Staying focused when you have ADHD can be a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technically, people with ADHD have no problems focusing, it\u2019s just that they focus on things other than what they should be focusing on. When you\u2019re young, it means you have a hard time focusing in school. When you\u2019re an adult, it means you have a hard time focusing at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luckily, there are things you can do to make it a bit easier. I have four main tools I use to stay focused at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the last 6 years, I\u2019ve been self-employed. That means I get to choose what I work on, which makes it easier for me to manage my tasks, keeping me focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I manage a marketing company, focusing on writing, editing, and social media management. Every day, I manage projects for multiple clients. One day, I might manage a Twitter account for one client, Facebook for another, and Instagram for another, while also editing a couple pages for another client, and writing a blog post for fifth client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The great thing about this set up is that I\u2019m not stuck doing the same thing every day. Every day brings new experiences. I might, for example, write website copy for a jeweller, manage the Facebook page for a massage therapist, and edit a thesis for a graduate student all in the same day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This allows me to break my workday into chunks<\/strong>. For example, the day I wrote this blog post, I managed 4 Facebook pages, 2 Twitter accounts, and 3 Instagram profiles. On average, I spend about 20\u201330 minutes on each. Because those 4.5 hours are split into smaller bits, I\u2019m less likely to get distracted by something else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve built distraction into my job, focusing on multiple projects for multiple clients. This forces me to shift my mindset several times a day, reducing my temptation to give into distractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing that keeps me focused is drinking lots of water. It focuses me to get up regularly from my desk, both to refill my water bottle and to urinate a bit later. I work from home, which also allows me to incorporate household tasks into my work day, such as switching laundry. Taking short 3\u20135 minute breaks<\/strong> resets my brain. You don\u2019t need to work from home to take short breaks either: you could walk to a coworker\u2019s office, for example, to follow up on an assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something else I must do to keep focused is reduce distractions<\/strong>. This past September, I moved my office out of a corner of our family room and into one of the bedrooms. Having a door makes a huge difference in reducing noise and interruptions from family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also listen to podcasts through headphones. That further reduces the ambient noise in the home that reaches my ears. I can\u2019t listen to podcasts when I\u2019m editing or writing though, since it makes it difficult to concentrate on the writing. It doesn\u2019t interfere with my social media management though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of social media, I also have to close Facebook when I\u2019m working. I have no browser tabs open with Facebook. I get no Facebook notifications on my phone or in my email. Facebook is such a time killer, that I can\u2019t risk getting sucked in when I\u2019m working. Even when I do need to open it for a client, I use Facebook Business Manager, which hides notifications from my personal account. And once I log into Business Manager once, I can stay in it when switching between client pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, I have a set schedule I follow every day. I have created a project schedule in my work Google Calendar, allocating tasks to specific time slots. I do most of my social media management in the mornings, and each morning is divided into 15\u201330 minute slots. I get an email and popup notification for each one as a reminder. Knowing that I have a new social media account coming up at 10:00 keeps me on task. Also, I know that if I don\u2019t stay on track, I won\u2019t be finished by noon, and I\u2019ll end up having to use my afternoon for client social media instead of editing or writing for clients or my own content curation\/creation. Having a set schedule with reminders <\/strong>keeps me motivated, and it has the added benefit of reducing the risk of forgetting a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, those are the 4 tricks I use to stay focused at work. How do you stay focused at work? Let me know in the comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n