Thriving with ADHD in the Workplace: Your Office

Setting yourself up for success!

Author

Davida Fernandez
December 04, 2023

A note: I work a desk job and these are tips that have helped me. They may not be relevant if you are a professional contortionist or work in retail. Of course, not everything that works for me will work for you. Never be afraid to experiment to find your own magic sauce. And then share that sauce with the rest of us, OK? We’ll have a potluck.

TLDR (are these still a thing?)

  • Find your favorite gizmos and accoutrements

  • If possible, get a private and quiet place you can work

  • Noise-canceling headphones are your friend

  • Along with those fancy headphones, use audio-focusing apps like brain.fm (my personal fave), endel.io (also solid), focusatwill.com (never tried it)

  • Remove as much stuff as humanly possible from your physical desktop

  • Working from home is a blessing

  • Be sure you are comfortable and take breaks

  • Remember: ADHD is a recognized disability all around the word and many companies are required to provide reasonable accommodations (such as those noise-canceling headphones)

Office distractions are the arch-nemesis of efficiency. I have things to say on this topic, especially to those managers and executives who think returning to the office is going to increase productivity.

Desk visits and constant swivel-chair moments can sabotage your chances of getting into that sweet flow state. This can be true for everyone, not just our neuro-sparkly selves. The impact it has on our brains can be downright brutal, often making it feel like the day's a total write-off.

Read on for some tips and tricks that I have personally found useful to stave off the constant onslaught that is the workplace:

Gizmos and Accoutrements FTW

Visual timer

I have a visual timer that I use when I want to do some time blocking. It’s tick-tick-tick is loud enough for me to hear if it’s generally quiet, which weirdly keeps me on track. It has a loud alarm at the end which makes me jump every time. That part’s not so much a bonus.

It’s not a silver bullet. It doesn’t always work to keep me on track, but it is a tool I use often, especially if I have to concentrate on a specific task, such as writing this article.

A visual timer that's good for time blocking your day.

Mine’s not purple. You probably don’t care. I mean, I wouldn’t. But it is good to know that they come in every color under the sun, including rainbow!

Large newsprint pad

The latest addition to my desk has been a giant newsprint pad like you can get at almost any craft store. Luckily my desk set up allows for the largest size. It means I can take rapid notes, capture those eureka moments before they go poof, to-dos, off-the-cuff mindmaps, or just doodle and make colorful marks with the art supplies I keep at my fingertips. One sheet lasts for many days and when it fills up or gets too messy for my tism, I turn it over or start a fresh sheet.

Honorable mentions:

A drawer full of your favorite fidgets

I have a desk drawer with a dedicated (and mindless) knitting project for those days full of endless Zoom meetings. I also have some of my favorite fidget toys in there.

Frixion pens

I literally cannot live without these. Lit-er-ally. Picture Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger. I like writing tidy notes. Typos and stray marks drive me up the wall and the ability to thoroughly erase mistakes makes my life so much happier. Plus they come in some great colors.

Do Not Enter!

Creating a work area that is comfortable and quiet can help nurture concentration and focus. Check if your company will provide a secluded spot, such as an out-of-the-way cubicle or, better yet, an office with a door. A door that you can close. Maybe even a door you can close and decorate with a “Keep Out” sign that you steal from your teen.

AI generated image of a mythical teenager's bedroom door with a Do Not Enter sign on it.

This is what ChatGPT thinks your probably-fictional teen’s door looks like.

Shhhhh

To block out noise, consider investing in some decent sound-canceling headphones. Or better yet, see if your company can invest in them for you! The secret sauce for me is noise-canceling earphones plus an audio-focusing app like brain.fm. Although I will say that Spotify has some good options these days, too.

Keep it clean

Try to keep your work area well-organized and free from distractions (I know I know I know). But truly, I have been going through an aggressive downsizing kick lately and my desk has almost nothing on it now, which means it has three times more stuff than most people, but to me it is downright stark! For instance, instead of 3 cups full of colorful pens I now keep two pens on the desk along with my notebook. And honestly, it has helped. (No I didn’t downsize my pens. Are you joking?? I just relocated them to a drawer.)

The Work From Home Edition

I am blessed in that I have been working from home since 2008, long before you-know-what changed the business landscape (and the entire world). Working from home has a lot of benefits for the neurodiverse. Aside from no commute, my favorite perks include laying face down on the floor with my dog to recover from that email that took the better part of an hour to compose, eating lunch over the sink like a filthy animal, and, if it’s an “on” day, popping a load of laundry in.

And yes, you can wear your pajamas all day if you feel like it.1 Sorry, I do NOT subscribe to the concept that you can’t productive in your pajamas. I’m living proof. In fact, I would argue I’m most productive when I’m in my comfy PJs, on the couch, and laser-focused on my laptop screen to the exclusion of, well, everything. Even my bladder.2

Remember that office door? Do you have a spare room in your house with a door that you can close? Excellent. That’s your office. Even if it’s really a closet. Actually a closet is probably a bad idea. I’ve heard letting daylight hit your eyeballs is important. If you can, find a room in your house that gets plenty of natural light during the day. A light therapy light does wonders for me, too.

Now you are ready to slip into the warm bubbly bath that is known as hyperfocus.

Write back to me with some of your favorite ways to increase your engagement and productivity at work! If I get enough of them I can share them in a future newsletter!

- Davida

1 Somebody please design a line of pajamas that look like business casual work clothes for virtual meetings. Do you know of any? Let me know!

2 I had a wonderful colleague for many years who would slack me a couple of times a day with a simple message: Go pee. I miss her.


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