How to cope with ADHD as a Product Manager

Did you know that over 4% of adults in the US have ADHD? This number is likely under-represented given how many are undiagnosed. Chances are you know someone who experiences symptoms that sit somewhere on the ADHD spectrum so even if you don’t have ADHD yourself, I strongly encourage you to keep reading.

Since ADHD is invisible to the eye and not often discussed in society or work, it can be hard for us to recognize how ADHD brains work differently. It’s important for us to learn about and discuss topics like this, so that we can consider how we can better support the people we work alongside every day.

Take the time today to understand how people with ADHD work, and someone may take the time tomorrow to understand how in some way you work differently.

Before we proceed with the article, please take note: this post does not provide any medical advice and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

However, the article does include tips and stories from the PM ADHD community, including comments from Irene’s Twitter thread on ADHD!

What’s it like to struggle with ADHD?

People struggling with ADHD often have thoughts that are moving too fast to keep up with. Context-switching happens so constantly that it’s extremely difficult to focus on one subject for too long, like during meetings.

Routine can be difficult for the ADHD mind, particularly because digital distractions are constant. This leads to an accumulation of partially completed tasks, like open emails or Slack messages throughout the day. With ADHD, it can be tough to stay organized and finish tasks that were started or require follow-up.

When considering a new task to complete, there can be a big hurdle of resistance for someone with ADHD to clear before becoming motivated enough to work on a task that doesn’t provide a big enough reward or create an intrinsic motivation. This can make it tough to prioritize certain tasks that need to get done or to manage pivoting…