If you have ADHD and love your job, what do you do?

[TheEveningReport]

I have recently discovered I have ADHD. After years of not understanding why I found it so hard to motivate myself in jobs, everything has fallen into place. Those of you who have or suspect you have ADHD, and love their jobs, what do you do?

Side note - I’ve noticed quite a bit of backlash against posters who mention neurodiversity lately. Please don’t bring it here.

Lawyer.
I agree that there's a lot of neuro diversity in the profession .

Hear me out, I work in event planning and it’s brilliant for an ADHD brain.

I could give chapter and verse as to why but it boils down to this: It’s one of those jobs where if you don’t do it, it will be really obvious to everyone that you haven’t done it. Nowhere to hide. If I didn’t have that hanging over me, I would do less than nothing 😆

How did you all manage to stay focussed and not zone out or get bored of the full bits and revise for exams?

I’m a youth worker in a school! It’s varied and chaotic which keeps be going. I love it.

Ha. Another lawyer here. This surprises me there are so many others with adhd here. I really struggle to be constantly churning the work out at a steady pace. I procrastinate so much. But absolutely thrive under pressure and can nail a deadline.

I enjoyed it so I hyper focused, plus I constantly craved dopamine hits so making notes with lots of pretty colours and setting targets to memorise stuff turned it into a fun activity. The only one I really struggled with was land law but I had a great tutor who gave me extra help to really keep me on track, I ended up actually getting a really high pass mark in the end.

I do litigation now and like @sunshine2025 i can’t churn work out at a slow pace. I literally have to be 100mph at all times with pressing deadlines or nothing gets done! The things that don’t have deadlines will sit there for weeks. I’ve learned to force myself to do those things first thing and then the more fun stuff throughout the day.

If it’s quiet though I HATE it, it genuinely makes me anxious and I procrastinate horribly.

I have a teacher colleague who I'm sure has ADHD. She thrives on the busi-ness and way every day and student can be different. She does change job a lot though. She's been though 5 or 6 in the time I've changed job once.

Maybe the pp meant “DIAGNOSED since childhood”.

I managed to burnout aged 16 🤣 doing my GCSEs (true story, I crammed...) then faffed around choosing easy A Levels - I wish I had challenged myself a little more as they were all very similar and artsy. However my brain runs on logical train tracks. I've pivoted between direct helping people roles (which I love but eventually my brain just isn't challenged enough). I had the option to go into youth justice/seriously youth violence but I felt that it wouldn't be very family friendly hours wise (no idea if that's true but was working lots of evenings at the time already) and I also have a lot of trauma in my earlier life - I felt it might just be a step too far / too draining emotionally (I wanted a family at the time and wasn't sure I'd be spread too thin).

Like a PP I work in Fundraising which is great as it's mentally stimulating, fast paced, lots of deadlines.

I've had a tonne of neurodivergent coaching which has been essential. I have been very prone to burnout but am getting better.

im amazed at how so many of you run a business or are managers. ADHD can be so crippling when t comes to planning and organising people or things how do you do it?

I’m an early years TA. I think it helps a lot (although some days I do come home and need to lie in peace!) I need to be busy and have a variety of tasks.

AuDHD here. I crashed out of law but in hindsight I reckon a more high-stakes environment would have been a better fit - family law, litigation or the Bar.

I run a small charity which I started, with trustees and a bookkeeper to handle the detail that bogs me down - it’s frontline and the epitome of chaos. Looking around my volunteers I suspect many are ND and thrive on it too. I also walk dogs in my free time, and run an online reselling business. Before I left law I bought a small flat to rent out (or rather, saved to keep the flat ai’d have otherwise sold when we moved) and that has helped to keep me afloat at times. I am very good with people on a project basis or in small doses.

I’m a children’s storyteller. Love the fast-paced chaotic energy of a story session, and can react to the needs of the audience and change the story to suit the energy of the room.

I’m sorry I’m not diagnosed but im pretty sure. I’m a speech therapist. In acute work I thrived. Every day is a fresh start. I saw most of my patients once or twice at most (usually in ED or acute wards like stroke) and I needed to assess, make decisions, execute them and tie everything up on the same day. I was terrible at jobs where you see the same patients for years on end (head and neck cancer).

Im also pretty sure my dad would have a diagnosis now. He was an accountant which was a terrible fit. My mum thought he should have been an auctioneer.

Senior exec in a big frontline organisation. I started out in law but like others thrive most when high on adrenaline and code switching between different areas. I can spend 80% of my week on safeguarding and then sign off a submission in a big civil or corporate issue on a Friday afternoon. Given how much I change about, I am self-trained or have learned through experience in the areas where I bring most value.

Where I don't thrive is that my job has very dull rote elements which I cannot care about and so am regularly struggle at work with people who are my polar opposites. I am open about being ADHD because otherwise I would be an extremely high value punchbag.

I’m an actuary, I really enjoy, I took a step back recently as I used to be a CRO, I really enjoyed that too, both roles are actually very similar.

Another lawyer chiming in! Everywhere I look in litigation there are people with autism and ADHD. I reckon at least half don't even know they have it. The attention to detail, strong desire for justice, obsessive qualities and the need for tunnel vision really does benefit this career. My ASD is an absolute gift when it come to my job!

I'm AuDHD. Background is educational psychology and family therapy. I now manage a clinical training department in a large private MH organisation. It's mostly remote working unless we have to go on customer sites, but I don't do much of the actual field work now. I love not commuting and I love the variety of the job, the creativity in designing courses and programmes tailored to the needs of teams, organisations, etc. Managing staff can be challenging at times, but fortunately most of the team are pretty good.

Not diagnosed, but definitely have traits of ADHD. I work in education and my job is full on. Most days I love my job but some days I just like it. I'm also setting up my own business in art - a true passion for me. I don't think it will be my main income but a side hassle. My brain is constantly in overdrive so I need to be busy 🙂

PM as in Prime Minister? lol if so

@Foxyloxy89 PM stands for Project Manager (among other things!)

I’m a research focused academic. Love my job.

Honestly I have struggled with every type of work I’ve tried. ADHD diagnosed but probably AuDHD. I crave novelty but need structure. I get bored after a couple of years but I’m afraid to change jobs, interviews are so stressful.
I used to teach and loved working with children, especially younger ones, but couldn’t bear the school working environment, found it physically and mentally exhausting (in my early 20s).
Have had office jobs in a non profit sector for many years but it always goes the same way.
I wish I loved gardening because that must be a good job for people like me.

Or if I’d been supported to carry on serious dance training perhaps I could have taught that.

Not a very helpful answer, I’m sorry! But reading with interest.

I mean, obviously not..

Yes this.
i mean I work well under pressure, pretty sure a prime minister is that and then some again, prob best not suited for us!