Understanding ADD and ADHD: how your environment can make it a gift or a hurdle

Reading time: 10 minutes.

Abstract image depicting the inconsistency and situational variability associated with ADHD

Remember Andy from the previous article? Today, we will explore why his mind is sometimes laser-focused, and sometimes his mind just can’t stand still. And we’ll also look at how to influence which of these two reactions he gets when he engages in a task.

Here’s a short recap:

In the life of a neurotypical person, goals and plans are like a clear, straight path: he wants to finish school, so he sticks to a plan - listen in class, do homework, and learn for exams. When distractions like hunger or chit-chat with Steve pop up, he simply puts them on hold until break time, keeping his eyes on the prize.

ADHD Andy's journey, however, feels more like a roller coaster. His focus might zoom in super close on something fascinating or wander off to dwell on a morning spat. If nothing grabs his attention, it's like a pinball machine—thoughts bouncing from Tina's birthday to what's for lunch, and before he knows it, class is over, and he's missed everything. Long-term goals like finishing school don't shine as brightly because they're way off in the future, making it tough to stick to the plan.

ADHD Andy also faces hurdles with keeping track of what he's doing from moment to moment. He's often led by spur-of-the-moment thoughts, which means tasks can get started but not finished. He might not even notice he's hungry until he stumbles upon his sandwich. Plus, time has a way of slipping by unnoticed, leaving him puzzled about how it flew by so fast. It's a wild ride, full of distractions and detours, making everyday goals a lot more challenging to achieve.

 

Let’s start with the neuroscience

Dopamine, a brain chemical linked to pleasure and motivation, plays a key role in how we focus. Individuals with ADHD typically have fewer dopamine receptors¹, making it challenging to start and maintain focus on tasks, a difference rooted in brain chemistry rather than effort.

ADHD and Brain Activation Guhan

Hypo-, intentional, and hyperfocus

This simple graph from Vidya Guhan (founder of Calm Seas Coaching) perfectly describes how this chemical imbalance plays out when it comes to engaging with a task².

The difference between the ADHD and non-ADHD brains is quite big, isn’t it?

For a person with ADHD, a task that is not interesting is one in which their brain will not engage. They can’t pay attention even if they want to. That’s hypofocus.

A very interesting task is one on which they will hyperfocus. Their brain will get all the stimulation it needs, and the ADHD-er will keep doing that task until they’re done, they’re interrupted, it gets boring or they’re too tired to keep going.

ADHD brains, unlike non-ADHD ones, have a very small window in which they can choose to intentionally focus. For this, the task should be interesting enough, so their brain gets activated, but not too interesting so they hyperfocus (which is the point where they’re less intentional about focusing in and out, as they start having trouble switching off).

The intentional focus box is typically required by the most important tasks. Taxes, chores, that report your manager asked for - those are important things that need to be done. For a non-ADHD-er, the task activation point is much lower than for an ADHD brain. Neurotypical brains will start doing those tasks even if they are almost not interesting at all. For an ADHD brain, however, that intentional focus box is so small, that it’s almost impossible to hit. So important tasks will not get done if they’re not interesting.

Before going any further, I think we need to address the buzzword here: interest.

Interest is anything that stimulates your brain. It can be:

  • Positive interest: making you curious, filling you with joy and excitement.

  • Negative interest: something unhealthy, maybe a bit scary which, at the same time, raises your curiosity to learn more. Like a car crash that you’re scared of, or repulsed by, which you can’t stop looking at.

Being hot-wired for novelty and interest can lead to very inconsistent behavior. When a task is new, it can be an interesting challenge the ADHD-er will be brilliant in tackling. Once the novelty factor is gone, though, the task will be so much more difficult to work on.

And for a person without ADHD, this inconsistency will be incredibly difficult to relate to. Because non-ADHD brains can intentionally shift focus and engage with a task regardless of how boring or stimulating that task is. Of how new or old it is. If it’s important, they just do it.

 

Real-life implications

Let’s go back to Andy. His ADHD traits are highly variable. Sometimes his ADHD is barely noticeable, his work is brilliant, clear, sharp, and quick. He over-delivers. And sometimes he’s…overwhelmed. He’s unable to focus. His thoughts are scattered and he’s running all over the place.

Three main factors influence how his ADHD traits show up:

  • Interest

  • Structure

  • Environment and framing

Why interest is important.

I’ll give you two examples to show you what I mean:

Example 1

Success:

A few years ago, I was asked to create some reporting dashboards. Excel? My skills were basic, but I was really interested to look at this data and see what I could make out of it. So I Googled, and watched YouTube videos, and in the end, I not only became really good at Excel, but I created some pretty cool dashboards that we went on to use for our regular Performance Dialogues.

Fail:

Fast forward a few months, and I had to create a different report. A necessary task which I had little interest in. I did my best to do the job and sent the file across, only to have my colleague point out an error. I fixed it and sent the file back. And they came back with a new error. I felt horrible. I could have sworn I had it right the first time. And the second. I did multiple checks both times! But I guess my mind was just not engaged enough in the task to catch these errors…

In both cases, I was manipulating data. In one case I did a brilliant job, while in the other… Not so much (I still feel super ashamed when I remember this!).

 

Example 2:

Success:

A few years ago, one of my colleagues told me that I am like an encyclopedia. I remember all the discussions we’ve had and all the decisions we made on how to develop the tool we were responsible for. And in three years I never took a note. That project was the most challenging and interesting project I had ever worked on.

Fail:

In one of my first jobs, I needed to enter data and do what seemed to me a very complicated month-end process. Every month, my colleague had to look through the data I entered and had to explain the process to me. I was sure this time I would remember, and just to be double-sure, I took notes. Only to realize the following month that… I didn’t remember and I have no clue where I put my notes. Needless to say, I did not stay long in that job. Data entry was not one of the things I felt particularly interested in. Or good at. Come to think of it, these two are probably related.

 

Now… My colleagues don’t necessarily know or care how engaged or interested I am in a task. The task needs to be done. So, I must assess how to tackle this best.

Is it interesting? Great! If it’s not, here are a few options:

  • Delegate. It’s really important to know your weaknesses and to surround yourself with people who complement them. Who in your team takes an interest in the tasks you find difficult?

  • Reframe. How can you make that task interesting? Can you maybe turn it into a challenge? Or can you add some novelty to it, maybe by doing it in a new way?

  • Self-advocate. Be aware and communicate clearly what are the things that you struggle with. Ask for the support you need. Do you need more time? Do you need clearer instructions? Do you need training?

And don’t forget to sometimes reflect on all the great stuff you can do when you play on your strengths in an area of interest. Just because some things are hard, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have a lot to offer.

 

Why structure is important.

 

Of course, I have an example here as well:

Success:

I remember a few years ago when I started a new job and my manager told me after a few months: “Carmen, you’re so organized and you’re really good at managing your projects!”. It was a new job, I had very clear responsibilities, I knew what was expected of me and by when. And, of course, I tried to make it even better and faster because… That’s how I get my kicks. I felt confident and competent.

Fail:

Fast forward, a year later my projects were over, my manager had moved on to a new role, and I had no clue what was expected from me. What came next were months of chaos. And in that chaos, I was trying my best to create some structure, create my own goals, and provide direction for my stakeholders (while still being unsure of where I was supposed to be heading). By the time I got a new manager, I was incredibly overwhelmed and my confidence in my competence was lower than ever.

I was in the same role, and I had grown quite a bit in those months, but I felt the complete opposite. The only difference was that now the structure was missing. There was little support and no clear direction.

For people with ADHD, a structured, supportive environment with clear goals is crucial for success. Because our executive functions are already impaired. So, a framework helps reduce distractions (otherwise, we might go on countless side-quests). It also helps reduce stress, as we tend to start too many things which we then can’t prioritize, and then get overwhelmed by how much we have to do.


And for all y’all non-ADHD-ers here – please don’t start micromanaging your colleagues with ADHD. We hate that. If you want to help us thrive, give us a general direction, the freedom to choose how to reach that goal, and a pat on the back once in a while. This is all we need.

Why environment is important.

Are you focusing on your strengths or weaknesses? Are you putting yourself in an environment where you can leverage your strengths? An environment where your ADHD symptoms can be leveraged?

Because yes, every ADHD symptom can be a strength in the right environment.

Here I have a few personal stories to share:

  • When I was a student, I used to volunteer to help event organizers on the day when big concerts were happening. Having high energy was really helpful when I had to go from one end of the stadium to the other, countless times a day, to help set up the location for the event. But when I fidget to be able to focus while sitting in a chair during a 4-hour meeting, the same high energy is called hyperactivity and frowned upon

  • Distractibility is one of the hallmarks of ADHD. You might notice me shifting focus mid-task. Or sometimes mid-sentence. Not because I am bored (although… that might also be). But most of the time, this is because something else might have caught my attention and my curiosity. As a coach, being curious is one of my biggest assets.

  • I am sometimes unfocused. But on the right tasks, I can also get hyperfocused.

  • What about stubbornness? I grew up being told I was stubborn, which was bad. Later on, I realized that the same thing that makes me stubborn makes me persistent towards a goal when I truly believe in it.

  • Am I easily bored? Yes, I am. Boredom is painful for an ADHD-er. And this is why I thrive in high-stress and high-stimulation environments. I need novelty, I need a challenge. When others see problems, I get excited and start looking for solutions.

  • I am hypersensitive. And I hate it when I start tearing up in the most inappropriate moments (like an interview - still cringe every time I remember). Or when I am in very loud places and I get overstimulated by sounds. But my hypersensitivities are also what makes me a fantastic coach. They’re what makes me the person people reach out to when they need support. Because I can easily hear emotions shift in someone’s voice, and I can feel together with them.


The ADHD brain, just like any other, needs the right tools to be able to thrive.

Understanding and accepting your unique brain wiring opens the door to exploring just what tools and levers you need to access, to find your own pathway to success.

So what is your environment for success? That environment where you can use your strengths and pursue your interests. And do you already know what support and how the structure looks like for you in that environment?

 

Sources:

1-Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Newcorn JH, Kollins SH, Wigal TL, Telang F, Fowler JS, Goldstein RZ, Klein N, Logan J, Wong C, Swanson JM. Motivation deficit in ADHD is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20856250/

2-Vidya Guhan. How to Deal with Situational Variability in Adults with ADHD: https://chadd.org/adhd-news/adhd-news-adults/how-to-deal-with-situational-variability/

 
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ADHD-friendly guide to get organized and overcome overwhelm

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Understanding ADD and ADHD: is it really an attention deficit?