I am ADDer, and struggled with finding the right job for years until I finally settled in to what I do now- a general clinical psychologist with an ADD coaching practice. It’s always been said that an ADDer needs a structured job But if the job is in a busy workplace and the ADDer is easily distracted,, it becomes hard to focus on the task at hand . I took a structured job in a hospital research lab early on. There were no distractions, but the job was repetitive and after a while, not stimulating. I became bored, my arousal level was low and I often didn’t attend to important details. So if an ADDer gets a structured job, he needs to make sure the workplace is suitable, the tasks have enough variability, stimulation and a low level of distractibility, to keep up the arousal level necessary to remain task focused.
Ultimately, I became a clinical psychologist in private practice, which is entrepreneurial and very stimulating. I can focus well on clients, maybe even hyperfocus, However I have some significant challenges I am disorganized , particularly with billing, which was tedious, so I lost out on money by not doing follow-ups. I had to hire a billing -and client-friendly- office manager who helped tremendously. The other problem I have is that clients today, while they may be serious about seeking therapy, often will come at odd hours each day leaving many open hours. How do I fill the empty hours? With athletic activities . workshops and courses, although my schedule is not predictable. So I’m still working on the structure of the day and week. Therefore, if an ADDer wants to be an entrepreneur, consider getting help to organize and figure out what to do with non-work related time. Perhaps even some part-time work. In another arena.
If you are an ADDer, are you in the right job?
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