Manage ADHD in the Office With These Productivity Hacks

ADHD affects over 15 million adults, or about 5% of the population. This means you likely have ADHD or work with someone who does. People with ADHD often struggle to pay attention, may fidget a lot, and sometimes act without thinking. These traits can make work harder. Distractions can derail tasks. Quick decisions might not be the best ones. Sitting at a desk all day can feel impossible.

That said, though, there are plenty of very successful individuals with ADHD who’ve managed to find workplace ADHD solutions that allow them to increase their focus, become productive members of their teams, and experience greater job satisfaction overall.

Fixing ADHD challenges helps everyone. It creates a happier, more united, and more productive team.

Understanding ADHD in the Modern Workplace

The challenges that the modern workplace poses for those with ADHD are myriad. According to the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder organization, adults with ADHD are already dealing with distractibility, impulsiveness, hyperactivity, poor memory, boredom, time management difficulties, and interpersonal challenges.

The modern workplace often worsens these problems, which hurts productivity. Think about it. The modern office is often an open plan, with lots of movement and noise. The average workplace expects you to sit quietly at your desk all day. There are near-endless unspoken rules to office interactions. These factors all disproportionately negatively affect those with ADHD.

However, those with ADHD do have some very stark advantages within the workplace. For example, according to Medical News Today, while those with ADHD may not be able to concentrate on things that don’t catch their interest, they can hyper-focus on things they find interesting, allowing them to complete deep work for hours at a time. They’re also often very creative and resilient, as well as energetic.

So, how can someone with ADHD leverage their unique advantages and work around their challenges? Here are a few productivity tips ADHD adults can use for better focus.

1. Design a Personal Workspace

Managing distractions isn’t always easy in the typical office layout. As such, workers with ADHD may want to rethink their workspace (and workplace leaders should help facilitate this as much as possible).

For example, perhaps you work in a private office or, if that’s not feasible, you work in an unused conference room. Maybe you work from home as needed, or if you must work in an open floor plan, you work in one of the quieter, low-traffic spots in the room.

Distractions in the workplace can be reduced by removing clutter and using organizational tools like drawer organizers and labels. To reduce noise, leaders can provide individuals with noise-canceling headphones.

2. Utilize Technology to Enhance Focus

Along those lines, you can form some very effective ADHD focus strategies by using technology at work. Apps like Forest and RescueTime can help you manage your time and track productivity, while platforms like Todoist and Trello can help you organize and prioritize tasks.

3. Use Time Management Techniques

Time management can be challenging for people with ADHD, but there are techniques that can help. For example, the Pomodoro Technique is very effective for anyone who works in an office.

The technique utilizes frequent breaks to increase concentration and productivity. For example, work for 25 minutes straight. No email, phone, or getting up from your desk. Then take a five-minute break where you do no work at all. Then, you repeat the process throughout the entire day.

Consider time blocking by dividing your day into blocks dedicated to specific tasks. For example, you have 30 minutes to respond to emails at the beginning of the day. Then, you have two hours to work on a client project. During those blocks, you only work on the scheduled task, nothing else.

4. Prioritize Tasks Effectively

If you’re distracted, knowing what to prioritize in the workday can be difficult. Try using the Eisenhower Matrix to identify the tasks that you should work on and when.

The Eisenhower Matrix has four “zones,” and you essentially categorize all of your tasks based on these zones. They are “Urgent and Important,” “Urgent and Not Important,” “Not Urgent and Important,” and “Not Urgent and Not Important.”

Urgent and important tasks are ones that must be completed soon and that are vital to your job; these must be completed first and should be prioritized. Not urgent and important tasks should be prioritized next; they’re tasks that are important to your goals but have no impending deadline. Meanwhile, urgent and unimportant tasks can usually be delegated, as while they need to be completed quickly, they’re not vital to your team’s success, and then non-urgent and non-important tasks should be discarded completely.

5. Use Mindfulness and Focus Exercises

Practicing mindfulness and meditation can help increase focus. For guided meditation sessions, try apps like Headspace or Calm. Mindfulness exercises — particularly breathing exercises — can be helpful in lowering stress levels, such as high stress from dealing with a frustrating work environment.

6. Set Boundaries with Technology

Last but certainly not least, distractions can be limited by setting boundaries with technology. Disable notifications on your laptop and phone so you can really focus on the tasks at hand. Better yet, practice tech-free times to reduce reliance on digital devices, such as not checking any tech devices as soon as you wake up in the morning and waiting until you get to the office to check your email.

The Bottom Line

With the right measures and a supportive work environment, everyone can thrive, regardless of individual challenges. These tips can help you use your ADHD strengths while reducing challenges.  Book your discovery call today and talk to one of our coaches to get started.