ADD and Work: Information on ADD at work

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Work

Many people with ADD experience difficulties at work. If your work environment is not ADD friendly, you run the risk of working messily and developing stress. The challenges facing the ADDer include:

• Time management
• Attention and concentration
• Memory
• Organizational skills
• Problem solving
• Environmental distractions

When having to cope with ADD, it is important to be in a job which matches your personal passions. People with ADD have on average more success in jobs fitting their personal interests. In an environment where the work interests you less, there is a greater risk that the challenges of life with ADD (more rapidly) become visible. A major task is to select the occupation that is most suitable for you.

ADDers often work best at jobs at which they van function independently, have challenging responsibilities and where one can work at his/her own tempo. Finishing details can best be left to colleagues. Generally ADDers are the problem solvers, creative minds and strategist. Your talents can be applied most effectively on the exciting and challenging aspects at work and much less effectively at the processing of the administrative sides.

Time Management:
ADDers have a chronic need to keep everything under control. First item on the ADDers agenda should be the planning in itself. This will help to file your ideas and to recover overview.
Regularly take a short pause during work to give yourself a short time to recharge and to renew ideas. Try not to be a perfectionist. If you continue to be occupied at wondering how something could be better, nothing will ever leave your office.

Structure:
Develop a structure in work and private life which works for you. Flexible working hours, considers requesting your employer for working part-time at home and/or a daily/weekly consultation. Discuss your deadlines and plan forthcoming tasks. ADDers experience grave difficulties at stipulating deadlines. Deadlines, for this reason, should wherever possible be avoided or prevented.

It takes much energy to ignore the ongoing flow of thoughts which characterizes ADD. With this disorder it is practically impossible to behave natural, unless the work environment has knowledge of your ADD and wants to take into account that the work you do is appropriate. In much literature concerning ADD one recommends to ask a colleague’s support at keeping "the big picture". Keeping overview is what is most needed!

In practice ADDers mostly work best in an independent occupation on a quiet spot. Delegating tasks is very good, even though you would prefer to do everything yourself. At too much rest the energy level of the ADDer decreases. But due to the perfectionism and the high intelligence level, which frequently accompanies ADD, they often tend to overcharge themself. ADDers and ADHDers can moreover process large quantities of information, as long as these come in small portions. Otherwise one loses his or her overview and it becomes difficult to set priorities which results in inactivy. The person afterwards feels guilty and frustrated with him- or herself. This is an ongoing process as a result of which many AD/HDers develop a basic feeling of uncertainty about their functioning.