ADD and the Workplace

Frank Manfre
Apr 23
2 min read

Having ADD doesn’t mean someone is stupid and there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD, has a deep social impact. It affects the home and work environments of those that suffer from it. Typical symptoms include:

Easily distracted
Inability to stay focused
Impulsive acts or words
Difficulty maintaining attention during a conversation
Poor frustration tolerance
Angry outbursts
Mood swings
Procrastination
Difficulty getting organized
Chronic procrastination
Tendency to worry rather than act
Tendency to hop from project to project

Having ADD doesn’t mean someone is stupid and there is nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of very smart people have had ADD, including Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and Mozart. In the workplace a person with ADD needs to be able to explain what’s going on inside them to their boss in terms they can understand and sympathize with. Once you do so, you may be able to greatly improve your work conditions, feel better about your work, and boost your performance.

Edward Hollowell, MD https://drhallowell.com/ a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist and world authority on ADHD explains ADD in its simplest terms as “Being nearsighted and needing eyeglasses, except the nearsightedness isn’t in your eyes. Instead, for those with ADD it’s in how you think, and you need glasses for how you think to help focus your attention. This allows you to better remember things and have less trouble getting organized.”

Many adults with ADD haven’t filled their considerable creative potential because they been unable to shape and direct their creative energies. Creating structure allows the ADD mind to be put to best use. Structure refers to essential tools like lists, Post It note reminders, notepads, appointment apps, filing systems, bulletin boards, alarm clocks and alarm watches. Dr. Hollowell recommends a scheme of reorganizing one’s life called pattern planning, a system of time management. Simple in its conception, pattern planning can reduce the stresses of planning one’s life considerably.

Pattern Planning Basics:

Focus on only one area or room at a time
Schedule specific cleaning and organizing times in your planner - plan to spend only 30 minutes to an hour on each task.
Categorize boxes for items as you organize - toss, donate and keep. When you fill a donation box, make an appointment for that action.

Where to find additional information and help: