me through the admin tasks.
I never want to go back to a point where I’m trying to manage it all alone.

Q: Any advice for other artists with ADHD?

If you can tune into your voice and communicate your story, that’s when you’re going to create something nobody’s ever seen before.

Q: Where are you now on your journey of understanding your neurodivergence?

With the community I’ve found, I have a feeling of being able to unmask, to be my true self, to be able to be too much, weird, overly emotional, and sensitive.

Recently, I did a commission for a London museum and library called The Wellcome Collection. They asked me to respond to an article written by a person who was diagnosed with autism as an adult, and because this piece was so personal to my experience, I really wanted to place myself in the work. It was a three-part series: before, during and after diagnosis.

For the final image, I Photoshopped my face in quite a warped way onto the figure. I’ve hid behind my work for years, so to put my own face on this figure felt quite important. It was like, ‘I’m unmasking now. I’m showing myself. I’m allowing myself to actually come through. This is me.’

ADHD, Art, and Mental Health: Next Steps

• Read: Stifled Creativity and Its Damaging Impact on the ADHD Brain
• Read: Why ADHD Masking Is a Form of Self-Sabotage
• Read: “I’m Not Hiding My ADHD Anymore”

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

At first glance, some of my ADHD traits make me very ill-suited to my job as a college lecturer. My slippery focus and shoddy working memory make the piles of admin work painful. Trying to map out a long course makes me want to smash my head into a smartboard.

Few of my colleagues loathe the bits I hate with quite the passion that I do, so I beat myself up for making a meal of the stuff that’s meant to be simple.

But there’s a flip side, too. The more I talk to colleagues about my fresh diagnosis (ADHD, inattentive type), the more I see that others grapple daily with different demons. And some of the things that frighten or frustrate them about teaching come as naturally to me as breathing.

Teaching with ADHD: The Traits That Make Me a Better Educator

1. Improvisation

Like many with ADHD, I work well under pressure. I struggle to focus without it, in fact, so I’ve had a lifetime of practice.

The upshot is that I’m never knocked off balance by last-minute changes or questions I didn’t see coming. I love taking detours in lessons or going deeper to clear up confusion.

[Get This Free Download: Need Help Finding Your Passion? Use This ADHD “Brain Blueprint”]

Learning is a two-way conversation for me. Being happy to improvise helps me keep everyone in it.

2. A Sense of Humor

I try to make people laugh all the time. I think I learned young that it won me approval, preempted mockery, and defused the tension I would otherwise sponge up myself.

And my always-on Default Mode Network loves whispering jokes in my ear. I find it hard not to speak them out loud.

As compulsions go, it’s a lucky one. A sense of humor is a powerful tool in the classroom. It’s so much easier to build rapport, nip conflicts in the bud, and make lessons engaging and productive when you can see the funny side and share it. People learn better when they’re feeling good, too.

[Read: The ADHD Traits I Would Never Trade Away]

I’m also a closet show-off, so making an audience laugh (even if it’s captive) lifts my own mood and keeps my stress levels in check.

3. The Ability to Plan Under Pressure

Long-term projects are my nemesis. Chipping away at a faraway goal deprives me of the hit I need right now, this minute.

Weirdly, that’s where teaching works for me. I don’t sit down on a Sunday to plan. (I can’t. I’ve tried. It’s fruitless.) But the very tight deadline of an imminent lesson gives my distractible brain no choice but to snap into action. When it does, it’s with supercharged clarity and speed.

A sea of expectant faces is a sufficiently scary prospect to kickstart my concentration and wrestle floating, fragmented ideas into an anchored, coherent whole. The last half-hour before a lesson starts is when my plan comes together. Even if I’m still on the bus.

Because I work best this way, weekends are mainly my own.

4. Creativity and Competitiveness

‘Teacher talk time’ is part of my job. Some things just need explaining. But I drift off when I’m talked at for too long myself and I don’t want my learners to check out because I’ve bored them.

So I break up exposition with chats, games, and quizzes to give them chance to think and engage.

Competition cranks my focus up, too, so I use it with students as well. They sit up and dig deeper when victory’s at stake. A lively 10-minute grammar-off can save a lesson from sinking.

5. Deep Empathy

As a super-sensitive person with ADHD, I know first-hand how negative emotions can torpedo efforts to learn.

That awareness is useful because lots of my students have big stresses that mess with their concentration. They come from all over the world and have issues ranging from PTSD and homelessness to fears for family in war zones. Things I cannot imagine.

I can never solve their problems. What I can provide, thanks to empathy, is a warm, inclusive environment where people feel safe and valued.

I can also lend my ear after class where that’s what a person wants. Because of the way I’m built, it never feels like a chore.

Teaching with ADHD: Shedding Shame and Cultivating Gratitude

There will probably always be bits of my job I find hard because they’re dull. I’ve felt shame about that at times and suspected I’m lazy or weak. Now that I’m certain I’m neither, I can be more patient with myself and calmer when I’m tackling the tough stuff. And I can see much more clearly the many upsides of ADHD.

Being up front with others and listening to their own unique challenges has opened my eyes to how well my brain serves me at work. It has taught me to put much more store in the strengths I have — creativity, compassion and last-minute focus, for example —that some others don’t, and which are very likely down to the way I’m wired.

Teaching with ADHD: Next Steps

• Get This Free Download: 25 Things to Love About ADHD
• Read: Great Job! A Career Happiness Formula for Adults with ADHD
• Read: “What If My Intense Drive Is Because of — Not in Spite of — My ADHD?”

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

Living with ADHD makes us more likely to engage in all sorts of self-sabotaging behavior — patterns that prevent us from reaching our goals, achieving peace, and finding happiness. I say “us” because, though I coach clients with ADHD who are their own worst enemies, I am not immune to self-sabotaging behaviors. As someone with ADHD, I, too, sometimes work against my own best interests.

Why We Engage in ADHD Self-Sabotage

Self-sabotage is hitting the snooze button despite knowing that we’ll be late to work. Or thrwarting anything good that comes our way for fear that we’ll mess it up somehow. Or depriving ourselves of our needs as punishment, because we think we deserve it. Or shutting down in the face of problems — and sometimes dealing with the stress by self-medicating.

But don’t make the mistake of confusing ADHD symptoms and traits for self-sabotaging behaviors. Difficulty managing time, for example, is an ADHD symptom. Repeatedly choosing not to set and adhere to alarms that can aid with time management is self-sabotage.

[Read: “4 ADHD Defense Mechanisms – and How to Break Them”]

We all have different reasons for engaging in self-sabotage; the following are the most common:

1. We don’t trust our abilities. When ADHD symptoms repeatedly undermine our skills, we begin to believe that we are incapable. We hyperfocus on all the times we’ve messed up.

I had a client who accidentally threw away a pizza and stored its empty box in his fridge. “I can’t even get pizza right,” my client thought as he spiraled into self-criticism and self-sabotage. “Why should I try for anything else?”

In my own life, I have felt many times — like when I started my ADHD coaching center — that I was not mature enough to make big, overwhelming decisions. Who was I to take this on? I felt like I needed parental guidance, even as an adult.

2. We fear failure. Fear of falling short of expectations is a major barrier that drives so many of us to procrastinate or never get started. When I was writing my manuscript for my first book, I had no expectations, so there was no fear of failure then. However, with my second book, the fear of failure kept creeping in. I thought, What if it doesn’t go well? What if it doesn’t work?

3. We fear success. This is a real phenomenon that I often see in high-functioning, go-getter individuals. They’ll succeed once, and worry — sometimes due to inconsistencies in performance driven by ADHD — that they won’t be able to repeat success. This is a classic sign of imposter syndrome.

4. We lack self-awareness. We may be unaware of the negative thought patterns and behaviors that impede our success. A client of mine had an interview for a dream job but had lots of negative feelings about it. Why? Because she had been previously fired from her workplace due to lateness, and she had begun internalizing negative emotions and shame around her skills and capabilities as a result.

[Read: Why ADHD Self-Awareness is the Key to Effective Action, Change, and Progress for Each of Us]

5. We shut down when things get difficult. When pressure builds, avoidance is a coping mechanism. A client of mine who struggled to manage stress and uncomfortable feelings around her responsibilities stayed in bed the whole day — even though those responsibilities were still there for her the next day. Sometimes, feelings of inadequacy can drive these actions.

All self-sabotaging behavior, no matter the form, is rooted in self-preservation. We engage in self-defeating behaviors to protect ourselves and our egos, and to feel safe. The problem is that these behaviors often backfire.

How to Halt Self-Sabotage

To break the cycle of self-sabotage, you must approach your challenges with the sense that you can understand, overcome, and even grow from them. Begin with these exercises:

• Identify the feelings behind your self-sabotaging behaviors using this format: When I feel [emotion], I tend to [self-sabotaging behavior]. Use a feelings wheel to guide you. An example: When I feel uncertain and vulnerable, I tend to

• Next, unpack the story behind your feelings. Does feeling uncertain make you feel stupid? Do you feel vulnerable when you don’t have all the answers, which causes you to procrastinate? What narratives are you creating in your mind that fuel self-sabotage?

Choose a Path Forward

Option 1: Reframe your negative emotions and experiences

The client who was nervous about interviewing connected with positive thoughts around the role and how it aligns perfectly with her interests and skills, which helped her feel much more confident during the interview. A negative experience in one workplace, she reminded herself, doesn’t define anyone.

Searching for the positive and having a sense of humor helps, too. The client who threw out a full pizza stopped berating himself long enough to recognize that the situation was pretty funny — and inconsequential.

Option 2: Accept your negative emotions, but stop self-sabotaging

You can acknowledge your negative feelings and refuse to let them dictate your actions. What got me to write and finish my second book, despite feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, and vulnerable, was accepting that writing sucks — and so what?

Option 3: Do nothing because self-sabotaging feels so good

This is really a false choice, since continuing down the path of self-sabotage isn’t how you overcome it. You may be tempted to choose this option because every other choice takes a lot more effort. Only you can get yourself out of self-sabotaging behaviors. That said, if you’re unwilling or unable to engage in the other options, consider seeking help from a certified ADHD coach or an ADHD-informed mental health provider.

Develop Self-Supporting Behaviors

Meet Your Five Basic Needs

Self-sabotaging behaviors often arise from neglecting fundamental needs: survival (which includes nutrition, hydration, and sleep), power, love, fun, and freedom. Are you giving yourself enough rest, water, and the right food? If you’re feeling powerless over a situation, how can you gain some autonomy? If you resent that you lack fun in your life, how can you make space for it every day? How can you gain a sense of freedom and choice — which is so important for ADHD brains?

Add a Positive Character to Your Inner Dialogue

If the super critical voices in your head often drive you to self-sabotage, try introducing a supportive character that can help quiet the self-loathing. This could be a figure from literature, a movie, or even someone from your own life. Picture this character reassuring you: “Calm down, everything will be fine. Let’s keep things in perspective.” To help you narrow down on a character, think hard about why you’ve chosen them and how they’ll help you stop self-sabotaging.

Seek Formal Supports

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), along with other formal supports, therapies, and treatments for ADHD, are highly effective for those who are repeatedly self-sabotaging.

Self-Sabotage and ADHD: Next Steps

• Free Download: The ADHD Healthy Habits Handbook
• Read:  “I’m Way Too Hard on Myself”
• Read: “I Am Fraught with Guilt and Shame When I Procrastinate”

The content for this article was derived from the ADDitude ADHD Experts webinar titled, “Interrupt the Cycle of Self-Sabotage in the New Year” [Video Replay & Podcast #492] with Tamara Rosier, Ph.D., which was broadcast on February 15, 2024.

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

I am wildly creative, surprisingly good with a paintbrush, and skilled with words. I know how to make jewelry, soap, candles, and pretty paper. I know how to put together elaborate floral displays and decorate cakes. I can research like an analyst and draft essays like an academic.

I know how to make proper barista coffee, complete with foamy milk hearts, and I can pour a mean tap beer. I can change brake pads on Volvos, paint houses perfectly, as well as clean them like I have OCD. (I can totally say that because I do have OCD.) I have some fun unpolished vocals recorded on a retro pop album floating around cyberspace along with some long forgotten “crazy cat lady” improv clips with five views total (probably all due to me).

I am good at a lot of things, but, by the world’s standards of success, I am a failure. And a big one at that.

No five-year plan here. (Time blindness will do that to you.) I have no idea what I am doing in the next five minutes, let alone in the next five years. And I certainly have not been commended in any field or selected as employee of the month. Let’s just say that if holding the record for shortest time employed were a thing, then my 15-minute stint as a bartender at a bowling alley would win the title.

I have studied acting but I am not an actor. I am a qualified English teacher, but I do not teach. I write poetry, but few read my work. I sometimes author stories or articles, which some people read, for which I’m eternally grateful. People often see how capable and organized I can be and think I must slay at life, but often, life slays me. This is the nature of the brain beast that is ADHD.

Where Is My Mind?

One of the many bosses I have had over my multi-faceted career once said of my job performance, “When you’re on, you’re brilliant, creative, unstoppable. But when you’re off, it’s hard to remember how good you are.”

[Get This Free Download: What to Ask Yourself to Find the Perfect Job]

Harsh, but fair. This was the story of my life — bosses wondering if I was intentionally not doing what they said, why I did things the complete opposite way I had been shown, or if I really was just that confused and forgetful. Most did not have the time or resources to spare on figuring me out, so I would end up fired over and over.

Some bosses asked where my mind went during meetings. Others would scratch their heads, puzzled that I’d be on fire one day, and frazzled, late, and disoriented the next. (It wasn’t uncommon for me to forget my lunch or even the name of the store where I worked.)

Once I even walked into the wrong workplace to clock in. I had previously worked in a jewelry store a few doors down from my new workplace, a skincare store. Easy mistake to make, right?

And don’t get me started on my wonderful, spontaneous, but often inappropriate workplace banter. Time and time again, I would blurt out a thought that would offend others – for its tone, timing, or crudeness. Sometimes, though, people would laugh or even join in with my shenanigans.

[Read: “Did I Overshare by Telling My New Co-Workers That I Habitually Overshare?”]

When I think I am being honest or funny, most people think I am being rude. When I am good at something, I do not know how to pace myself or set boundaries, so I burn out quickly and become incredibly bad at the thing I was good at. When I witness injustice, I am compelled to speak up (thanks, RSD and justice sensitivity), which has seen me in all kinds of deep water in the workplace.

Jack of All Trades, Master of Some

I have had some interesting jobs. I remember riding my motorbike to a fancy mansion dressed as Cleopatra when I worked for a catering company that specialized in themed events. I’ve worked in delis, clothing boutiques, florist shops, fast food joints, call centers, hardware stores, and markets. I’ve worked in education, childcare, and cleaning services. I’ve designed logos, posters, and t-shirts. I’ve directed musicals, weeded gardens, washed cars, and mowed lawns.

I did all this unmedicated, so I want to congratulate myself on making it through. After my ADHD diagnosis at age 38, I went on medication and saw significant changes in my time management, organization, memory retention, and emotional regulation skills. Today, I am finally doing something that I am good at and really enjoy. (Not to brag, but I am kind of my boss’s favorite.) I am kicking ass at the most important job I’ve ever had: being a mama.

My neurodivergent brain makes everything a lot harder, but I have accepted that I’ll just have to work with it and learn on the job. I try to see mistakes as opportunities to improve. I am not perfect at anything because that is the stuff of mythology. But I am brilliant at many things, and I aim for good enough where I can. I have learned not to overthink opinions about my performance on any job, sometimes not even my own. I am a lifelong work in progress – I have my work cut out for me, and if life has taught me anything, it is that I can do hard things.

ADHD and Job Hopping: Next Steps

• Free Download: Need Help Finding Your Passion? Use This ADHD “Brain Blueprint”
• Read: Great Job! A Career Happiness Formula for Adults with ADHD
• Read: Fostering Neurodiversity in the Workplace

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

Adolescents exhibiting comorbid ADHD and ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) symptoms face higher unemployment rates, sick days, and lower incomes in adulthood than do their neurotypical peers, suggests new research from Finland. ¹

The longitudinal study, published in the Journal of Attention Disorders, identified 6,985 participants (aged 15 to 16) from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. ² The researchers sorted participants into groups based on symptom presentation — ADHD, ODD, comorbid ADHD and ODD, or the control group. Researchers analyzed sick and unemployed days from 2006 to 2010 (when participants were 20 to 24 years old) and from 2011 to 2019 (when participants were 25 to 33).

Between the ages of 25 and 33, males from all symptomatic groups experienced more unemployment and sick days than did their neurotypical peers, but those symptoms did not directly impact their income levels. During the same age range, females with symptoms of ADHD and comorbid ADHD and ODD reported higher rates of unemployment. However, the study found that younger females (between the ages of 20 and 24) among all symptomatic groups were likelier to report sick days than the controls. (The study did not include participants identified as non-binary or transgender.)

The researchers pointed to previous studies suggesting that “symptoms of ODD and ADHD are associated with substance use disorder, different types of injuries, and an increased risk of undergoing psychiatric hospitalization during one’s life” as likely causes of increased sick leave from work. ³, ⁴, ⁵

The ADHD-ODD Link

ODD is highly comorbid with ADHD. Studies estimate that ODD co-occurs with ADHD in approximately 50% to 60% of population-based samples. ⁶, ⁷

“Oppositional defiant disorder is characterized by persistent patterns of anger and irritability, argumentative behaviors, and vindictiveness toward others,” said William Dodson, M.D., LF-APA, during the 2021 ADDitude webinar, “How Oppositional Defiant Disorder Ruptures Families — and How You Can Learn to Manage It.” “ODD is listed as a childhood disorder, but it commonly persists into adult life and continues to be highly impairing with symptoms impacting a person’s functioning and causing significant distress to family, friends, and educators.”

Income Disparities

The study also identified income disparities among the study participants. Male and female participants with comorbid ADHD and ODD consistently had lower annual incomes compared to all other symptomatic groups. Interestingly, participants with ADHD reportedly earned more than the control group between the ages of 20 and 24. Those results flipped by age 30.

“Young adults with ADHD symptoms tend to enter the labor market more quickly than their peers without ADHD symptoms, potentially explaining these results,” the researchers wrote. “Individuals without ADHD typically delay entering the workforce at 20 years of age, as they often pursue higher education.”

The results of a 2020 ADDitude survey of nearly 1,450 adults with ADHD painted a slightly different picture. Almost one-third of respondents had an annual household income of $100,000 or higher, and more than half exceeded the U.S. median income ($74,580 in 2022). Though some studies do indicate that young adults with ADHD are less likely to enroll in college, 72% of respondents completed an undergraduate degree, and more than one-third have an advanced degree.

To the researchers’ knowledge, this was the first study underscoring the importance of early recognition of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms due to their long-term impact on employment and income in adulthood.

Many ADDitude readers said in a recent survey that they relate to the study’s results.

“I spent a lifetime failing at every job I ever tried,” said Lester, from Idaho. “I was either fired, lost interest, or was injured and had to quit.”

“I am currently unemployed and looking for gainful employment,” said Lindsey, from Indiana. “I’m a single mom with ADHD, and my kids have it, too. I had to work part-time and stay home with my kids for a few years. Now it’s harder than ever to get hired since I took time off.”

Natalie, from Texas, said, “I have had a hard time holding down a job due to my inconsistent attendance and performance. I have been driving for Uber and Lyft for the last few years. It worked out on the first year, but now I’m drowning because I have zero motivation.”

Accommodating ADHD and ODD in the Workplace

Early diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and ODD symptoms during adolescence may improve employment prospects and financial stability later in life.

It also helps when employers foster more inclusive and supportive workplace environments.

“There is plenty that companies can do right now — from shifting perspectives to changing workplace policies — to support neurodivergent employees and those with invisible differences,” said Jessica Hicksted, Ph.D., said during the 2023 ADDitude webinar “Invisible’ Disabilities at Work: How to Foster Neurodivergent Advocacy and Acceptance.”

“All employees benefit when a company embraces multiple methods and processes for getting things done,” she continued. “Whether it’s allowing employee-set schedules, remote work, or non-disruptive changes to the office environment, flexibility can make or break an employee’s experience. A company culture built on flexibility can allow neurodivergent employees to really shine and get work done without battling standards that don’t consider the non-neurotypical experience.”

Sources

¹ Seppä, S., Huikari, S., Korhonen, M., Nordström, T., Hurtig, T., & Halt, A.-H. (2024). Associations of Symptoms of ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in Adolescence With Occupational Outcomes and Incomes in Adulthood. Journal of Attention Disorders, 28(10), 1392-1405. https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547241259329

² Miettunen, J., Haapea, M., Björnholm, L., Huhtaniska, S., Juola, T., Kinnunen, L., Nordström, T. (2019). Psychiatric Research in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 – A Systematic Review. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 78(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2019.1571382

³ Hurtig, T., Ebeling, H., Jokelainen, J., Koivumaa-Honkanen, H., Taanila, A. (2016). The Association Between Hospital-Treated Injuries and ADHD Symptoms in Childhood and Adolescence: A Follow-Up Study in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. Journal of Attention Disorders, 20(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054713486699

⁴ Mustonen, A., Rodriguez, A., Scott, J. G., Vuori, M., Hurtig, T., Halt, A. H., Miettunen, J., Alakokkare, A. E., Niemelä, S. (2023). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms in Adolescence and Risk of Substance Use Disorders: A General Population-Based Birth Cohort Study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 148(3), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13588

⁵ Nordström, T., Hurtig, T., Moilanen, I., Taanila, A., Ebeling, H. (2013). Disruptive Behaviour Disorder with and Without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Is a Risk of Psychiatric Hospitalization. Acta Paediatrica, International Journal of Paediatrics, 102(11), 1100–1103. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.12383

⁶ Kessler, R. C., Adler, L. A., Berglund, P., Green, J.G., McLaughlin, K. A., Fayyad, J., Russo, L. J., Sampson, N. A., Shahly, V., Zaslavsky, A. M. (2014). The Effects of Temporally Secondary Co-Morbid Mental Disorders on the Associations of DSM-IV ADHD with Adverse Outcomes in the U.S. National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Psychological Medicine, 44(8), 1779–1792. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291713002419

⁷ Reale, L., Bartoli, B., Cartabia, M., Zanetti, M., Costantino, M. A., Canevini, M. P., Termine, C., Bonati M. (2017). Comorbidity Prevalence and Treatment Outcome in Children and Adolescents with ADHD. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 26(12), 1443–1457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-017-1005-z

⁸ Kuriyan, A. B., Pelham, W. E., Jr, Molina, B. S., Waschbusch, D. A., Gnagy, E. M., Sibley, M. H., Babinski, D. E., Walther, C., Cheong, J., Yu, J., & Kent, K. M. (2013). Young Adult Educational and Vocational Outcomes of Children Diagnosed with ADHD. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9658-z

Why Women with ADHD Don’t Disclose Their Diagnosis

In part, the survey results suggest that women with ADHD are perceived differently than are men with ADHD — a finding that more than half of survey respondents (three-quarters of whom were women) agree to be true.

We know that self-stigma is a key barrier to seeking professional support.¹While the survey’s findings relate to ADHD specifically, they speak to a larger societal phenomenon: Individuals internalize public stigma, e.g., stereotypes, prejudice, and discriminatory attitudes endorsed by the public. We see examples of internalized public stigma across women’s mental and general health, including their ADHD diagnosis.

Although men and women are just as likely to have learning and thinking differences, girls with ADHD are diagnosed one-third as often as boys. ² Many women receive their ADHD diagnoses in their 30s, 40s, and beyond. When a woman is diagnosed with ADHD later in life, she’s likely spent decades struggling without understanding why. A late-in-life diagnosis may be the route of frustration, self-doubt, and anxiety.

Researchers have primarily based assessment tools on studies of boys and they do not norm for female populations. Gender bias built into testing instruments is one of the biggest reasons women and girls with ADHD may go undiagnosed, something 87% of survey respondents acknowledged, the survey revealed.

[Free Resource: What to Ask Yourself to Find the Perfect Job]

Women diagnosed with ADHD later in life often express how they made efforts and investments to get answers, but providers routinely dismissed their concerns as “hormones,” “mom brain,” or “lack of self-care.” Many received diagnoses of depression or anxiety instead of ADHD.

They finally got an accurate diagnosis after enduring years of unsuccessful treatments — along with blame for non-compliance. The experience of having their providers meet their initial concerns with disbelief, in a sense, trained women not to disclose.

Many women develop the core belief that “there’s something wrong with me.” And this doesn’t change overnight. Often, women need time, support, and community to learn how to voice their newly learned diagnosis in a way that feels right to them.

Choosing not to disclose an ADHD diagnosis is a logical response to stigma, bias, and backlash. Half of the adults surveyed believe that the negative stigma surrounding neurodiversity is stronger now than ever before. Among respondents with learning and thinking differences, 59% worry that disclosing their diagnosis would negatively impact their careers. Nearly 1 in 4 respondents who requested workplace accommodations said they lost their jobs or got demoted after asking. In that kind of workplace culture, it’s no surprise that people stay silent.

[Take the ADHD Self-Test for Women]

How to Create an Inclusive Culture

The culture that too often makes silence the best option for women must shift. The solution to silence is not as simple as telling women to “speak up” at work. We need to create a culture that places women’s voices and needs at the core. We need to raise awareness and challenge the stigma around neurodivergence (particularly ADHD and dyslexia) for women. We need better resources, awareness, and action, to start the shift toward progress.

Here are a few steps individuals, providers, and employers can take to create a more inclusive culture:

• Learn: Patients, employers, and providers need to let go of old assumptions and dial up their curiosity because the information about ADHD has historically been based on homogeneous, primarily male experiences. Even among the most knowledgeable, there’s still much to learn and unlearn.
• Embrace the gray: Disclosure isn’t “on” or “off.” You don’t need to share your diagnosis with everyone. You get to choose who, when, and how much you share.
• Listen: Often people don’t speak up because when they do, they aren’t heard or understood. For providers, this means actively listening to clients and patients. Employers need to actively listen to employees and take their concerns and requests seriously. Individuals need to listen to their inner voice without judgment.

Inclusive Culture: Next Steps

• Free Download: Dream Jobs for Women with ADHD
• Read:5 Hallmarks of a Neurodivergent-Inclusive Workplace
• Read: “ADHD Masking Is Another Undue Burden for Women at Work”
• Watch: Invisible Disabilities at Work: How to Foster Neurodivergent Advocacy and Acceptance

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

Sources

¹ Lannin, D.G., Bible, J. (2022). Self-Stigma of Seeking Help: A Meta-Analysis. The Cambridge Handbook of Stigma and Mental Health. Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology. Cambridge University Press; 111-142.

² Young, S., Adamo, N., Ásgeirsdóttir, B.B. et al. (2020). Females with ADHD: An Expert Consensus Statement Taking a Lifespan Approach Providing Guidance for the Identification and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Girls and Women. BMC Psychiatry. 20, 404. https://doi.org/0.1186/s12888-020-02707-9

If you find yourself overanalyzing options, avoiding decisions, feeling overwhelmed, and then making hasty choices that you later regret, use the following tips to overcome decision fatigue and ADHD paralysis. In other words, “CHOOSE” differently to curb the choices your ADHD brain makes on the daily.

ADHD Decision Fatigue: Solutions

Care for Yourself

Decision-making becomes exponentially harder when your body and mind are not at their best. Caring for yourself reduces stress, improves focus, and eases decision making through the day.

• Nourish your body and brain with regular, healthy meals.
• Set up a good bedtime routine that allows for a restful night’s sleep.
• Give yourself the positive mental effects of mindfulness meditation for a few minutes each day.

High-Priority Appraisal

If a decision you must make is critical and will have a lasting impact, use a pros and cons list to help you analyze it objectively. If making the choice is not urgent, then take your time to make the list and then appraise it the next morning when you have more energy to make the decision. Review your crucial choices with a trusted friend to confirm your thinking process and gain an objective opinion.

[Get This Free Download: The Eisenhower Matrix for ADHD Decision-Making]

Opt Out

Ask yourself, “How important is this decision, really?”  If you realize that your decision and its outcome is not going to matter a week from now, find an easy, fun way to make the decision.

• Flip a coin to decide which route you will take home.
• Assign numbers to household chores and then roll dice to determine what you will do first.
• Close your eyes and point at a list to choose a restaurant for lunch.

Opportunities for Others

You do not have to be the sole decider. Give others the chance to decide. Try delegating reasonable decision-making opportunities to co-workers and family members. This gives them a chance to learn and grow. Avoid the temptation to micromanage; be open to observing how well things turn out.

Simplify

Take choice out of the equation! Cut down on the number of daily decisions in your life with routines and habits. Think of the routine activities in your life and opportunities to limit your options.

[Read: The Antidote to ADHD Fatigue and Exhaustion? Stacking Habits (and Spoons)]

• Designate a set number of outfits for work so you can just grab and go in the mornings.
• Assign specific meals to each day of the week and then rotate through two or three weekly schedules of meals. (Think school cafeteria schedule.)
• Create a grocery shopping master list that includes ingredients needed for the assigned weekly meals.

Effectively Realistic

Worrying about making the best decision – a form of perfectionism – is mentally taxing and leads to added stress and decision paralysis. There is no need to seek the perfect solution or choice. Instead, focus on what is realistic, effective, and good enough for the situation.

ADHD Decision Fatigue: Next Steps

• Free Decision-Making Tool: The Eisenhower Matrix for Prioritization
• Read: How to Get Things Done Without Getting Bogged Down
• Read: How Do I Stop Being SO Indecisive?

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

It’s been a while since my ADHD diagnosis. Though I’ve put lots of things in place to manage my symptoms and support my executive functions, it’s still so easy to lurch from day to day, ignoring the sneaky things that make living with ADHD needlessly difficult.

Recently, I had the bright idea to assess my life. I aimed to end up with a self-improvement plan comprised of high-impact (and relatively low-effort) actions I could take to better daily living with ADHD.

What I came up with was a process that I invite you to try for yourself to manage ADHD’s impact across all facets of your life. (Be sure to grab papers and a pen before you start.)

Step 1: Where are you struggling most right now?

Think:

• What aspects of your life with ADHD are most annoying to you at the moment?
• Where are your ADHD symptoms creating the most obstacles and hot spots in your life?
• Where are you paying too high a price (finances, relationships, etc.)?

Another way to think of it: Are there any areas of your life that need more improvement and attention than other areas?

[Get This Free Download: Lifestyle Changes That Benefit Adults with ADHD]

Some areas you might think about:

• medication management
• productivity at work
• parenting
• housework
• friendships
• finances
• life admin
• hygiene
• diet
• sleep
• exercise
• phone/social media habits

Select three to six areas of focus at a time. I chose medication, food, motivation, and daily/weekly planning systems.

Step 2: Pen to paper.

Once you’ve narrowed down your areas, grab some sheets of paper. Each area of focus you selected in the prior step will get its own sheet of paper, which you’ll indicate at the top of each sheet. Then, fold each sheet in half width-wise.

Step 3: Get specific about trouble spots.

The top half of each sheet is where you’ll respond to the question: “What’s not working?” Vent a little but be sure to get specific. No matter the obstacle or inconvenience, write down anything that isn’t going your way and gives you a hard time in this area.

On my “food” sheet, for example, I wrote, “It drives me crazy to have to wrestle with myself whenever I need to eat. How can boiling cauliflower feel so impossible?!?” I also wrote about how overwhelming I found all aspects of eating, from thinking about what to eat and buy (ADHD decision fatigue is no joke) and putting it together to cleaning up after myself, all for a few bites. Trying to eat more vegetables was especially difficult; they took too long to wash, cut, and cook on the spot, so they were never ready when I wanted them.

[Read: 6 Secrets to Goal Setting with ADHD]

Note that this step isn’t about writing down what you think you “should” be doing. It’s a space for you to note what stands in the way of what you really want.

Step 4: What can make it better?

After you’ve written about everything that’s not working, turn your attention to the bottom half of the sheet. Here is where you’ll brainstorm: What can make life better? Get creative and use that ADHD superpower of idea generation! Let your ideas flow; think of how you can create different arrangements, tweak your existing systems, incorporate new objects/technology, and find other forms of support that – and this is important – work for you. (You’ll narrow down on a few actionable solutions in the next step.)

For my food troubles, I thought about how great it would be to always have prepared, ready-to-eat foods in my kitchen. An effortless grab-and-go for when I’m hungry and don’t want to think about prepping food, much less make an entire meal. I thought about how great it would be to never forget that I have vegetables in the fridge and to have prep work on said veggies completed well in advance.

How could I make this happen? This is some of what I wrote down:

• To reduce decision fatigue, I can come up with three easy meals as staple options. This will make grocery shopping so much easier, too, since the ingredients for those chosen meals will always be on my shopping list.
• I’m a visual person. Why don’t I hang up photos of my favorite meals on my fridge to help me remember them?
• I seem to remember to eat veggies when I can clearly see them, not when they’re hidden in the back of the fridge or in a drawer. I’m also more inclined to eat veggies when all the prep work is done. Maybe I can prep veggies when I have time, like on weekends, and put them in clear containers.

Step 5: Mold your ideas into an action list.

From your solutions, circle up to three ideas that seem worth trying. Now, activate the ADHD gift of problem-solving, and think of how to put each of your chosen solutions into action.

• What will prompt you to put the solution in motion? Involving other people? Gamifying it? Connecting it with your interests? Think of the conditions and factors that tend to facilitate action for you. You may find it helpful to think about the areas of your life where things are going smoothly. What’s working in those areas, and how can you translate those elements to these problem areas?
• How can you get around potential snags? Do you need checklist to help you remember the steps? Reminders on your phone? On your calendar?
• Write down your action list for each area of focus on a fresh sheet of paper. As you think of and draft each action step, keep the following in mind:
  • Make your action steps realistic. Aim for the biggest wins you can achieve with the least amount of effort. (That win you consider small is actually a big win if you can do it completely and consistently!)
  • Craft clear action steps. Note what you’ll do, how long it will take, and what “finished” looks like.

My action list looked a little like this:

• After dinner today, I will spend one hour creating a poster of my three favorite meals in Canva.
• On Saturday, before I head to the supermarket, I will spend 20 minutes writing all items I need to prepare my favorite meals on my phone. I will then pin the note for easy reference.
• On Sunday mornings, I will dedicate one hour to preparing veggies. I will set a recurring reminder on my phone to put the prepared veggies in clear containers and store them in the fridge.

Step 6: Do the actions!

…or do what you can. Because, if you’re anything like me, you’ll rush through half your action list, trudge through the next few items, and then grind to a halt before finishing all your action steps. And to that I say: Magnificent! That’s way more than you would have done without the review. But if you find yourself making no progress at all, consider making your action steps smaller. Either way, resist perfectionism. A small step can be plenty in improving quality of life.

Put your action list somewhere you’ll easily see it. Think positive as you carry out your action steps. Visualize how much easier your life will be — and how much energy you’ll have to do things that really matter to you — once you take these steps. Aim to revisit your self-improvement plan once or twice a year.

Manage Adult ADHD: Next Steps

• Free Download: The ADHD Healthy Habits Handbook
• Read: Simplify Your Life — 7 Habits That Bring Calm and Stability
• Read: ADHD at the Center — A Whole-Life, Whole-Person Condition
• Read: Adult ADHD Is Misunderstood — Realistic Solutions for Managing Life, Time & Emotions

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Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

I am grateful that my company takes a “bring your whole self to work” approach. That attitude has encouraged me to discuss my experience as an adult living with ADHD and it has taught me the importance of creating an inclusive, supportive workplace for colleagues with neurodiverse conditions. I realize that many people with ADHD are not so fortunate.

People with ADHD are chronically unemployed or underemployed. This doesn’t affect their ability to succeed at work, but it may hinder their chances of getting past the hiring stage.

Once hired, many people with ADHD wrestle with whether to reveal their diagnosis in the workplace. Understandably, many feel that disclosing their disability could attract stigma and discrimination. But if no one discloses their ADHD, how can an organization ensure that it is being inclusive?

Senior leaders and decision-makers must foster a sense of openness by actively promoting an inclusive culture. I view inclusivity as a net; the wider it is, the greater the population caught. Some tools are created for specific reasons, such as an automatic door to assist someone using a mobility device. However, this adjustment also helps someone with arthritis or a new parent pushing a stroller. In other words, the benefits of accommodations are often wider and deeper than we first imagine.

[Get This Free Download: What to Ask Yourself to Find the Perfect Job]

7 ADHD Accommodations at Work

Here are more ways to create a more inclusive workplace for individuals with ADHD.

1. Job Application Accommodations

A supportive workplace culture takes root during the hiring process. Employers must value individuals beyond their CVs and resumes, and prioritize the person ahead of the qualifications. A small change that can significantly impact the inclusivity of your hiring process is providing job applicants with materials in different formats and offering alternatives to submitting traditional CVs or resumes, such as creating video applications.

2. Targeted Training

Because ADHD affects individuals differently, employers and colleagues must understand the symptoms of inattentive, hyperactive, and combined-type ADHD — and how each one manifests. They can do this by collaborating with an ADHD expert with lived experience, seeking tailored training programs, or simply listening to colleagues with ADHD.

3. Clear Communication

To help people with ADHD stay focused and reduce overwhelm, simplify communication by summarizing key points and action items in emails. Use bullet points and highlight important information to make it quick and easy to access.

4. Visible Meeting Notes

During meetings, provide written notes or prompts. If the meeting takes place virtually, use the chat box function. This helps team members who might get flustered or need to refer to the discussion points.

[Read: DIY ADHD Accommodations for Your 9 to 5 Job]

5. Recording and Transcription Services

Recordings and transcripts of meetings can be invaluable for those with working memory challenges, allowing them to revisit the information as needed.

6. Flexible Working Hours

Some people with ADHD find they are more productive outside traditional work hours. Allowing flexible work times can maximize productivity and reduce mistakes.

7. A Balanced Perspective

When ADHD is called a “superpower,” I hear toxic positivity. Perceived strengths like creativity or resilience do not overshadow the real challenges that individuals with ADHD face; it’s important to acknowledge that it is a disabling condition with some inherently beneficial traits as well. A balanced perspective is essential for genuine inclusivity.

Supporting colleagues with ADHD in the workplace requires understanding and practical adjustments. Organizations can create a workplace where all employees thrive by promoting open communication, providing targeted training, and avoiding toxic positivity. The goal is to ensure everyone on the team feels valued and supported to do their best work.

Inclusion in the Workplace for ADHD: Next Steps

• Free Download: How to Manage Your Time at Work
• Read: How to Gauge Diversity, Equity & Inclusion — Key Questions to Ask in an Interview
• Read: The Real-Life Risks and Rewards of Disclosing ADHD at Work

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

How could time be so slippery? I went back and counted all the things I’d done earlier, because there surely had to be more accomplishments in my day. And there were — dishes, laundry, work tasks. Not bad — I’d assumed I’d only accomplished one thing, but I’d accomplished four, though three of those tasks could in no way account for all that time.

I went back through my day with a magnifying glass and — ah-ha! There they were! More accomplishments. Except these accomplishments were in the form of low-value but highly alluring distractions.

Was I mad at myself for wasting a precious Saturday? For once, I decided not to be.

A Guilt Trip Won’t Drive Me to Productivity Land

I looked down at the self-reproach stick I keep close at hand (if you have ADHD, you know the one) and flung it into the corner. Words came tumbling out of the stick and onto the floor. You shouldn’t have done what you did! How could you?!

[Read: “Shame Spiral Advice from the Counselor with ADHD Who Needs to Take Her Own Advice”]

I stepped on the words, squishing them. No mercy. Sometimes, we just need to be firm with our inner critical voices.

Instead of succumbing to self-reproach, I saw the opportunity to learn. I looked at how to prevent future Saturdays from looking like this Saturday.

I started by identifying what needed fixing and what needed encouraging, neither of which I could have done if I continued to harass myself over my missteps.

I decided to install a website blocker on my phone to deter me from reading the news, a big distractor. This worked for a while, and eventually it taught me that I don’t want to be looking at the news all day, anyway. These days, I don’t need the blocker. Instead, I purposely moved my news app four screens from the home screen. Every scroll to get there gives me a moment to mindfully pause and consider if I really want to read the news. The gap affords me the opportunity to choose better because I want to do better.

[Read: Silence Your Harshest Critic — Yourself]

I also set up a decent, doable game plan for my weekends. Instead of thinking I can get everything done, I now have a good balance of tasks. I don’t crack the proverbial whip — well, at least not as much as I did, or at least not as wickedly. I settle in and enjoy my work, task after task, and revel in crossing each one off my list. I acknowledge each completed task to myself, which fuels me on to the next thing.

Finally, I decided to program fun at the end of the day to reward myself. It’s not major – online puzzles before bed are very fun and simple treats, if I do say so.

All this, and no self-berating sticks, no “wasted” weekends. It’s such a luxury in comparison to the alternative. The pivot from being mad at myself to being happy with my progress is such a life-changer. The more I gently encourage small steps, one after the other, the more I’m rocking Saturdays like you won’t believe.

Feeling Guilty for Not Being Productive: Next Steps for ADHD Brains

• Free Download: Get Control of Your Life and Schedule
• Read: “Use Your Time Wisely by ‘Spending’ It with Intent”
• Read: Stop Dodging That Dreaded Task! 9 Ways to Halt Avoidance Procrastination

SUPPORT ADDITUDE
Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.

The ordeal hurts much more knowing that I have exclusively worked for places that center on addressing health disparities. While I never disclosed my ADHD diagnosis, I believe I still would have been met with discontent if I had, as my attempts to adjust processes and procedures to work with my brain were often met with annoyance. (Either way, it shouldn’t matter whether my disability was known; everyone works differently.)

Left in a Lurch

The more recent role placed me on a performance improvement plan just one month after I started. I was let go six months after my start date. I imagine that many neurodivergent individuals like myself know what it’s like to be on a PIP, and it’s not for a lack of skill or trying. If you ask us, these “plans” aren’t plans at all. Often missing from PIPs are tangible instructions and guidelines for helping us improve our skills.

[Get This Free Download: What to Ask Yourself to Find the Perfect Job]

One overarching thought I’ve had through all this is: How could my employers, who purport to pursue and create change to improve the lives of marginalized individuals, be so resistant to altering the way things are done? How could they be so intolerant of differences?

While these rejections have left me riddled with self-doubt and shame, I’ve been trying to reframe my experiences as opportunities to find a better fit. For now, I have found a new, part-time role in a different but adjacent field, though I’m not quite sure I’ve found my passion.

You’re Off to Great Places!

I’ve loved to write ever since childhood. I enjoy connecting with and helping others. Public relations seemed like a practical way to funnel these desires into a career.

I don’t know where my journey will take me, but I have brains in my head, feet in my shoes, and I’m armed with my ADHD diagnosis. Despite the bang-ups and hang-ups, I know one thing for certain: I’m going to continue to work hard and put my best foot forward. My mountain is waiting.

How to Get Over Being Fired for ADHD: Next Steps

• Free Download: Need Help Finding Your Passion? Use This ADHD “Brain Blueprint”
• Read: Surviving Performance Evaluations
• Read: “I Was So Worried About Getting Fired That My Anxiety Took Over… and I Got Fired for It”

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When ADHD comes to work, it can bring with it incredible creativity and resilience. It can also bring problems with focus, time management, organization, and task completion, which can affect on-the-job performance and future opportunities. It’s important to understand and recognize the common patterns and behaviors associated with ADHD in a work environment and develop strategies to enhance job productivity and satisfaction.

Tailored specifically for professionals with ADHD and their employers, this webinar offers a guide to implementing effective strategies for career success. Through expert insights and real-life case studies, this webinar will help attendees:

• Understand ADHD in the Workplace: Gain a deeper understanding of how ADHD traits impact professional life, including challenges related to focus, time management, organization, and task completion. Learn to recognize the common ADHD-related patterns and behaviors that could hamper success.
• Develop Self-Management Techniques: Explore proven strategies for self-regulation and time management tailored specifically for individuals with ADHD. Discover techniques for improving focus, prioritizing tasks, and overcoming procrastination to enhance productivity and job satisfaction.
• Adopt Organizational Strategies: Learn how to create a structured and supportive work environment conducive to success for individuals with ADHD. Explore methods for organizing tasks, managing distractions, and optimizing workspace layout to minimize cognitive overload and maximize efficiency.
• Explore Workplace Accommodations: Understand the importance of advocating for reasonable accommodations in the workplace to support individuals with ADHD. Gain insights into relevant frameworks and best practices for requesting and implementing accommodations that align with individual needs and preferences.
• Prioritize Stress Management and Self-Care: Explore practical techniques for managing stress and maintaining well-being while navigating the demands of professional life with ADHD. Learn to recognize early signs of burnout, establish healthy boundaries, and prioritize self-care to sustain long-term success.

Whether you’re a hard-working professional with ADHD or an employer committed to creating a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture, this webinar offers actionable insights and strategies to make sure neurodivergent employees reach their full potential and excel in their professional endeavors. Join us and unlock a world of possibilities!

Watch the Video Replay

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ADHD in the Workplace: More Resources

• Download: The Eisenhower Matrix for ADHD Decision-Making
• Read: How to Foster Neurodiversity in the Workplace
• Read: The Best Work Schedule for ADHD Brains — Flexible or Rigid?
• eBook: Getting Things Done with Adult ADHD

Obtain a Certificate of Attendance

If you attended the live webinar on July 23, 2024, watched the video replay, or listened to the podcast, you may purchase a certificate of attendance option (cost: $10). Note: ADDitude does not offer CEU credits. Click here to purchase the certificate of attendance option »

Meet the Expert Speaker

Cheryl Chase, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Independence, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. She specializes in the diagnostic and neuropsychological assessment of various conditions impacting children, adolescents, and young adults including ADHD, Learning Disorders, and emotional concerns. She is PSYPACT certified and able to serve clients from the 40 participating states. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Chase is also an accomplished international speaker, leading workshops on such timely topics as executive functioning, dyslexia/dysgraphia, and creative ways to support those who struggle in school. Finally, Dr. Chase serves as an adjunct instructor at several colleges in the Cleveland area. She is an active member of the International Dyslexia Association, the American Psychological Association, and Learning Disabilities Association of America. For more information, please visit ChasingYourPotential.com or her LinkedIn page.

Listener Testimonials

“Absolutely wonderful presenter!!”

“Extremely helpful webinar! I found many of the ideas/suggestions were very applicable to things that I struggle with on a daily basis.”

“I’m listening from South Africa. Thanks so much for such a powerful resource for someone in my remote position.”

“This was an excellent and informative session. I found myself smiling and recognizing myself. I so appreciated the tips on strategies for the workplace. I will be sharing these resources and video with our students who are going out on internships. Love, love, love this session!”

Webinar Sponsor

The sponsor of this ADDitude webinar is….

Does keeping track of your projects and deadlines feel impossible? Does your work often get derailed by little distractions? We’ve been there. Here at Inflow, we know that staying focused and productive at work can feel hopeless, but we’re here to help. Developed by leading ADHD clinicians, Inflow is a self-help program that uses CBT principles to teach effective strategies that help you stay on task and actually get stuff done. Get your ADHD score today to kick off your Inflow journey.

ADDitude thanks our sponsors for supporting our webinars. Sponsorship has no influence on speaker selection or webinar content.

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