I have been having many conversations both in person and online about living and succeeding as an ADHD professional. What I’ve found is that a lot of ADHD adults think they’re somehow broken, and we don’t share info with each other very effectively. I know I have received feedback that I could not be successful because of some of my coping mechanisms. These are statements made by people with little understanding.  I can’t claim to have all the answers, but I’ve learned a few things in the past [some number] of years and I thought I’d gather my thoughts here.  

Before I get started, some context: I am female (which I mention because it matters when it comes to how ADHD exhibits). I was what you call a “gifted kid”—generally considered to be of high intelligence (for all that IQ is worth). I was diagnosed while in college, and I am now mid-career with a relatively senior position.  I have informally coached and/or compared notes with both employees and other professionals with these issues. I am in Information Technology. I am not a medical or psychological professional and nothing I say should be considered to be medical advice of any kind.  I’m sharing observations, experiences, and opinions. And always, as it says on the label, these thoughts are unpolished.

Being ADD or ADHD is a type of neurodivergence.  According to Dr. Nick Walker “neurodivergence is not intrinsically positive or negative, desirable or undesirable.” Even within the diagnoses of ADD and ADHD, there is significant neurodiversity — meaning that we have different patterns and the thing that works for one of us may not work for all of us.

Also, the vast majority of medical and psych research over the years in this area have been on adolescent and pre-adolescent males, largely white males. ADHD exhibits differently in girls, women, and adults. I don’t have enough information to know how it may exhibit differently in people of color, though in my experience taking narrow research and trying to apply it broadly is not particularly effective.  I had symptoms as a kid, but my mother was told that I could not have ADHD because of the way I was able to focus on some tasks.  Today we know that hyperfocus on preferred tasks is a hallmark of ADHD behaviors.

So, here are some things I’ve learned:

  • Our processes may look chaotic to others.  That doesn’t mean that others are right and we are wrong.  Neurodivergent brains can’t use neurotypical tactics and be successful. Learn to explain. Also learn when you need to translate your process to an ordered format in order to communicate your result.
  • We work in bursts, rather than at steady rates. ADHD people can be very effective thinkers, amazing team members, and high producers, but it happens in rapid bursts, and requires taking downtime between. Eight hours of meetings in an eight hour day is rarely effective for anyone, but it’s a real issue for an ADHD person.
  • Time and task management doesn’t work for us like it does for others.  Most popular task management methods are designed by and for neurotypical males, and we need to account for the refocusing time we need due to interruptions and task switching.
  • Environment matters.  Balancing interactive time and quiet time and being able to both block out distractions and not fall too deep into hyperfocus holes are critical. 
  • There’s more than one kind of drug.  Stimulant drugs don’t work for everyone. There are non-stim options like Strattera which work for some.  There are also many anti-depressants and other brain drugs which have ADHD-related off-label uses.
  • Drugs are not the answer for everyone. Some people can use a measured stream of caffeine. Others can use tactics and manage their environment.
  • Your food choices, supplements, sleep, and stress management are huge. Remember that your body essentially has a single pool of resources to manage your focus, stress, and any physical stressors—many ADHD individuals have additional conditions as well. You need to keep that pool as big as it can be which means managing your sleep, your downtime/recharging activities, and your nutrition. Some of us try to run on sugar—don’t fall into that trap. And as I’ve been known to say, serotonin debt is real.
  • Managing your focus pool is critical. You’ve got to choose ruthlessly about where you spend your focus.
  • Preferred tasks are an ADHD standard. We over-invest on things we like to do, and ignore or postpone other tasks. You either need to choose a job that leans to your preferred tasks, or find a way to focus on things that aren’t. For me, it’s about desiring an outcome and then doing what it takes to achieve it.
  • There are adult and professional coaches, as well as therapists, that specialize in ADHD. Keep in mind that unless a coach is either ADHD or trained in tactics to understand how our brains our wired, their advice may not be applicable.
  • It doesn’t matter how old you are—age, new roles, and desire to improve and advance as a person and a professional may mean you need help, drugs, or a change in tactics at different points in your life. For me, as I’ve moved up, I’ve had to rethink—you can’t direct other people’s work if you can’t present an organized vision.

I may explore some of these statements in detail on future posts if people are interested, but the point is this: it’s okay to need different things, to work in different patterns, and to need different organization. We add a lot of value. We see connections and patterns others don’t. We have significant creative potential. Often, ADHD people are highly intelligent and will find new innovations. However, in order to be successful we both need to know how to manage ourselves, and our relationships with our colleagues and our management. And we need to work in organizations that will accept our needs and value our contributions.