How to manage ADHD at work and turn it into a strength
[June 27, 2025]
By CATHY BUSSEWITZ
NEW YORK (AP) — Jeremy Didier had taken her son to a psychologist for a
possible ADHD evaluation when she spotted an article about women with
the condition. As she read it in the waiting room, she thought to
herself: They're describing me.
“Lots of risk-taking, lots of very impulsive behavior growing up,”
Didier said. As the magazine described, she'd excelled in school but
gotten in trouble for talking too much. She'd amassed too many speeding
tickets as an adult. She turned to her husband and said, "I think I
might have ADHD.”
Didier is now the board president of Children and Adults with
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, a nonprofit advocacy and
support organization. Her realization mirrors the experiences of other
adults who wonder if they have ADHD after a child's diagnosis.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a neurodevelopmental
condition characterized by inattention, hyperactivity or a combination
of the two. Common symptoms such as trouble concentrating or sitting
still can create challenges at work.
People with ADHD are often passed over for promotions, said Andrew
Sylvester, a psychiatrist at UCHealth in Longmont, Colorado.
Difficulties with attention may lead the mind to drift during meetings,
and cause someone to miss important discussion nuances. The disorder may
interfere with organization, planning and remembering details.
Yet some adults think of having ADHD as a source of personality
strengths and ways of thinking that benefit employers. Diagnostic
manuals may call it a disorder, but it also can be a superpower, they
said.
“Our brains work differently and so we’re more likely to be able to
think outside the box and come up with different things, and sometimes
that’s because we’ve had to do that in order to to survive,” Didier
said.
Here are some ways to cope with and channel ADHD in the workplace.
Finding community
Getting diagnosed with ADHD doesn’t always lead to a quick fix. While
doctors often recommend medication and therapy, not everyone can take
medication, and those routes don’t necessarily eliminate all symptoms.
Didier floundered with a messy house and lots of yelling as she and four
of her five children were diagnosed with ADHD. She experimented with
medicine, diets and reward charts, and discovered what helped her the
most: a community of parents who had children with ADHD.
“There’s nothing like talking to other people who are going through what
you’re going through to help you feel ... that you’re not alone,” she
said.
Didier eventually became a social worker and now runs support groups for
adults with ADHD, teaching skills they can use at work.
Some organizations have employee resource groups organized around
neurodiversity to provide camaraderie and support to adults with ADHD,
autism, dyslexia and other conditions.
GPS of the brain
People with ADHD often struggle with executive function, which Didier
describes as “your brain’s GPS” for navigating your day. Executive
function is a set of mental skills that includes making plans, managing
time and flexible thinking. It also includes working memory, which helps
us keep track of what we're doing.
To keep from getting derailed, experts recommend breaking large tasks
into chunks, writing detailed to-do lists and taking breaks.
Personal chef Bill Collins, 66, who was diagnosed with ADHD two years
ago, writes structured lists when he's making a meal for a client. He
creates categories for kitchen areas — counter, stove and oven — and
then lists tasks such as “chop carrots, boil water for pasta” underneath
each category. Then he numbers each task so he knows exactly what to do,
where and when.
“That’s how I got around my unknown ADHD early on, just making lists,”
Collins said. “If it’s something I don’t want to do, I put it at the top
of the list so I can be done with it."
Another technique is called “body doubling,” which involves a pair of
work colleagues meeting over Zoom or in-person to focus on completing
projects. The two may choose to perform separate tasks — one might build
a presentation deck while the other files tax reports — but help each
other stay accountable.
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(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)
“You’re just sitting there during that dedicated time, getting things
done,” Didier said.
Insurance company Liberty Mutual provides an AI tool that helps break
down large projects into manageable tasks and provides reminders about
deadlines, to help employees with ADHD stay focused and organized, said
Head of Benefits Verlinda DiMarino.
Getting through meetings
Meetings can be difficult for people with ADHD if their minds drift or
they feel an urge to get up out of a chair. They also may struggle with
impulse control and find it hard to wait their turn to speak.
Nicole Clark, CEO of the Adult and Pediatric Institute, a mental health
practice in Stuart, Florida, suggests asking for meeting topics in
advance and writing up talking points. If you think of questions during
the meeting, write them down.
Some employers use a voice-to-text service, projecting what a speaker is
saying on a screen, which helps people with attention difficulties stay
focused, Clark said.
Sylvester, the psychiatrist, recommends practicing active listening by
repeating in your head what someone just said, or taking a brief
time-out from a meeting to reset.
Tell them, “'I need five minutes. I’ll be right back.' Get up and walk
out. Do what you need to do,” he said.
Mariel Paralitici-Morales, chief medical officer of the Adult and
Pediatric Institute, who has ADHD, sits close to whoever will be
speaking to help sustain attention.
“Having something in my hand helps,” said Paralitici-Morales, who
sometimes holds a fidget spinner. “If we have to talk, I found it’s
easier for me to be the first one and break the ice" to keep herself
from second-guessing what she planned to say.
Seek accommodations
People with an ADHD diagnosis can request accommodations at work through
the Americans with Disabilities Act. Noise-canceling headphones may
help. Consider asking for the ability to take a break every 20 minutes,
Sylvester said.
“Set a timer for five to 10 minutes. Get up and walk around. Make some
coffee. Go play with the dog,” he said. “When that timer goes off, go
back to a 15 to 20 minute hard productivity cycle.”
Employees can also request a flexible schedule or ability to work from
home, which can enable time for therapy or self-care.
Antoinette Damico, 23, who coordinates events at an executive search
firm in San Francisco, said she practices meditation, writes daily goals
in a journal and stays off short-form media to improve her
concentration.
Celebrate your strengths
Having ADHD can be an asset in the workplace, and many CEOs and
entrepreneurs are neurodiverse, Didier said.
“We bring all kinds of unique talents to our workplaces. Hyper-focus,
lots of energy, resilience, the ability to multitask,” she added.
“There’s something about people with ADHD that seems to unmask or give
us a greater capacity for creativity and innovation.”
Damico also thinks her ADHD provides some advantages. When she's
interested in a topic, she can be extremely focused, reading extensively
and talking about the topic nonstop, a trait others with ADHD report.
“It can generate a real passion in you that is a bit unique," she said.
"It really creates this grit in me in terms of when I really want to
accomplish something, there’s this boost of energy.”
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