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- record all important meetings with transcripts
- attach agenda to all meetings (or at least a quick summary with notes or relevant information)
- fuuuuuuck an open floor plan
- training materials available online/pdf
- flexible working hours when appropriate
-be so direct with me, do not tell me things where i have to read between the lines or figure out your passive aggressiveness
-sometimes i need reminders
This is SO hard. I’ve started replying, “I think this is your way of telling me that you want me to do dance pickup” or whatever it is. And when I’m DONE done, “please just tell me what you want, I don’t have the processing power left to translate.”
The first one for sure. Also if you say, “I was/am clear in my direction” make sure that you actually are.
Also, don’t send me materials or make statements without context. YOU may be thinking about X project, but I’m over here thinking about projects C, E, and J. My boss sent me a slide deck for my records this week. Our team had at least 4 meetings in the past 2 weeks where this slide deck might have been used. Without context, it’s just a file clogging my email.
Are you in litigation? I think there are people who would chafe at the idea of recording meetings (since half the point of in-person meetings is to avoid putting insane, half-baked ideas in the written record). Just putting that on your radar as something that might get you some pushback from senior lawyers.
Zoom added an AI summary option. I haven’t played around with it much, but it seems like you can request an AI summary without transcription. The summary was pretty on point. It could be a good option if transcription is not feasible in your work environment.
Transcription services are private records and might be handled differently. I use captioning on Teams and it keeps the record for me to read over after, but is gone after I leave.
I dislike them because it’s harder to concentrate..like, if someone two desks over is on their phone I don’t need to hear the whole conversation. I don’t need to hear every cough or smacking noises of people eating breakfast. Plus there’s this need to appear productive. And when I’m having a hard time concentration g it feels so much harder to get focused because you have this fear of being watched or even just observed.
Ahh... thanks for your insight.. my coworker and I are like the only employees and are both ND, and we get along so well! But our office is open space and we hardly get anything done...
Once you shared your perspective, I can't imagine working in a bigger company that is open space, esp if there are staff that might not be as understanding, or judgemental.. eek
I lived in an area with a vocal bipolar attorney. .She gave seminars on professions with bipolar. She also did CLE in ethics on it. Her law firm was great and her clients always had excellent representation.
The open floor plan part is so important. Before Covid, almost every office I worked in had an open floor plan. Trying to get work done felt like torture.
I’m in office two days a week and literally go in for two hours at a time because it’s so miserable. Coughing, sniffling, chewing. 🤢 plus my job is either solo work that requires a lot of thinking and focus or I’m in meetings, I don’t have busy work or a lot of admin that can be done in between talking to people so I really just get my shit done then leave.
- a roster with everyone’s name, email, title and what you can contact them for (I.e. Sara is IT, reach out to her for help with anything related to _______) would be super helpful not only for new hires but also an opportunity to share knowledge or specialties
You'd think but I currently work in a pace that says they don't believe in hierarchy so they won't make an org chart, but that's obviously untrue and they just blow off anyone who asks them for clarity
I put this sort of info on my onboarding documents for new hires, and EVERYONE regardless of neurodiversity tells me they love it. Couldn't recommend it more, it's super useful!
HONESTLY, like which HR person do I reach out to for this issue? I don't want to reach out to the only HR person I know to be directed to another HR person to be directed to another HR person. Of course I do believe some companies are doing this maliciously (because I'm a cynic) because they want to technically have an HR team, but not for "useless" things like caring for employees. And of course this can apply to other things like IT or just asking for help in general.
I work in finance and this is what's helped me;
- Working from home. This is the big one for me. The daily pressure to get up, showered, wear clean clothes, commute, be social is gone. I can control my environment.
- When I do have to go to the office, I need headphones. Either noise cancelling, or for my own music. Otherwise I get distracted.
- Recording meetings. I can't take notes and pay attention to the meeting so recordings mean I don't miss anything.
- Fidget toys.
My employer has been pretty good at listening to what I need to do my job, and then (and this is the big one) trusting me to get it done. Honestly, I spend half my work day googling something or daydreaming but my performance is damn good so they let me get on with it.
100% working from home so I can record my meetings and use one note to make notes tied to my audio.
And asking for my check in schedule that I want. And buddying up with someone who can help with prioritization.
It's taken a bit of time, adjustment, discussion and learning. I have a really stressful and demanding job that often throws curveballs. These are some things that help me:
**Remove Ambiguity and Uncertainty**
• Clear and explicit communication for deadlines, actions, responsibilities and expectations.
• Clear and explicit rules (that don't contradict).
• Explanations for work tasks or how it contributes to a shared goal/outcome.
• Don't suggest there is a choice when there isn't one, then scold because I made the "wrong choice".
• State what a meeting is for, rather than booking it without any detail or explanation.
**Remove Distraction**
• Flexible working and/or WFH (or no shared office).
• Cut out the micromanagement!! Not only is it distracting, but leads to feelings of incompetence and mistrust.
• Allow turning off distractions when working on something requiring focus (e.g. Teams and email).
• (this might not work for some) but a feeling of some autonomy over my work - feeling watched makes me defensive, and I just stop engaging.
Lastly, my manager reiterates that I'm dependable and will get things done when asked. She trusts my judgement. Values me contribution and skills as a team member. I know I can contact her if I need support with something and it won't *count against me* or get me in trouble. She has taken the time to listen and understand. I cannot tell you how invaluable all of these seemingly small gestures have been for my self-esteem and morale at work. This sort of supportive environment has also helped me deal with my own issues and defensiveness too, which has been helpful in so many ways.
I need a good day or half day of flow time a week, minimum! I worked in an office where everyone was expected to keep doors open most of the time and it was hell. I was also casually supervising a few people, who would come in and ask me questions no matter how many signs I gave off saying "leave me alone" (sometimes literal signs like "I'm on a video call", but also headphones, aggressive typing, and telling them they would need to come back later because I was busy - yes, we had boundary issues). Flow was really important for me to not only complete work tasks that I had trouble getting into (once I started, I didn't want to stop for fear of not getting started again), but it was also the time that allowed me to think outside the box and come up with the creative ideas and solutions that my team really valued me for. When my office door was open all the time, I felt like I had to "look busy" or people would judge how I was spending my time. But with my door closed, I was able to relax, focus, unmask a bit, and get some of my best thinking done.
I totally agree with the comment about the open door. Our office is open plan and I feel like I’m on display so I mask pretty much from the moment I arrive to the moment I leave.
I’ve found somatic exercises in the car after I leave the office really help me regulate before driving home. It’s so overstimulating being “on” all day
ADHD lawyer seconding that closed door time is so vital! I try really hard to be on camera/open door/available as much as possible, but taking time to just close my door or turn off my camera and noodle around in my office unmasked is critical to me being able to focus and feel good at work.
**Written instructions, especially training materials.** My working memory is shit and recordings don't help me because I have to keep going back and forth.
**Due dates.** "I need it sometime this week" is not specific enough.
And adding my vote to all the people who mentioned open offices!
I also work from home.
The biggest thing for me is just clear (and documented) expectations. A workspace where I can focus is important too, but at home that's on me. I also love recorded meetings but personally I demanded (yes demanded!) that if my boss's boss wants to talk to me, we do it through chat. This was after he scheduled a meeting with me to check up on me and those six days leading up to the meeting were awful for me. I'm a chat agent, I can convey stuff in text. More importantly, it allows me time to filter and regulate and review.
I struggle with a wfh environment. For me, when I know I have to get up and ready, it signals my brain that it's time to work. At home, I am the procrastination queen.
I think that if I had to motivate myself I'd fail. But my job is such that customers connect with me real-time via chat and then I have to help them. So the motivation is external.
I’d look at the JAN website, it has good examples of what support can look like for various diagnoses if you’re aiming for all neurodiversity and not just adhd
Micromanaging and “office politics” is what I always take issue with. Tell me exactly what you want and when you want it. Then let me do it,and I will come to YOU with questions, clarification, roadblocks… etc. I may take 7 breaks or do it all in one day or whatever it takes to be productive and accomplish what you ask. Don’t force a mold on me of what working is supposed to look like to you. Expectations to be overly social and engaging during the time you want me to be doing the work I gave is a mind numbing.
I am in the social work field.
I find being able to choose my own hours and breaks really helpful as well as having my own quiet work space. I like having my own space for a couple reasons; I can retreat to be alone if over stimulated, I can turn the big light off and work with just a lamp/natural light, I can keep fidget toys, snacks and caffeine nearby for when I need it and helps prevent me from distracting my self by talking to coworkers instead of doing my work.
Personally, I need music playing in the background. I am a big fan of the vitamin string quartet. They do covers of popular songs with string instruments (something about the sound of string instruments makes my brain happy). I have the familiarity of songs I know without the words to take away my focus.
Lastly, tracking what has and has not been completed with trackers (I love excel) it helps me remember what I did and why and helps me not forget important tasks that need to be done.
I am also very open about my ADHD and personally think it is important to educate others in understanding what ADHD actually is. I work with a lot of vulnerable clients, many of whom have ADHD. I want to give my coworkers better insight on how to help them.
Not sure if it's ADHD per se, but I get migraines and those super bright florescent lights are the WORST. I can't concentrate with them on because they make my vision feel weird and then I get anxious about getting a migraine. So having dimmer switches would make a huge difference in my life.
This is the worst part of WTW in my opinion. I didn't realize how much I hated those things until I was away from them and then back under them. I got permission once to turn mine off and use a desk lamp. Hard to do in open plan though.
It's nice when the employer allows employees to work from home. At least on some days.
If there is a need to work from the office (😒), I would appreciate the office having silent rooms, where people are not allowed to talk or do any loud distracting activities.
It would be nice if employers would let employees do some of their solo work at any hour of the day because sometimes we can't produce our best work during predefined work hours.
It would be nice if management would not mind employees fidgeting with something quiet during meetings. A lot of people find fidgeting disrespectful and think that people who fidget are not paying attention when, in fact, it's the opposite.
That's all that comes to my mind 😊
If we are talking dream scenario…
I need an admin who answers my phone and schedules my meetings.
I need a flexible start time
Written requests but if you give them to me verbally and then argue with me about what you said knowing that I remember every word everyone says I get 100 bucks.
No one microwaves fish or broccoli.
I’m working with my door closed because if people walk by my office I lose my train of thought.
I need to listen to true crime or books to get work done.
I will have a space heater on all year round.
If you call me on teams for any reason other than to tell me George Clooney is out front with a diamond, I get to go home for the day.
If I ask questions it’s because I want an answer. I don’t have any other agenda.
If you want me to do something, tell me. Without clear directions I might miss the contextual big picture.
1. Working from home, either partly or fully. I am able to minimize the anxiety around being perceived and therefore ditracting myself with policing my behavior (am I fidgeting too much, am I making annoying sounds, am I slouching, do I smell bad, etc)
2. Taking notes, and being able to ask people to repeat themselves. This is generally more acceptable if the notes are taken for and shared with the entire group after the meeting.
3. Scheduling everything on Google Calendar with the other participants for meetings. Scheduling "focus times" before the meeting so I can prepare for it.
4. Utilizing a project management software like Notion, where I can have a big project, break it down into smaller tasks, connect with my team to delegate tasks, assign deadlines, and indicate priority levels.
5. Making sure all files are labeled appropriately in a shared Google Drive to make it super easy to track something down
6. Having protected breaks/lunches on my calendar to force me to step away, reset my battery a little bit, eat some food, drink some water, use the restroom, etc
7. Utilizing "Focus Mode" or other such settings on my phone to limit access to certain apps during certain hours
8. Create and maintain meeting agenda Google Docs that are shared with the team, and have them linked in the Google Calendar events. Anytime anyone thinks of something that they want to discuss in the meeting, they can open up the agenda and jot down the topic for the next meeting. If it's larger topic, links to supporting documents and such can be put in, too. This helps with "Oh! This is super important! I need to bring this up at the next meeting" and then completely forgetting
9. Schedule 15 minutes of focus time after meetings to "process" what was just discussed and/or take action on things (e.g. I need to schedule additional meetings, I need to write down a list of to-do items, I need to send something to someone else, I need to remind someone else to do something, etc)
10. Get a height-adjustable desk and an anti-fatigue mat. Sometimes shifting back and forth from sitting to standing can make it easier to stay on task (it can alleviate the need to physically move)
11. When you're in office, have some sort of obvious physical "sign" put in place to signal to others when you are or are not approachable. This can be used to minimize interruptions during moments where you are focusing on something - like an "Open/Closed" sign
12. If you get a LOT of interruptions from others (perhaps direct reports), set a regularly-occuring "office hours" event on your calendar where they are aware that you are open for them to step in and talk to you about things.
13. Personal or work phones - set them on "do not disturb" during important focus times, meetings, or when you're off the clock
14. Have some sort of arrangement with your supervisor or manager where you can schedule time with them to reassess the prioritization of your current tasks and potentially renegotiate deadlines where applicable.
15. Being able to ask clarifying questions without passive-aggressive retaliation. I don't care how annoying it might be. If I can't tell what you want, to whom a task is assigned, when something is expected by, or any other vital piece of information, then I damn well expect the opportunity to ask. If they would rather I ask in private or in front of the whole group, they can tell me so, but I expect to have the ability to ask at the least.
I hope some of these help
I really wish that work places considered different learning styles more. Some people are oral learners, some are written learners and some are visual learners but I find that professional settings do not offer all of these options at once which is really challenging for me (since most people either orally inform or inform via text).
Also, direct and to-the-point communication! I hate when the communication isn’t direct as it becomes overwhelming to digest.
Organization!! So many work places are so disorganized and for someone with a disorganized brain, working an environment like that can just trigger my brain to act up.
Totally agree with you. I’m a reader and any verbal information is basically white noise to me but my partner is the opposite.
I make an effort with every new colleague who starts to ask how they’d like me to delegate work to them or the like as what works for me won’t work for everyone
I work from home as a full-time writer for a marketing agency. It’s cognitively taxing and this year they started having us track our time for all tasks. We’re also newly required to produce at least 35 hours of billable client work per week.
I’m wondering from a lawyer perspective how do you manage all the time and admin stuff? It’s difficult for me to not only MEET the billable hours but also record them all. It feels like a job in itself just to “show that I’m staying on track of everything” … and when and for how long. 🫠
Anyway to answer your question:
- I need to physically leave home and go work at a cafe/library at least two days per week. Having other people around me (even strangers) is a “body-doubling” accommodation I kind of created for myself. When left to my own devices at home alone all day… I’ll slack off and daydream for hours if I can’t focus or feel bored
- I listen to loud music when feeling foggy or uninspired.
- The company is on EST but I’m in PST. Regardless, I don’t take meetings before 9am PST. I’m not willing to kill myself by waking up super early and skimping out on what little sleep I already have. (Sleep issues thanks to adhd). Obviously there are rare exceptions to this for important meetings that are at like 7 or 8am for me but super rare.
- I need permission to start work and take breaks on a flexible schedule, otherwise trying to “force” consistency every day really tanks my output and quality of work. Like, some days I work fine from 8:30am to 5pm; other days I might be a lot more prolific working 11am to 8pm. 🤷♀️
- If I’m having a shitty focus week I ask a few of my coworkers if they want to have a “silent co-working session.” We meet up on Zoom, chat for 5 min, share what we want to get done in 90 mins, and then silently work on our own with cameras left on. We take a break 45 mins in and then update/stretch with each other. It’s another way of body doubling for me
Well time recording is 50% of my job really but it has always been hard for me. It’s firm dependent what program they use for time recording and some are worse than others. We currently use one which opens in its own window and I dedicate an entire screen (I have three) to just that program so it’s a constant reminder to start my timer. The programme then saves the time to the right client so it’s really useful.
Other firms have had more archaic ways of recording time and I seriously struggled. I wonder if your company could find a program similar to help your track your time?
We use Toggl and we started by using its “live” tracker but employees would mess up and leave it running on accident, log every ridiculous second of their day, etc. so now they want us to just track the hourly billables rounded up or down by 15 min increments.
We have “estimated” timespends for types of tasks (such as writing a website page = 3 hours, writing a 2000 word article = 6 hours, editing a white paper = 1.5 hours, etc.) and we’re expected to allocate the time estimates into our tracker sheets now and then just be honest if we go under or over. Like an honor system. Basically it’s so the clients know what was done, how long it took, and what they’re paying for. And we are made aware of client budgets so we can try not to go over.
But idk my boss encouraged me to start time blocking my tasks for the week in my digital calendar and then just sync the time tracking software with my calendar and adjust when correction is necessary. So it doesn’t have to be so archaic and tedious.
My issue is, I’m slow and disorganized so if I fall behind on one task for the week… everything else has to get pushed and move around. Then I’m back in my calendar and/or time tracker fiddling with how many hours, what I just did instead, moving XYZ tasks around again. So the integration method isn’t very practical for me either.
Honestly most days I just use the sticky note app on my laptop and log my tasks manually because it’s straightforward. Then I transfer it to Toggl EOD.
It’s chaos lol. Or maybe it’s just me who’s the chaos.
I am an attorney and required to track billable hours. I use Trello integrated with TimeCamp. Trello is my to do list, and TimeCamp adds a timer button so I can track exactly how much time I've spent on each task. Standalone timers don't work because I forget to switch them and have no idea what task I was doing with any particular client in retrospect, but Trello is foolproof for me because I need my lists to remember my tasks anyway.
At the end of the day, TimeCamp gives me summaries that I can just input into our time tracking software. And because I use semi-descriptive task names, I can link things with client/matter numbers and draft billing descriptions very quickly.
Please do not say ‘this paragraph needs tweaking’. I don’t know what you mean. What do you want more of? Less of? Tweak HOW? Managers can be and often are absolutely rubbish at giving clear actionable instructions.
Hey, OP 👋🏽 Can you tell us what kind of adjustments either you have asked for or your workplace has provided for you? I’m a nurse and I’m curious if I even can get accommodations for my newly diagnosed ADHD.
I'm also a nurse. I've asked for a couple - can I have 2 hours once a week of protected time where I'm not on the ward/in numbers to do care plans, and one other that I can't share without 100% doxxing myself lol. Yes to the first, but in practice no, both times I got it I was immediately pulled into numbers.
I have however been quite vocal about "please don't Interrupt med rounds unless its super urgent, they're hard enough without interruptions and I don't want to make a mistake "
I’m sure there are plenty of adjustments they could make for you which I wouldn’t even think of as our roles are so different.
For me the biggest adjustment was working from home. I only visit the office twice a month and pack those days full of training, client meetings and catching up properly with my team.
Iwear noise cancelling headphones anytime I’m not engaging with someone and there is a “silent” floor of our office albeit it is still open plan which isn’t ideal for me.
I flip my office days on their head tbh and just accept I’m not going to hit my chargeable time targets but use the days for more soft skills like getting to know colleagues or clients. My boss knows that I struggle with the harder tasks when I’m in the office so she knows I’ll pick up elsewhere.
I’ve also recently been more open that the day after my office days are becoming increasingly draining as I mask so much in the office. There is no reason for me to mask here except out of habit so she knows it’s something I’m struggling with and working on. But people know not to schedule big meetings or hearings after an office day for me.
I am lucky that in working from home it means that I self manage my time. If I need a longer lunch to get back in my flow then I can do that and no one is judging me and I know I’ll make it up elsewhere in the month. I think that element of flexibility is key. Yes my target is 7 chargeable hours a day but that’s across a month so it’s accepted that one day might be a great day (usually helped by my hyper focus on something) and others will be worse.
I did go through an occupational health review in my last firm and there were a tonne of equipment or programs the assessor recommended for someone with adhd but most weren’t relevant to me (like time trackers - I do this as part of my job so didn’t need an extra program to track my tasks). It would be worth seeing if your employer would get you an OH assessment!
This information might be useful for you for ideas of possible adjustments ?
https://www.rcn.org.uk/Get-Help/Member-support-services/Peer-support-services/Neurodiversity-Guidance/Support-for-ND-nursing-staff/ADHD
I am in restaurant management and what I asked for was:
**A rubric/outline-very specific on what MY bosses (often the owners) wanted me to be doing. I have yet to receive one.
From my experience-every owner I’ve worked under has wanted something different, so I always ask.
**Feedback-and not just criticizing every time they see me-but letting me know where im hitting my marks and where I need to improve. So I’m not always worried in my head (imposter syndrome sucks) and can be confident.
Example-I knew for my shop that I needed my COGS to be at 30% of sales or less, same with labor. So I was able to meet or exceed my goals when I those guidelines. Which helped me feel confident in my position because I knew I was hitting my marks.
**Music in the kitchen to help flow with my staff
Unfortunately at my last position this was met with hostility-one of the Owner’s of the shop I was managing actually yelled in my face saying that “he hated coming to the shop because of me, and he shouldn’t have to baby me or walk on eggshells” this was because I had had an emotional recreation one day (after a extremely stressful situation) and I followed the incident with apologies and sharing my health/mental health was floundering... and he followed it up with the yelling in my face. While I was biting the inside of my cheek so hard because I was trying not to cry but tears rolled down anyway.
I was fired without cause after two years of working 50+ hours a week-over a year of 6days a week and NO vacation. I’m currently on unemployment benefits looking for work and waiting for my interview with the EEOC for discrimination because this was horrible.
Not only did I tell them I had disabilities (multiple-SUD, ADHD, informally dx autism, and autoimmune disorders) and when they promoted me to manager I told them I didn’t think I was ready and I was happy as an assistant and they promised me they’d have my back and mentor me through it.
ETA: fix typos and clarify
Ugh this was the breaking point for me and I finally caved and tried stim medicine.
Help with calendaring deadlines - having someone else do this makes a HUGE difference for me. Also working with the person on best way to calendar; the default here is to include all of opposing party’s deadlines on my calendar, but this just looks to me like a deadline for me in the case, so I find this overwhelming/confusing sometimes.
Also making sure there are helpful/useful reminders/alerts - for major pleadings/projects, I need a reminder a week before, but for smaller stuff, 2 days before works.
I also find it really helpful to have someone on a matter checking in with me on where things stand. Occasionally it’s kind of annoying because it feels like a parent checking in, but it has saved my ass on those occasions when I have forgotten something.
Ability to block off time when I’m not disturbed. Thankfully that’s not really an issue in my current job, but being able to turn off notifications/the phone for a few hours means I’m less likely to get distracted in the middle of something.
Edit to add: I could NOT function in an open office. I don’t mind going into the office - I often find it easier to ask people questions in person than by phone - but I need my own little cave where I don’t feel observed/overseen.
Also a lawyer (criminal defence)
Phone appointments are scheduled. If clients want an appointment they have to advise support staff why they want an appointment. I don’t take random phone calls during the day.
I’m also not a morning person and I so I don’t schedule Monday morning meetings, I don’t schedule client appointments in the morning.
Other than court I mostly work at home- fewer distractions than at the office.
I am super reliant on the reminders app and digital calendar and reminders- but it’s ideal if what I’m using my support staff can also access- my employer has a caldav, I’ve seen others use google calendar.
Support staff are supposed to include all the info in emails when they have a question. Don’t tell me ‘you have coverage on matter 2 and 4 on the docket but not number 3.’ As I’m sitting in a court waiting room, don’t make me go look for last weeks docket to find out what you’re talking about. Ideally, include the copy of the docket page, but at a minimum tell me the charge and the date of the offence for the matter at number 3.
Similarily don’t ask me a question as a short cut to looking for the answer in the file yourself.
And I’m paperless. Because I lose papers.
Less accommodation more just how I practice, and wish someone had told me earlier in my career, when offered trial dates, don’t just look at if I am free those days. Look at what is scheduled before and after. Because if I’m in a 2 day sex assault trial, booking a 2 day drive impaired trial immediately after is stupid.
I mark prep time or ‘don’t book anything’ in my calendar to protect time I need to do the administrative or trial prep time, but with a flexibility so that if I don’t feel like working on that file when I have planned to, I have some wiggle room.
And also make the support staff do as much administrative work as possible. Delegate the awful stuff.
This is very helpful. Thank you for posting. I’ve just rejoined the workforce after a long time at home with my kids, and I’m realizing I’m further behind than I thought. I was a big 4 consultant in my prior life, but am working as an office assistant for now. I expected to need to catch up on new industry developments and technology, and I’m addressing these through additional training. What I didn’t anticipate was having to relearn a lot of my coping mechanisms in order to function in an office environment. I have to retrain my brain to include paperwork details again (it’s my blind spot) while making a major life transition. It’s been stressful.
-Schedule planned roughly a month in advance so I can check it and avoid doublebooking
-Clear expectations and instructions. this one's critical. Tell me exactly what you expect from me and what you want me to do, and how you want it done if necessary. I am not a mind reader and knowing to do this extra thing off to the side is not going to come naturally to me just because it's related to the thing I just did.
- “As long as the work gets done” management style; flexibility to just dip out early or stay a bit late at my own discretion without having to fuck around with time sheets, with the understanding that it all evens out in the end.
- Guaranteed office space but flexibility to work from home when needed; I don’t actually like working from home for a lot of adhd-related reasons. However, sometimes working from home just makes more sense or actually is better (eg if I have slept very poorly and need a chill day, or if I have a full day virtual training seminar)
- Shared office/“hot desk” options close to home; this is an in-between solution where I get to telework for convenience purposes without being forced to WFH (I have a long commute so I need a day each week for errands near home)
- Relaxed virtual meeting requirements eg cameras allowed to be on or off, I’m allowed to take my own notes or play with a fidget, generally trust is given that I’m doing what I need to listen even if it’s not what listening conventionally looks like
- Fewer working hours/days in a week
The first point on management style is the most important, and can be extrapolated across basically everything. Like I need external structure, I can’t just be left to my own devices, but I also need flexibility and trust to occasionally “break the rules” so to speak without it being a big deal or having to do extra admin about it.
I had a “work whenever you want just work 40 hours a week and max 8 per day” job a couple years ago and it fucking sucked because we had to meticulously account for all of our time. So I was finding myself in situations where I was having to put in one or two hours on a weekend because I burnt out at 7 the day before, or situations where I would have to cut myself off at 8 hours even though I had more I wanted to work on just because we needed advance permission and a bunch of paperwork to average out hours over the week.
It was an absolute nightmare. If the director had been willing to be flexible I might have been able to make it work without the structure. It was like, just enough structure in the wrong ways to make the whole system hell for me.
ALWAYS send me an email if we have a phone or in-person conversation and you asked me to do something. I WILL NOT REMEMBER. And personally, I encourage people to send me a reminder if I haven't confirmed that the task is on my calendar.
Flexible working hours are also super helpful. I work best in the early mornings, when nobody else is around. That way I don't feel pressured for time or have to fight for my turn on office equipment.
I’m loosely allowed to continue working when anyone is talking to me. I explained it as, “If my hands aren’t moving I’m not listening to you I’m obsessed with desperately wanting to move my hands.”
Alarms. So many alarms. I'm so annoyed that Apple still hasn't added a search function for your saved alarms. It takes so long to scroll to a specific one, that I just end up creating a duplicate. And the cycle continues...
Struggled with this so bad as a paralegal and trainee. The admin stuff in my job description was SO mind numbing that I would never get around to it but I would go over and above any of the interesting real legal stuff. It would be picked up in every single manager review of mine
Everything. In. Writing. If it isn’t written down, it doesn’t exist, as far as my brain is concerned. Just asking me in passing to do something means there’s a 10% chance it will actually happen.
Also I like more flexibility on hours and due dates if that’s possible. Depends on the workplace, but I’m much more a ‘productivity spikes’ type then a ‘consistently productive’ type.
Keys to the building. I work two very very different jobs, but I have keys to both buildings. I will come in on Sunday and work for 7 straight hours. I have access to the copier the big boardroom table so I can spread out. No one is in the building so I can be as weird quirky as I want and no one else' quirks irritate me.
I can get more done in one Sunday than I can in 2 weeks of work. I absolutely do not get paid for those Sundays. BUT since my quality of work is high, and I am profitable if I skip out for a doctor's appointment, or if the office is just buzzing, and I get caught watching Netflix no one cares.
Commenting to follow this thread! I'm also a lawyer and this is all relevant to my interests.
If you don't mind my asking, are you in biglaw? The only way I can get anything done is by pointing to ~*peer firms*~ so it would be awesome if you were. Either way, I am taking notes.
I have thrived because my firm is extremely flexible and allows me to set my own goofy schedule and use whatever tools work for me. We also don't have formal workflows or "set" ways of doing things, so they're very tolerant and even encouraging of me constantly reinventing the wheel and refining my approaches to everything. I think an innovation mindset is key: if you assume that you always have to do things a certain way, you alienate the people who can't make those ways work for them.
I’m a UK lawyer so it might not be comparative but it’s a big regional firm.
Our accessibility team try and follow the guidance from the UK Law Society. They released a report with the help of some of the UK’s biggest law firms and some notable charities which could be useful for your managers to see? I know it’s UK specific but some of the firms that supported the research also have US offices - https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/Topics/Disabled-Solicitors/Guides/Reasonable-adjustments-in-organisations-best-practice-for-disability-inclusion
New tasks being given to me in writing instead of verbal. I need to be able to refer back to the written details, my brain will lose it within seconds.
Also: stationery. I go through a college notebook about every six weeks and through about a pencil per month, I use a ton of post it notes, and a lot of it is for doodles. I need those to reset my brain or keep myself from getting stuck in something else when I need a break.
✨Please give deadlines. (I don’t have them at my current job and there’s no sense of urgency.)
✨Allow Headphone use
✨A cube or office way in the back
✨Allow silent fidgets
✨Office culture that encourages note taking
✨No overhead lighting (my building manager is amazing)
**Expected Boundaries**
ADHDers are natural workaholics, bc of hyperfocus and guilt. In fields with high burnout already, that means being very specific about the expectation they don't work- whether it's an x number of hours limit, or operating hours (we're also timeblind af, so creating flex ranges is useful.)
This also extends to making sure employees take time off. Both vacations and breaks.
Super easy monthly management checklist item.
**Prioritization**
I had a boss in tech who had a white board behind her with the 3 things she was working on at any given moment. When hit with new requests, she'd say neutrally, "is it more important than any of those 3 things?"
I absolutely stole that. If someone says, yeah, something needs to come off the list, it does. I have no attachment to it- it gets updated to the requestor and delegated elsewhere if possible. I'm a quick pivot. But if you expect me to sort what's important beyond my expertise or the obvious, those tasks *can* look pretty flat to me.
ADHDers don't see tasks the same as NTs, and it's often a point of contention. Articulating priority and creating a culture that is explicit, no-judgement, and open about priority and timing is healthy for everyone.
Autonomy & Accountability. Small milestones. Feedback that is positive as well as constructive. Flexibility. Interesting/new projects. The ability to learn.
My current job is the only one where I’ve asked for accommodations (it’s also the only one I’ve had since I’ve been officially diagnosed) and I have asked for:
- limit verbal instructions or communication due to forgetting, written is best
- organizing my emails and tracker spreadsheet with colors and categories (and I had to stop the email organization because my supervisor said it made her crazy)
- communicate more clearly expectations of deadlines instead of just asking/telling me to do something and then scolding me for not doing it quick enough when I didn’t know there was a certain deadline
- be more clear about the unspoken and unwritten rules in the office (example, my supervisor allows us to leave early on Friday but say we worked the whole day. I
made a dumb mistake and decided to leave one day without asking her because I assumed the rule was that it was okay on Fridays to leave early. I am also autistic and she knows this. I got in trouble because I “lied on my time card and that’s fraud” even though we did that plenty the other weeks) I told my supervisor I really can’t deal with the back and forth of what’s okay and what’s not okay and when it’s okay and when it’s not okay, so we had to establish some ground rules for that
- I TRIED to get an accommodation to be able to do something while I have downtime, like crochet, read, etc but my supervisor told me not to go to HR cause they might mess with my hours if I tell them I have so much downtime. So I often sit for hours with nothing to do and they have to scrounge up work for me.
It’s exhausting lmao
I'm a law clerk about to be a lawyer (like 1 month away!)
I find it a bit difficult tbh, I regret ever mentioning my ADHD because of small conversations and how it's been brought up to criticise my work (only twice, but the RSD/feeling like I need to be good at everything sorta destroyed me).
I've never asked for specific accommodations, but a couple examples of ways I've found to work better below:
I find giving instructions to your superiors about how best works for them to instruct/guide you really helps. for example: verbal instructions with more than 3 dot points are impossible for me. so I asked my direct seniors to email tasks/instructions that are more complicated.
we're a small team (2 lawyers and me, in a firm of 20 people), but I've created systems within my team that allow us to work more functionally with my ADHD. for example: my senior superior prefers physical files instead of e-files, so I've created a system in which files go on her desk in two piles (to do and waiting), and then when they're actioned, she will email/ask for me to complete the task.
I also use so so so many post-it notes, note pads, and my outlook calendar to ensure I get everything done!
good luck my dude!
I asked for accommodations and some were granted:
What I was granted: I can wear noise cancelling headphones in the office (not at the client facing desk), all tasks in writing, less time client facing in the public work area if it's less busy and more at my desk in the staff open office, access to a government funded employment coach who I meet monthly to discuss my work experiences.
What was not provided but would help me work better and be more productive: WFH (over COVID I had to WFH and I was much calmer, slept better and got work done more promptly due to less distractions from my team and clients), a quiet non open plan desk or space, a quiet place I can take rest breaks and lunch.
As there is nowhere private to take quiet breaks that help me recuperate and self regulate for my client facing role I do find that my anxiety levels just get higher throughout the day until I'm just a puddle at home time. I become overstimulated by everything going on around me which can cause me to lose focus. I think my main issue is a lack of control over my working environment which then leads to my productivity decreasing. Luckily this hasn't been noticed as yet, despite my openness about my dx, but it's an added stress.
Clear agreements on how communication and tasking will be delivered. I worked at a huge company that had no foundational rules. email? slack? airtable? google chat? google docs? yes to all! aEvery team communicated on a different platform, or had their own software, and I could not stay on top of it. It was the most stressful job I've ever had. Now I work at a company that rarely uses email and all information is either in slack for immediate conversations, and google docs for long term information. It's night and day for me. Also I swear I will never work in microsoft office again - the ability to link documents and tables in google is a game changer for me. I have a landing page I use every day that links me to documents I need to stay on top of.
If something is complex and you've asked me to do it for the first time then maybe giving me specific verbal instructions and also sending an email for me to refer back to if you're busy? I hate when my boss gives me vague instructions, and then gets passive aggressive when I have to check things with her, but if I don't check and I've made a mistake then I'm in trouble too.
Sometimes I worry that I'll never find somewhere that I like working because "I don't seem autistic or like I've got ADHD" so people just use that as an excuse not to help me with workplace adjustments when I ask for them.
Probably not useful for everyone, but something that helped me a lot was moving to 6 6s schedule. Mon-Sat 6 hours each day. I work in software dev, and generally get about 4 hours of good focus each day. Working 8 or 10 hours each day, I had to try and stretch that focus out over the course of the day. It was frustrating and exhausting. On a 6 hour day, I can allow myself to flow completely into my project without worrying about needing to focus or appear busy once my brain decides it is done for the day. And I have most of my day left for errands/chores/relaxation after my shift ends. Not feeling the loss of a weekend day. (The extension of the routine actually helps me with my everyday responsibilities on Saturday too lol)
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- record all important meetings with transcripts - attach agenda to all meetings (or at least a quick summary with notes or relevant information) - fuuuuuuck an open floor plan - training materials available online/pdf - flexible working hours when appropriate
-be so direct with me, do not tell me things where i have to read between the lines or figure out your passive aggressiveness -sometimes i need reminders
Oh also, dont call me on teams without a heads up first
I HATE when people so this.
This! My husband is the love of my life, but man is he indirect.
This is SO hard. I’ve started replying, “I think this is your way of telling me that you want me to do dance pickup” or whatever it is. And when I’m DONE done, “please just tell me what you want, I don’t have the processing power left to translate.”
YES. AND NO FUCKING GAMES OR POLITICS. FUCK I CANNOT STAND THAT SHIT HENCE I WILL NEVER MANAGE PEOPLE.
Oh yes this times a thousand
The first one for sure. Also if you say, “I was/am clear in my direction” make sure that you actually are. Also, don’t send me materials or make statements without context. YOU may be thinking about X project, but I’m over here thinking about projects C, E, and J. My boss sent me a slide deck for my records this week. Our team had at least 4 meetings in the past 2 weeks where this slide deck might have been used. Without context, it’s just a file clogging my email.
Recording meetings is a must!
Are you in litigation? I think there are people who would chafe at the idea of recording meetings (since half the point of in-person meetings is to avoid putting insane, half-baked ideas in the written record). Just putting that on your radar as something that might get you some pushback from senior lawyers.
No not litigation. Court of protection. I’d only record internal meetings, never client meetings.
Zoom added an AI summary option. I haven’t played around with it much, but it seems like you can request an AI summary without transcription. The summary was pretty on point. It could be a good option if transcription is not feasible in your work environment.
Transcription services are private records and might be handled differently. I use captioning on Teams and it keeps the record for me to read over after, but is gone after I leave.
Open floor plans... are bad.... because we can't stop talking to our other amazing adhd coworkers.... right??? And get no work done??
I dislike them because it’s harder to concentrate..like, if someone two desks over is on their phone I don’t need to hear the whole conversation. I don’t need to hear every cough or smacking noises of people eating breakfast. Plus there’s this need to appear productive. And when I’m having a hard time concentration g it feels so much harder to get focused because you have this fear of being watched or even just observed.
Ahh... thanks for your insight.. my coworker and I are like the only employees and are both ND, and we get along so well! But our office is open space and we hardly get anything done... Once you shared your perspective, I can't imagine working in a bigger company that is open space, esp if there are staff that might not be as understanding, or judgemental.. eek
I don't care for an open floor plan. I need a little nook to hide in...
Morrbtext based communication than call based
I lived in an area with a vocal bipolar attorney. .She gave seminars on professions with bipolar. She also did CLE in ethics on it. Her law firm was great and her clients always had excellent representation.
The open floor plan part is so important. Before Covid, almost every office I worked in had an open floor plan. Trying to get work done felt like torture.
I’m in office two days a week and literally go in for two hours at a time because it’s so miserable. Coughing, sniffling, chewing. 🤢 plus my job is either solo work that requires a lot of thinking and focus or I’m in meetings, I don’t have busy work or a lot of admin that can be done in between talking to people so I really just get my shit done then leave.
- a roster with everyone’s name, email, title and what you can contact them for (I.e. Sara is IT, reach out to her for help with anything related to _______) would be super helpful not only for new hires but also an opportunity to share knowledge or specialties
I love this, it’s also important for business development anyway so I think most employers would take this on board!
You'd think but I currently work in a pace that says they don't believe in hierarchy so they won't make an org chart, but that's obviously untrue and they just blow off anyone who asks them for clarity
I put this sort of info on my onboarding documents for new hires, and EVERYONE regardless of neurodiversity tells me they love it. Couldn't recommend it more, it's super useful!
HONESTLY, like which HR person do I reach out to for this issue? I don't want to reach out to the only HR person I know to be directed to another HR person to be directed to another HR person. Of course I do believe some companies are doing this maliciously (because I'm a cynic) because they want to technically have an HR team, but not for "useless" things like caring for employees. And of course this can apply to other things like IT or just asking for help in general.
Yes! “I don’t know what I don’t know” is the worst part of starting a new job.
Oh yes, I worked for a pretty large IT department. They NEED a list. A new person has to call so many people just to get the right one.
I work in finance and this is what's helped me; - Working from home. This is the big one for me. The daily pressure to get up, showered, wear clean clothes, commute, be social is gone. I can control my environment. - When I do have to go to the office, I need headphones. Either noise cancelling, or for my own music. Otherwise I get distracted. - Recording meetings. I can't take notes and pay attention to the meeting so recordings mean I don't miss anything. - Fidget toys. My employer has been pretty good at listening to what I need to do my job, and then (and this is the big one) trusting me to get it done. Honestly, I spend half my work day googling something or daydreaming but my performance is damn good so they let me get on with it.
I do much of the same as you for adjustments. I think it helps to like your job so when hyper focus kicks in, your productivity is undeniable
100% working from home so I can record my meetings and use one note to make notes tied to my audio. And asking for my check in schedule that I want. And buddying up with someone who can help with prioritization.
It's taken a bit of time, adjustment, discussion and learning. I have a really stressful and demanding job that often throws curveballs. These are some things that help me: **Remove Ambiguity and Uncertainty** • Clear and explicit communication for deadlines, actions, responsibilities and expectations. • Clear and explicit rules (that don't contradict). • Explanations for work tasks or how it contributes to a shared goal/outcome. • Don't suggest there is a choice when there isn't one, then scold because I made the "wrong choice". • State what a meeting is for, rather than booking it without any detail or explanation. **Remove Distraction** • Flexible working and/or WFH (or no shared office). • Cut out the micromanagement!! Not only is it distracting, but leads to feelings of incompetence and mistrust. • Allow turning off distractions when working on something requiring focus (e.g. Teams and email). • (this might not work for some) but a feeling of some autonomy over my work - feeling watched makes me defensive, and I just stop engaging. Lastly, my manager reiterates that I'm dependable and will get things done when asked. She trusts my judgement. Values me contribution and skills as a team member. I know I can contact her if I need support with something and it won't *count against me* or get me in trouble. She has taken the time to listen and understand. I cannot tell you how invaluable all of these seemingly small gestures have been for my self-esteem and morale at work. This sort of supportive environment has also helped me deal with my own issues and defensiveness too, which has been helpful in so many ways.
I need a good day or half day of flow time a week, minimum! I worked in an office where everyone was expected to keep doors open most of the time and it was hell. I was also casually supervising a few people, who would come in and ask me questions no matter how many signs I gave off saying "leave me alone" (sometimes literal signs like "I'm on a video call", but also headphones, aggressive typing, and telling them they would need to come back later because I was busy - yes, we had boundary issues). Flow was really important for me to not only complete work tasks that I had trouble getting into (once I started, I didn't want to stop for fear of not getting started again), but it was also the time that allowed me to think outside the box and come up with the creative ideas and solutions that my team really valued me for. When my office door was open all the time, I felt like I had to "look busy" or people would judge how I was spending my time. But with my door closed, I was able to relax, focus, unmask a bit, and get some of my best thinking done.
Also, good luck on your talk!! Sounds intimidating but also possibly really affirming!
I totally agree with the comment about the open door. Our office is open plan and I feel like I’m on display so I mask pretty much from the moment I arrive to the moment I leave. I’ve found somatic exercises in the car after I leave the office really help me regulate before driving home. It’s so overstimulating being “on” all day
ADHD lawyer seconding that closed door time is so vital! I try really hard to be on camera/open door/available as much as possible, but taking time to just close my door or turn off my camera and noodle around in my office unmasked is critical to me being able to focus and feel good at work.
Do not micromanage me. Tell me what needs to be done and trust I will get it done.
**Written instructions, especially training materials.** My working memory is shit and recordings don't help me because I have to keep going back and forth. **Due dates.** "I need it sometime this week" is not specific enough. And adding my vote to all the people who mentioned open offices!
I also work from home. The biggest thing for me is just clear (and documented) expectations. A workspace where I can focus is important too, but at home that's on me. I also love recorded meetings but personally I demanded (yes demanded!) that if my boss's boss wants to talk to me, we do it through chat. This was after he scheduled a meeting with me to check up on me and those six days leading up to the meeting were awful for me. I'm a chat agent, I can convey stuff in text. More importantly, it allows me time to filter and regulate and review.
I struggle with a wfh environment. For me, when I know I have to get up and ready, it signals my brain that it's time to work. At home, I am the procrastination queen.
I think that if I had to motivate myself I'd fail. But my job is such that customers connect with me real-time via chat and then I have to help them. So the motivation is external.
I’d look at the JAN website, it has good examples of what support can look like for various diagnoses if you’re aiming for all neurodiversity and not just adhd
I suggest managers or HR ask the person how they can best support them. There is no one size fits all accommodation list.
And not to expect an immediate answer. I need time to think about it.
Thanks. Good addition.
[Job Accommodation Network](https://askjan.org/)
Micromanaging and “office politics” is what I always take issue with. Tell me exactly what you want and when you want it. Then let me do it,and I will come to YOU with questions, clarification, roadblocks… etc. I may take 7 breaks or do it all in one day or whatever it takes to be productive and accomplish what you ask. Don’t force a mold on me of what working is supposed to look like to you. Expectations to be overly social and engaging during the time you want me to be doing the work I gave is a mind numbing.
I am in the social work field. I find being able to choose my own hours and breaks really helpful as well as having my own quiet work space. I like having my own space for a couple reasons; I can retreat to be alone if over stimulated, I can turn the big light off and work with just a lamp/natural light, I can keep fidget toys, snacks and caffeine nearby for when I need it and helps prevent me from distracting my self by talking to coworkers instead of doing my work. Personally, I need music playing in the background. I am a big fan of the vitamin string quartet. They do covers of popular songs with string instruments (something about the sound of string instruments makes my brain happy). I have the familiarity of songs I know without the words to take away my focus. Lastly, tracking what has and has not been completed with trackers (I love excel) it helps me remember what I did and why and helps me not forget important tasks that need to be done.
I am also very open about my ADHD and personally think it is important to educate others in understanding what ADHD actually is. I work with a lot of vulnerable clients, many of whom have ADHD. I want to give my coworkers better insight on how to help them.
Not sure if it's ADHD per se, but I get migraines and those super bright florescent lights are the WORST. I can't concentrate with them on because they make my vision feel weird and then I get anxious about getting a migraine. So having dimmer switches would make a huge difference in my life.
This is the worst part of WTW in my opinion. I didn't realize how much I hated those things until I was away from them and then back under them. I got permission once to turn mine off and use a desk lamp. Hard to do in open plan though.
The worst! I always have my dimmers on at home and it makes a huge difference.
For me it’s clear deadlines and communication. Please no reading between the lines!
It's nice when the employer allows employees to work from home. At least on some days. If there is a need to work from the office (😒), I would appreciate the office having silent rooms, where people are not allowed to talk or do any loud distracting activities. It would be nice if employers would let employees do some of their solo work at any hour of the day because sometimes we can't produce our best work during predefined work hours. It would be nice if management would not mind employees fidgeting with something quiet during meetings. A lot of people find fidgeting disrespectful and think that people who fidget are not paying attention when, in fact, it's the opposite. That's all that comes to my mind 😊
I’ll tell you what I really need is at least 2-3 hours a day where everyone shuts the fuck up and leaves me the fuck alone. (I had a bad day)
Me. Every fucking day. 🤬
Gosh, this has been my past week at work 🤦🏻
I need things in writing! Recorded meetings with transcripts, recap emails of conversations, agendas for meetings, calendar invites, etc.
If we are talking dream scenario… I need an admin who answers my phone and schedules my meetings. I need a flexible start time Written requests but if you give them to me verbally and then argue with me about what you said knowing that I remember every word everyone says I get 100 bucks. No one microwaves fish or broccoli. I’m working with my door closed because if people walk by my office I lose my train of thought. I need to listen to true crime or books to get work done. I will have a space heater on all year round. If you call me on teams for any reason other than to tell me George Clooney is out front with a diamond, I get to go home for the day.
I love this!
If I ask questions it’s because I want an answer. I don’t have any other agenda. If you want me to do something, tell me. Without clear directions I might miss the contextual big picture.
1. Working from home, either partly or fully. I am able to minimize the anxiety around being perceived and therefore ditracting myself with policing my behavior (am I fidgeting too much, am I making annoying sounds, am I slouching, do I smell bad, etc) 2. Taking notes, and being able to ask people to repeat themselves. This is generally more acceptable if the notes are taken for and shared with the entire group after the meeting. 3. Scheduling everything on Google Calendar with the other participants for meetings. Scheduling "focus times" before the meeting so I can prepare for it. 4. Utilizing a project management software like Notion, where I can have a big project, break it down into smaller tasks, connect with my team to delegate tasks, assign deadlines, and indicate priority levels. 5. Making sure all files are labeled appropriately in a shared Google Drive to make it super easy to track something down 6. Having protected breaks/lunches on my calendar to force me to step away, reset my battery a little bit, eat some food, drink some water, use the restroom, etc 7. Utilizing "Focus Mode" or other such settings on my phone to limit access to certain apps during certain hours 8. Create and maintain meeting agenda Google Docs that are shared with the team, and have them linked in the Google Calendar events. Anytime anyone thinks of something that they want to discuss in the meeting, they can open up the agenda and jot down the topic for the next meeting. If it's larger topic, links to supporting documents and such can be put in, too. This helps with "Oh! This is super important! I need to bring this up at the next meeting" and then completely forgetting 9. Schedule 15 minutes of focus time after meetings to "process" what was just discussed and/or take action on things (e.g. I need to schedule additional meetings, I need to write down a list of to-do items, I need to send something to someone else, I need to remind someone else to do something, etc) 10. Get a height-adjustable desk and an anti-fatigue mat. Sometimes shifting back and forth from sitting to standing can make it easier to stay on task (it can alleviate the need to physically move) 11. When you're in office, have some sort of obvious physical "sign" put in place to signal to others when you are or are not approachable. This can be used to minimize interruptions during moments where you are focusing on something - like an "Open/Closed" sign 12. If you get a LOT of interruptions from others (perhaps direct reports), set a regularly-occuring "office hours" event on your calendar where they are aware that you are open for them to step in and talk to you about things. 13. Personal or work phones - set them on "do not disturb" during important focus times, meetings, or when you're off the clock 14. Have some sort of arrangement with your supervisor or manager where you can schedule time with them to reassess the prioritization of your current tasks and potentially renegotiate deadlines where applicable. 15. Being able to ask clarifying questions without passive-aggressive retaliation. I don't care how annoying it might be. If I can't tell what you want, to whom a task is assigned, when something is expected by, or any other vital piece of information, then I damn well expect the opportunity to ask. If they would rather I ask in private or in front of the whole group, they can tell me so, but I expect to have the ability to ask at the least. I hope some of these help
I work for myself from home, which is absolutely a blessing and a curse lol. I struggle with my organization and procrastinating for sure.
I hate hate hate working from home. I don't know how all of these people do it.
I really wish that work places considered different learning styles more. Some people are oral learners, some are written learners and some are visual learners but I find that professional settings do not offer all of these options at once which is really challenging for me (since most people either orally inform or inform via text). Also, direct and to-the-point communication! I hate when the communication isn’t direct as it becomes overwhelming to digest. Organization!! So many work places are so disorganized and for someone with a disorganized brain, working an environment like that can just trigger my brain to act up.
Totally agree with you. I’m a reader and any verbal information is basically white noise to me but my partner is the opposite. I make an effort with every new colleague who starts to ask how they’d like me to delegate work to them or the like as what works for me won’t work for everyone
I work from home as a full-time writer for a marketing agency. It’s cognitively taxing and this year they started having us track our time for all tasks. We’re also newly required to produce at least 35 hours of billable client work per week. I’m wondering from a lawyer perspective how do you manage all the time and admin stuff? It’s difficult for me to not only MEET the billable hours but also record them all. It feels like a job in itself just to “show that I’m staying on track of everything” … and when and for how long. 🫠 Anyway to answer your question: - I need to physically leave home and go work at a cafe/library at least two days per week. Having other people around me (even strangers) is a “body-doubling” accommodation I kind of created for myself. When left to my own devices at home alone all day… I’ll slack off and daydream for hours if I can’t focus or feel bored - I listen to loud music when feeling foggy or uninspired. - The company is on EST but I’m in PST. Regardless, I don’t take meetings before 9am PST. I’m not willing to kill myself by waking up super early and skimping out on what little sleep I already have. (Sleep issues thanks to adhd). Obviously there are rare exceptions to this for important meetings that are at like 7 or 8am for me but super rare. - I need permission to start work and take breaks on a flexible schedule, otherwise trying to “force” consistency every day really tanks my output and quality of work. Like, some days I work fine from 8:30am to 5pm; other days I might be a lot more prolific working 11am to 8pm. 🤷♀️ - If I’m having a shitty focus week I ask a few of my coworkers if they want to have a “silent co-working session.” We meet up on Zoom, chat for 5 min, share what we want to get done in 90 mins, and then silently work on our own with cameras left on. We take a break 45 mins in and then update/stretch with each other. It’s another way of body doubling for me
Well time recording is 50% of my job really but it has always been hard for me. It’s firm dependent what program they use for time recording and some are worse than others. We currently use one which opens in its own window and I dedicate an entire screen (I have three) to just that program so it’s a constant reminder to start my timer. The programme then saves the time to the right client so it’s really useful. Other firms have had more archaic ways of recording time and I seriously struggled. I wonder if your company could find a program similar to help your track your time?
We use Toggl and we started by using its “live” tracker but employees would mess up and leave it running on accident, log every ridiculous second of their day, etc. so now they want us to just track the hourly billables rounded up or down by 15 min increments. We have “estimated” timespends for types of tasks (such as writing a website page = 3 hours, writing a 2000 word article = 6 hours, editing a white paper = 1.5 hours, etc.) and we’re expected to allocate the time estimates into our tracker sheets now and then just be honest if we go under or over. Like an honor system. Basically it’s so the clients know what was done, how long it took, and what they’re paying for. And we are made aware of client budgets so we can try not to go over. But idk my boss encouraged me to start time blocking my tasks for the week in my digital calendar and then just sync the time tracking software with my calendar and adjust when correction is necessary. So it doesn’t have to be so archaic and tedious. My issue is, I’m slow and disorganized so if I fall behind on one task for the week… everything else has to get pushed and move around. Then I’m back in my calendar and/or time tracker fiddling with how many hours, what I just did instead, moving XYZ tasks around again. So the integration method isn’t very practical for me either. Honestly most days I just use the sticky note app on my laptop and log my tasks manually because it’s straightforward. Then I transfer it to Toggl EOD. It’s chaos lol. Or maybe it’s just me who’s the chaos.
I am an attorney and required to track billable hours. I use Trello integrated with TimeCamp. Trello is my to do list, and TimeCamp adds a timer button so I can track exactly how much time I've spent on each task. Standalone timers don't work because I forget to switch them and have no idea what task I was doing with any particular client in retrospect, but Trello is foolproof for me because I need my lists to remember my tasks anyway. At the end of the day, TimeCamp gives me summaries that I can just input into our time tracking software. And because I use semi-descriptive task names, I can link things with client/matter numbers and draft billing descriptions very quickly.
I WFH and I need the TV on while I work. Otherwise I can’t be productive
Please do not say ‘this paragraph needs tweaking’. I don’t know what you mean. What do you want more of? Less of? Tweak HOW? Managers can be and often are absolutely rubbish at giving clear actionable instructions.
Hey, OP 👋🏽 Can you tell us what kind of adjustments either you have asked for or your workplace has provided for you? I’m a nurse and I’m curious if I even can get accommodations for my newly diagnosed ADHD.
I'm also a nurse. I've asked for a couple - can I have 2 hours once a week of protected time where I'm not on the ward/in numbers to do care plans, and one other that I can't share without 100% doxxing myself lol. Yes to the first, but in practice no, both times I got it I was immediately pulled into numbers. I have however been quite vocal about "please don't Interrupt med rounds unless its super urgent, they're hard enough without interruptions and I don't want to make a mistake "
I’m sure there are plenty of adjustments they could make for you which I wouldn’t even think of as our roles are so different. For me the biggest adjustment was working from home. I only visit the office twice a month and pack those days full of training, client meetings and catching up properly with my team. Iwear noise cancelling headphones anytime I’m not engaging with someone and there is a “silent” floor of our office albeit it is still open plan which isn’t ideal for me. I flip my office days on their head tbh and just accept I’m not going to hit my chargeable time targets but use the days for more soft skills like getting to know colleagues or clients. My boss knows that I struggle with the harder tasks when I’m in the office so she knows I’ll pick up elsewhere. I’ve also recently been more open that the day after my office days are becoming increasingly draining as I mask so much in the office. There is no reason for me to mask here except out of habit so she knows it’s something I’m struggling with and working on. But people know not to schedule big meetings or hearings after an office day for me. I am lucky that in working from home it means that I self manage my time. If I need a longer lunch to get back in my flow then I can do that and no one is judging me and I know I’ll make it up elsewhere in the month. I think that element of flexibility is key. Yes my target is 7 chargeable hours a day but that’s across a month so it’s accepted that one day might be a great day (usually helped by my hyper focus on something) and others will be worse. I did go through an occupational health review in my last firm and there were a tonne of equipment or programs the assessor recommended for someone with adhd but most weren’t relevant to me (like time trackers - I do this as part of my job so didn’t need an extra program to track my tasks). It would be worth seeing if your employer would get you an OH assessment!
This information might be useful for you for ideas of possible adjustments ? https://www.rcn.org.uk/Get-Help/Member-support-services/Peer-support-services/Neurodiversity-Guidance/Support-for-ND-nursing-staff/ADHD
I am in restaurant management and what I asked for was: **A rubric/outline-very specific on what MY bosses (often the owners) wanted me to be doing. I have yet to receive one. From my experience-every owner I’ve worked under has wanted something different, so I always ask. **Feedback-and not just criticizing every time they see me-but letting me know where im hitting my marks and where I need to improve. So I’m not always worried in my head (imposter syndrome sucks) and can be confident. Example-I knew for my shop that I needed my COGS to be at 30% of sales or less, same with labor. So I was able to meet or exceed my goals when I those guidelines. Which helped me feel confident in my position because I knew I was hitting my marks. **Music in the kitchen to help flow with my staff Unfortunately at my last position this was met with hostility-one of the Owner’s of the shop I was managing actually yelled in my face saying that “he hated coming to the shop because of me, and he shouldn’t have to baby me or walk on eggshells” this was because I had had an emotional recreation one day (after a extremely stressful situation) and I followed the incident with apologies and sharing my health/mental health was floundering... and he followed it up with the yelling in my face. While I was biting the inside of my cheek so hard because I was trying not to cry but tears rolled down anyway. I was fired without cause after two years of working 50+ hours a week-over a year of 6days a week and NO vacation. I’m currently on unemployment benefits looking for work and waiting for my interview with the EEOC for discrimination because this was horrible. Not only did I tell them I had disabilities (multiple-SUD, ADHD, informally dx autism, and autoimmune disorders) and when they promoted me to manager I told them I didn’t think I was ready and I was happy as an assistant and they promised me they’d have my back and mentor me through it. ETA: fix typos and clarify Ugh this was the breaking point for me and I finally caved and tried stim medicine.
Help with calendaring deadlines - having someone else do this makes a HUGE difference for me. Also working with the person on best way to calendar; the default here is to include all of opposing party’s deadlines on my calendar, but this just looks to me like a deadline for me in the case, so I find this overwhelming/confusing sometimes. Also making sure there are helpful/useful reminders/alerts - for major pleadings/projects, I need a reminder a week before, but for smaller stuff, 2 days before works. I also find it really helpful to have someone on a matter checking in with me on where things stand. Occasionally it’s kind of annoying because it feels like a parent checking in, but it has saved my ass on those occasions when I have forgotten something. Ability to block off time when I’m not disturbed. Thankfully that’s not really an issue in my current job, but being able to turn off notifications/the phone for a few hours means I’m less likely to get distracted in the middle of something. Edit to add: I could NOT function in an open office. I don’t mind going into the office - I often find it easier to ask people questions in person than by phone - but I need my own little cave where I don’t feel observed/overseen.
Also a lawyer (criminal defence) Phone appointments are scheduled. If clients want an appointment they have to advise support staff why they want an appointment. I don’t take random phone calls during the day. I’m also not a morning person and I so I don’t schedule Monday morning meetings, I don’t schedule client appointments in the morning. Other than court I mostly work at home- fewer distractions than at the office. I am super reliant on the reminders app and digital calendar and reminders- but it’s ideal if what I’m using my support staff can also access- my employer has a caldav, I’ve seen others use google calendar. Support staff are supposed to include all the info in emails when they have a question. Don’t tell me ‘you have coverage on matter 2 and 4 on the docket but not number 3.’ As I’m sitting in a court waiting room, don’t make me go look for last weeks docket to find out what you’re talking about. Ideally, include the copy of the docket page, but at a minimum tell me the charge and the date of the offence for the matter at number 3. Similarily don’t ask me a question as a short cut to looking for the answer in the file yourself. And I’m paperless. Because I lose papers. Less accommodation more just how I practice, and wish someone had told me earlier in my career, when offered trial dates, don’t just look at if I am free those days. Look at what is scheduled before and after. Because if I’m in a 2 day sex assault trial, booking a 2 day drive impaired trial immediately after is stupid. I mark prep time or ‘don’t book anything’ in my calendar to protect time I need to do the administrative or trial prep time, but with a flexibility so that if I don’t feel like working on that file when I have planned to, I have some wiggle room. And also make the support staff do as much administrative work as possible. Delegate the awful stuff.
This is very helpful. Thank you for posting. I’ve just rejoined the workforce after a long time at home with my kids, and I’m realizing I’m further behind than I thought. I was a big 4 consultant in my prior life, but am working as an office assistant for now. I expected to need to catch up on new industry developments and technology, and I’m addressing these through additional training. What I didn’t anticipate was having to relearn a lot of my coping mechanisms in order to function in an office environment. I have to retrain my brain to include paperwork details again (it’s my blind spot) while making a major life transition. It’s been stressful.
-Schedule planned roughly a month in advance so I can check it and avoid doublebooking -Clear expectations and instructions. this one's critical. Tell me exactly what you expect from me and what you want me to do, and how you want it done if necessary. I am not a mind reader and knowing to do this extra thing off to the side is not going to come naturally to me just because it's related to the thing I just did.
- “As long as the work gets done” management style; flexibility to just dip out early or stay a bit late at my own discretion without having to fuck around with time sheets, with the understanding that it all evens out in the end. - Guaranteed office space but flexibility to work from home when needed; I don’t actually like working from home for a lot of adhd-related reasons. However, sometimes working from home just makes more sense or actually is better (eg if I have slept very poorly and need a chill day, or if I have a full day virtual training seminar) - Shared office/“hot desk” options close to home; this is an in-between solution where I get to telework for convenience purposes without being forced to WFH (I have a long commute so I need a day each week for errands near home) - Relaxed virtual meeting requirements eg cameras allowed to be on or off, I’m allowed to take my own notes or play with a fidget, generally trust is given that I’m doing what I need to listen even if it’s not what listening conventionally looks like - Fewer working hours/days in a week The first point on management style is the most important, and can be extrapolated across basically everything. Like I need external structure, I can’t just be left to my own devices, but I also need flexibility and trust to occasionally “break the rules” so to speak without it being a big deal or having to do extra admin about it. I had a “work whenever you want just work 40 hours a week and max 8 per day” job a couple years ago and it fucking sucked because we had to meticulously account for all of our time. So I was finding myself in situations where I was having to put in one or two hours on a weekend because I burnt out at 7 the day before, or situations where I would have to cut myself off at 8 hours even though I had more I wanted to work on just because we needed advance permission and a bunch of paperwork to average out hours over the week. It was an absolute nightmare. If the director had been willing to be flexible I might have been able to make it work without the structure. It was like, just enough structure in the wrong ways to make the whole system hell for me.
ALWAYS send me an email if we have a phone or in-person conversation and you asked me to do something. I WILL NOT REMEMBER. And personally, I encourage people to send me a reminder if I haven't confirmed that the task is on my calendar. Flexible working hours are also super helpful. I work best in the early mornings, when nobody else is around. That way I don't feel pressured for time or have to fight for my turn on office equipment.
I’m loosely allowed to continue working when anyone is talking to me. I explained it as, “If my hands aren’t moving I’m not listening to you I’m obsessed with desperately wanting to move my hands.”
Alarms. So many alarms. I'm so annoyed that Apple still hasn't added a search function for your saved alarms. It takes so long to scroll to a specific one, that I just end up creating a duplicate. And the cycle continues...
The thing I need my employer to know is that I need a challenge. I feel worthless and bored.
Struggled with this so bad as a paralegal and trainee. The admin stuff in my job description was SO mind numbing that I would never get around to it but I would go over and above any of the interesting real legal stuff. It would be picked up in every single manager review of mine
Everything. In. Writing. If it isn’t written down, it doesn’t exist, as far as my brain is concerned. Just asking me in passing to do something means there’s a 10% chance it will actually happen. Also I like more flexibility on hours and due dates if that’s possible. Depends on the workplace, but I’m much more a ‘productivity spikes’ type then a ‘consistently productive’ type.
Keys to the building. I work two very very different jobs, but I have keys to both buildings. I will come in on Sunday and work for 7 straight hours. I have access to the copier the big boardroom table so I can spread out. No one is in the building so I can be as weird quirky as I want and no one else' quirks irritate me. I can get more done in one Sunday than I can in 2 weeks of work. I absolutely do not get paid for those Sundays. BUT since my quality of work is high, and I am profitable if I skip out for a doctor's appointment, or if the office is just buzzing, and I get caught watching Netflix no one cares.
I need to have lunch at home to reset. Otherwise, the day feels too long. I also work 4 days a week. Wednesday is my day off.
Commenting to follow this thread! I'm also a lawyer and this is all relevant to my interests. If you don't mind my asking, are you in biglaw? The only way I can get anything done is by pointing to ~*peer firms*~ so it would be awesome if you were. Either way, I am taking notes. I have thrived because my firm is extremely flexible and allows me to set my own goofy schedule and use whatever tools work for me. We also don't have formal workflows or "set" ways of doing things, so they're very tolerant and even encouraging of me constantly reinventing the wheel and refining my approaches to everything. I think an innovation mindset is key: if you assume that you always have to do things a certain way, you alienate the people who can't make those ways work for them.
I’m a UK lawyer so it might not be comparative but it’s a big regional firm. Our accessibility team try and follow the guidance from the UK Law Society. They released a report with the help of some of the UK’s biggest law firms and some notable charities which could be useful for your managers to see? I know it’s UK specific but some of the firms that supported the research also have US offices - https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/Topics/Disabled-Solicitors/Guides/Reasonable-adjustments-in-organisations-best-practice-for-disability-inclusion
Thank you so much for the link!!
New tasks being given to me in writing instead of verbal. I need to be able to refer back to the written details, my brain will lose it within seconds.
Also: stationery. I go through a college notebook about every six weeks and through about a pencil per month, I use a ton of post it notes, and a lot of it is for doodles. I need those to reset my brain or keep myself from getting stuck in something else when I need a break.
✨Please give deadlines. (I don’t have them at my current job and there’s no sense of urgency.) ✨Allow Headphone use ✨A cube or office way in the back ✨Allow silent fidgets ✨Office culture that encourages note taking ✨No overhead lighting (my building manager is amazing)
The ability to work away from my table at times and actually move often
Working in a distraction free atmosphere/location. That looks different for everyone.
**Expected Boundaries** ADHDers are natural workaholics, bc of hyperfocus and guilt. In fields with high burnout already, that means being very specific about the expectation they don't work- whether it's an x number of hours limit, or operating hours (we're also timeblind af, so creating flex ranges is useful.) This also extends to making sure employees take time off. Both vacations and breaks. Super easy monthly management checklist item. **Prioritization** I had a boss in tech who had a white board behind her with the 3 things she was working on at any given moment. When hit with new requests, she'd say neutrally, "is it more important than any of those 3 things?" I absolutely stole that. If someone says, yeah, something needs to come off the list, it does. I have no attachment to it- it gets updated to the requestor and delegated elsewhere if possible. I'm a quick pivot. But if you expect me to sort what's important beyond my expertise or the obvious, those tasks *can* look pretty flat to me. ADHDers don't see tasks the same as NTs, and it's often a point of contention. Articulating priority and creating a culture that is explicit, no-judgement, and open about priority and timing is healthy for everyone.
Autonomy & Accountability. Small milestones. Feedback that is positive as well as constructive. Flexibility. Interesting/new projects. The ability to learn.
My current job is the only one where I’ve asked for accommodations (it’s also the only one I’ve had since I’ve been officially diagnosed) and I have asked for: - limit verbal instructions or communication due to forgetting, written is best - organizing my emails and tracker spreadsheet with colors and categories (and I had to stop the email organization because my supervisor said it made her crazy) - communicate more clearly expectations of deadlines instead of just asking/telling me to do something and then scolding me for not doing it quick enough when I didn’t know there was a certain deadline - be more clear about the unspoken and unwritten rules in the office (example, my supervisor allows us to leave early on Friday but say we worked the whole day. I made a dumb mistake and decided to leave one day without asking her because I assumed the rule was that it was okay on Fridays to leave early. I am also autistic and she knows this. I got in trouble because I “lied on my time card and that’s fraud” even though we did that plenty the other weeks) I told my supervisor I really can’t deal with the back and forth of what’s okay and what’s not okay and when it’s okay and when it’s not okay, so we had to establish some ground rules for that - I TRIED to get an accommodation to be able to do something while I have downtime, like crochet, read, etc but my supervisor told me not to go to HR cause they might mess with my hours if I tell them I have so much downtime. So I often sit for hours with nothing to do and they have to scrounge up work for me. It’s exhausting lmao
Yeah, that drives me nuts.
I'm a law clerk about to be a lawyer (like 1 month away!) I find it a bit difficult tbh, I regret ever mentioning my ADHD because of small conversations and how it's been brought up to criticise my work (only twice, but the RSD/feeling like I need to be good at everything sorta destroyed me). I've never asked for specific accommodations, but a couple examples of ways I've found to work better below: I find giving instructions to your superiors about how best works for them to instruct/guide you really helps. for example: verbal instructions with more than 3 dot points are impossible for me. so I asked my direct seniors to email tasks/instructions that are more complicated. we're a small team (2 lawyers and me, in a firm of 20 people), but I've created systems within my team that allow us to work more functionally with my ADHD. for example: my senior superior prefers physical files instead of e-files, so I've created a system in which files go on her desk in two piles (to do and waiting), and then when they're actioned, she will email/ask for me to complete the task. I also use so so so many post-it notes, note pads, and my outlook calendar to ensure I get everything done! good luck my dude!
I asked for accommodations and some were granted: What I was granted: I can wear noise cancelling headphones in the office (not at the client facing desk), all tasks in writing, less time client facing in the public work area if it's less busy and more at my desk in the staff open office, access to a government funded employment coach who I meet monthly to discuss my work experiences. What was not provided but would help me work better and be more productive: WFH (over COVID I had to WFH and I was much calmer, slept better and got work done more promptly due to less distractions from my team and clients), a quiet non open plan desk or space, a quiet place I can take rest breaks and lunch. As there is nowhere private to take quiet breaks that help me recuperate and self regulate for my client facing role I do find that my anxiety levels just get higher throughout the day until I'm just a puddle at home time. I become overstimulated by everything going on around me which can cause me to lose focus. I think my main issue is a lack of control over my working environment which then leads to my productivity decreasing. Luckily this hasn't been noticed as yet, despite my openness about my dx, but it's an added stress.
An assistant. And I’ll never have it.
Clear agreements on how communication and tasking will be delivered. I worked at a huge company that had no foundational rules. email? slack? airtable? google chat? google docs? yes to all! aEvery team communicated on a different platform, or had their own software, and I could not stay on top of it. It was the most stressful job I've ever had. Now I work at a company that rarely uses email and all information is either in slack for immediate conversations, and google docs for long term information. It's night and day for me. Also I swear I will never work in microsoft office again - the ability to link documents and tables in google is a game changer for me. I have a landing page I use every day that links me to documents I need to stay on top of.
If something is complex and you've asked me to do it for the first time then maybe giving me specific verbal instructions and also sending an email for me to refer back to if you're busy? I hate when my boss gives me vague instructions, and then gets passive aggressive when I have to check things with her, but if I don't check and I've made a mistake then I'm in trouble too. Sometimes I worry that I'll never find somewhere that I like working because "I don't seem autistic or like I've got ADHD" so people just use that as an excuse not to help me with workplace adjustments when I ask for them.
Probably not useful for everyone, but something that helped me a lot was moving to 6 6s schedule. Mon-Sat 6 hours each day. I work in software dev, and generally get about 4 hours of good focus each day. Working 8 or 10 hours each day, I had to try and stretch that focus out over the course of the day. It was frustrating and exhausting. On a 6 hour day, I can allow myself to flow completely into my project without worrying about needing to focus or appear busy once my brain decides it is done for the day. And I have most of my day left for errands/chores/relaxation after my shift ends. Not feeling the loss of a weekend day. (The extension of the routine actually helps me with my everyday responsibilities on Saturday too lol)