ADHD Problems
ADHD impacts every area of a person’s life, affecting their attention, ability to sit still and self-control. It can also affect a person’s job and result in low productivity as well as a strained relationship with employers and colleagues. Here are some challenges that people with ADHD have on an on-going basis that affect their employment with a few tips on how to deal with them.
Lateness to work
People with ADHD have a distorted sense of time, which makes it appear like time is either too slow or too fast. This usually results in lateness to places such as work. If you are trying to advance in your workplace there are several strategies to help you.
· Get ready the night before
· Set multiple alarms to remind you of the things you need to do every morning.
· Establish a daily routine and stick to it
These simple things can help you get to work on time each morning.
High absenteeism
Most employers don’t have issues with workers missing a certain number of work days each year, but it can become an issue when it becomes excessive. For people with ADHD, it’s common to experience feelings of sickness and fatigue due to heightened sensitivity.
Be mindful of your health
· Eat healthy
· Track you sleep cycle
· Use strategies for maintaining your mental health
Set monthly goals to review how often you’re absent from work, and make sure you reward yourself for pushing through the days you wanted to call in sick.
Frequent mistakes
Since people with ADHD tend to procrastinate often and arrive late to work, it’s not uncommon for them to experience anxiety and rush things to meet deadlines. Other times, they can get lost in thoughts and lose track of tasks while working, and in both instances, there’s a high tendency for mistakes to occur. Most of the clients I work with when asked to proof read something can find their own mistakes. Here are a few ways to avoid frequent mistakes.
· Take a deep breath and S L O W down when typing an email
· Start a project early
Often just the start of a task will get you motivated and leave plenty of time for edits without the stress to get it done.
· Break the project into smaller tasks
The perceived reduced level of work involved often can help with quality of your work.
· Always finish with a self-mandatory final edit.
· Use your resources
Ask a friend to check it over for mistakes before completing it.
· Sticky notes
If you’re delivering the project via email, put a sticky note on screen to remind you to double check for mistakes before hitting the send button.
Hard time transitioning
Chances are good that while you’re working, you might experience distractions which could be a notification from your social media account, a colleague or happenings around and so on. Many people with ADHD find it hard, getting back their flow after being distracted, leading to wasted time.
Identify what is most important and takes the longest
I suggest that people tackle the most daunting tasks first that consumes the most time.
· Create the space to make it happen.
· Turn off your phone,
· Put headphones on with music that motivates you,
· Pick a time that is your most productive time of day,
· Use a Do Not Disturb Great Things are Happening sign
I find the do not disturb sign can be a great cue for others to not break that focused time for you and can be motivating for others to go do great things too. I have even seen offices have a set time of day that is known as the quiet zone to get great things done. Employees appreciate that dedicated uninterrupted time and it becomes “catchy” creating a great productive vibe.
Lack of dependability
People tend to have less confidence in other people who cannot turn in a project in good time or arrive late to work. Are there other reasons why you think others find it hard to depend on you? Write them down so you can work on them.
· Write it down- todo lists really work!
· Live up to your promise
· Limit commitments
There are several ways through which you can become a dependable person, and the first is to own up when you fail to follow through on something. Live up to your promises. Do you over commit? So make sure you have sufficient time and energy before you promise to lend a helping hand to your colleague. Set a to-do list of what you need to do each day and be sure to include the commitments you’ve made. If you make a mistake or you’re unable to make good your word, accept the responsibility and offer to make it up to them.
Intentions are powerful
Just by making a conscious effort in all of the above-known issues that come up with ADHD can set the intention for change and improvement to follow. You have made it a priority, and just that act will help create positive changes that people will start to notice!
Raz Coaching specializes in helping people with executive function challenges associated with ADHD, PTSD, Stress, TBI’s and ASD find careers they will love and land them. Read more at www.razcoaching.com/about Or sign up for the weekly blog and learn about my new book Happiness+Passion+Purpose.
