5 Tips for Working From Home as a Turbo Thinker©
Even with the prevalence of vaccines and many people opting to go back to the office, many of us choose to remain working from home. Some of us have always worked from home, as solo-preneurs, digital nomads or remote workers. What elements might you consider when you have ADHD? What does your turbo thinking brain need to ensure your success?
Manage your time:
You get to design your own day! What kind of structure can you put in place that allows you to work when your cognitive energy is high and you can focus best? What are some touchpoints you can place in your daily schedule? Do you have a specific start time and end time? Do you have meal times? Do you have a dog walking time? Do you have break and rest times? You get to plan how much time you want to spend on focused work. And when you lay out the plan ahead of time, you don’t waste time deciding what to do next.
Manage your space:
You get to design the environment for the most productive work. Do you need to clear visual clutter? What is the temperature you seek? The smells? The sounds? How comfortable does it need to be? Do you need to break it up and perhaps work outside for part of the time? Can you work in different spaces to satisfy your novelty seeking brain?
Manage your distractions:
How can you anticipate and prevent distractions from breaking your flow? Can you put your phone on airplane mode? Can you create an auto reply? Can you put on a sign on your door and lock it? Can you turn off computer notifications or work offline? Can you communicate your plan to the people around you and set some boundaries?
Manage your M.E.D.S.:
In addition to your ADHD medication, if you take it, how do you ensure you include adequate Mindfulness breaks, Exercise, Diet and Sleep into your daily routine? How many hours of sleep does your brain need? How regularly do you hydrate and fuel your brain with nutritious food? How often do you move your body? Do you include aerobic and anaerobic activities to boost both your mood and cognitive function? How often do you pause during the day for a mindfulness meditation to ground yourself and regulate your emotions?
Manage yourself:
What resources do you have at your disposal? Successful Turbo Thinkers have mastered self advocacy skills. How can you build accountability into your day so that you stick to your plan? It can be IRL or virtual, but how can you build a team to encourage and support you? As an adult with ADHD, you can learn what your brain needs and how to unabashedly ask for it. That support may include peers, friends, family, or professional coaching. The beauty of working from home is that you get to decide how to work best with your brain rather than against it. Go, you!