Lessons in Productivity (from someone with ADD)

A colleague recently approached me about tips for being productive as someone who is openly neurodivergent (I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) at age 6 before it was even a "thing" if that tells you how ADD I am. :) )

Their questions had me auditing how I work, and the things that make me more (or less) successful in being productive each day. I have 3 speeds: down a rabbit hole for hours, pretending to multi-task working in likely 10-minute chunks, and not focused at all. My team will regularly say, "while I have you, can you do this other thing too" because they know when they have me, they have me. And when they don't, well... good luck.

Staying organized is difficult. And then staying on the tasked I’ve planned is even more difficult. I don't have it figured out - I still learn about myself nearly everyday. But there are some operational tactics that have helped my spicy brain. Sharing my findings in case it's useful for anyone else.

⁃ Use a Planner: Whether it's a physical planner or a digital one, keeping a detailed schedule can help me stay on top of tasks and deadlines. Bonus - thanks to an idea from Marc Zao-Sanders, I block my calendar hours off according to prioritized tasks and it’s color coded by fun, work, family, high priority etc. So for example, from 7-8a every morning, go for a walk and check my emails. 8- 830a - standing meeting, 12-1230p walk pups and remember to have lunch. Of course, some meetings will get scheduled over your chunks, but by blocking your calendar and having a reason for it being blocked, people are more hesitant to book that time and or you have a better justification for prioritizing the meeting or not.

⁃ Break Tasks into Smaller Steps: Large tasks can be overwhelming. Break them down into smaller, manageable steps to make them more approachable. Break the larger projects into smaller milestones. A really important part of this is understanding the full scope of the project at the beginning. And creating an exact task list of all the things that will make up the full completion. Then you can chunk it up into more manageable intervals.

⁃ Set Reminders: Use alarms, timers, or reminder apps to keep track of important tasks and appointments. I also use reminders to help me remember to take breaks every 90 minutes.

⁃ Use a task manager alongside your planner: To do lists can be very helpful, but also can get very long and therefore, stressful. If they don’t work for you, try task management tools like Trello, Asana. You can do the same as with the planner - chunking it up by need, priority, deadline, etc.

⁃ Limit Distractions: I am very easily distracted by pings, notifications, emails, the dogs, family, etc., so even when I’m not in meetings, I have noise canceling headphones in. Perhaps unpopular strategy - I disable notifications so that I am checking in on MY time, no one elses. I do my best to check the company social software (Teams, Slack, etc) five times a day at the same time every day and that way, I’m not being pulled away constantly. The relevant people know to text me if it's urgent.

⁃ Prioritize: first thing in the morning or the night before, I look at my Trello and I organize top to bottom by the things that need to get done first. I set mini goals to complete no less than 3 a day. Some weeks are more successful than others, but it's less overwhelming and I feel productive and satisfied when I get to mark something completed.

⁃ Take Breaks or work at set intervals. I do my best to work in chunks and then I have an alert on my phone that pings every 90 to tell me to get up and change scenery. The middle of my days are held for meetings, which is okay because I work best first thing and at night. Find when you work best. Audit yourself to find out what times you are most creative, highest energy, etc. and make that your "deep work" time. Block that time for you and protect it. Techniques like Pomodoro can also be effective.

⁃ Use Visual Aids: I am a very visual learner and processor. I need to see it for it to register. I take notes religiously, but also do a lot of color coding, chart making, timeline planning, etc.

Important to note that there is a difference in simply doing more, and making more productive use of your time. The answer isn't always to do more, and that is certainly not the intent of me sharing. The answer is to make the most of the time you've set aside for ALL aspects of your life, and being present and focused there.

Do you have any productivity secrets? It won't be the same as mine, but it's important to audit yourself to know what works best.