8 Productivity Tips for Neurodivergent Professionals – From a Gen Z ADHDer

“Just make a list.”

The revolutionary piece of advice we hear all the time. Another good one is “build good habits and routines.” Suddenly, every ADHDer on the planet has been cured!

The internet is filled with more and less helpful tips for hacking ADHD and productivity. One of the themes of Nordic Business Forum 2026 is performance, so I am sharing my personal two cents on the topic as a Gen Z ADHDer who has had to learn a lot over the past few years, the beginning of my career. The following tips are based on personal experience, advice from professionals, discussions on the internet, credible and less credible sources I’ve encountered over the years, and, most importantly, some things I wish someone had told me when I first began my career.

ADHD and Motivation

“Just do it” doesn’t cut it with ADHDers. Before I get to my tips, it’s important to share a few words about what ADHD is and why this type of advice doesn’t work. The challenges that ADHD adults face have to do with both inattention and hyperactivity. These bring issues with executive dysfunction, emotional regulation, and motivation, which can impact our ability to work consistently, meet deadlines, communicate effectively, etc.

The way an ADHD brain works is generally misunderstood, and the advice we are given rarely touches upon the root of the issues we face. It’s easy to make a list, plan your day, set alarms, but what about doing those things is supposed to get us to do the thing we planned? It is the process of turning our plan into reality that often becomes the biggest struggle.

This is because the ADHD brain is motivated differently than that of neurotypicals. Completing an item on a to-do list isn’t sufficient motivation at all. Disruptions in the neural pathways associated with dopamine make it more difficult to perceive rewards, especially long-term ones. This can lead to a stronger pull toward new, stimulating tasks, difficulty sticking with repetitive chores, and feeling overwhelmed when organizing a lot of information.

There are great articles that offer tips on improving motivation in ADHD, thereby improving productivity. My advice will touch upon some of these as well, but my aim isn’t to simply repeat tips from other sources. The tips like “break tasks into smaller goals,” which, yes, can be helpful, but what then?

A “Disorder” or A “Superpower”

ADHD is categorized as a neurodevelopmental disorder. At the same time, there is talk about ADHD as a “superpower,” and while it might help us in some areas, that isn’t a very helpful narrative either.

As someone with ADHD, I’m drawn to the relatively recent theories about how ADHD and the traits associated with it have served an evolutionary purpose, explaining why these traits are still so widely prevalent today. If they were entirely negative, the mechanisms of natural selection would have eliminated or at least significantly reduced the pervasiveness of these traits. I’m inclined to view my “disorder” simply as a different way of processing the world, a neurological adaptation that developed alongside what we now view as neurotypical, serving a different purpose. The struggles that I’m facing aren’t there because there’s something wrong with me; rather, the environment I operate in doesn’t accommodate the differences in my nervous system.

While I could rant about what needs changing in our environment, that isn’t very helpful. I cannot expect the world to change immediately to accommodate my needs, which means that I need to find ways to navigate the environment I’m given. If there’s something I can change, I should, and if there’s something I can’t change, I need to approach it differently.

Tip 1: Don’t Plan and Execute on The Same Day

This is a personal observation on ADHD planning and task paralysis that I hope will help others as well. When the ADHD brain makes a plan and gets excited about whatever it is you’re planning, you are, essentially, using the energy and inspiration for creating the plan, leaving none for the actual execution. After the detailed outline of what you’re supposed to do is done and you try to start doing it, your brain goes: “But, we already did it. Why should we do it again?”

That’s why I schedule time separately for thinking and planning what I’m supposed to do, and for executing my plan on another day. This also helps me process the plan subconsciously in between, and when I finally sit down to execute, I feel confident and have recharged some of the energy and motivation needed to get it done. (It also helps that during the first time I start working on the task, I don’t actually have to get anything done, which removes some of the pressure.)

Tip 2: Start Doing Something

Anything. Anything is better than nothing. Open a document and type random letters or stand up and scream.

This is related to ADHD paralysis again, and some of the tips given to us already in primary school have actually worked against us. We’ve been told to start with the most challenging task, making it easier to move on to the easier ones afterward, and ensuring we use our best focus on what most needs it. This absolutely does not work for most neurodivergents, as we need momentum to build before tackling the tasks we find difficult.

However, my personal observation is that this isn’t only about difficulty, it’s also about boredom. Answering an email seems easy, we know it’s easy, but if it feels boring to the point of being annoying, then that is absolutely not the task you should start with!

Trick your brain into starting by doing something easy and enjoyable, even if it’s only remotely related. Tell yourself that the thing doesn’t have to get entirely done right now and that half-assed is better than having nothing at all. Distract yourself by doing something more fun at the same time, before moving your focus to the task as you gain momentum. Do anything but stay still and stare into the void.

Tip 3: Don’t Stop

You started doing something—amazing! Now, whatever you do, DON’T STOP.

When you finally get to that place of flow or even hyperfocus, make use of it. Even if your colleagues are going out for lunch, if you feel you’ve entered a state of focus, don’t go with them.

Breaks are important to keep you fed and hydrated, but they shouldn’t be so long that they take you out of the state of focus. You never know when you’ll get it back again, so cherish it when you have it. Keep some snacks and lunch ready in the fridge so that you don’t have to go out to get food. When you feel like your brain starts to get stuck, take a few breaths and pause, have a snack break before continuing. The only good reasons to fully stop whatever you’re doing are prior commitments, someone needing your help or input, emergencies, and sleep. And of course, when the thing gets done, or the flow ends naturally.

Tip 4: Fidgeting is FINE

If you often sit in a meeting feeling like fire ants are consuming your body, screaming inside, and trying to keep a straight face, know that fidgeting or stimming is a much better alternative. Movement is your nervous system’s way of regulating itself and staying in the moment. Try a fidget toy, drawing, taking notes, taking remote meetings while walking, or crocheting or knitting at the same time. Let others know that this is what helps you focus, and let yourself do it when you need it.

Tip 5: Mind Your Stimulation Level

The beautiful thing about neurodivergence is that we can easily be either overstimulated or understimulated, and both states make things difficult. If you continuously ignore how you’re feeling and force yourself to do things in either state, you often end up making things worse. Tomorrow, it will be even more difficult.

ADHD understimulation occurs when your brain doesn’t receive enough interesting input, so it feels dull, itchy, or hard to “turn on” even when you want to do something. ADHD overstimulation is the opposite: there’s too much input (noise, demands, choices, emotions), and your brain feels flooded, like it can’t filter anything, so you get overwhelmed or shut down.

In simple terms, if you’re overstimulated, you need to bring it down. If you’re understimulated, you need to bring it up. Both are easier said than done, but it all begins with trying to recognize which one you’re dealing with. If it’s difficult to function because you feel bored or restless, keep switching tasks, scrolling, snacking, chasing novelty, or can’t start a plain task, that’s often understimulation. If you feel irritated, tense, scattered, want to escape, need silence/darkness, get snappy/teary, or can’t think clearly because everything feels like “too much,” that’s often overstimulation.

If you’re understimulated, try adding gentle activation, like moving briefly, listening to music, or adding novelty by going to work somewhere you usually don’t. If you’re overstimulated, reduce input by going to a quiet space, doing breathing exercises, or generally taking a pause and doing one thing at a time.

Because nothing is ever easy, you can experience both at the same time! Your environment can be overstimulating, your tasks can be understimulating, and there are all kinds of combinations. It takes some time to start recognizing what’s happening and what is causing it, but once you do, it helps a lot.

Tip 6: Stop Trying to Be Something You’re Not

“Just do it” doesn’t work. I know you wish it would. And even though it never does, you keep hoping that the next time it definitely will. You see the people around you being able to do it. Why can’t I?

Self-compassion and not comparing yourself to others are important. If you keep hoping that you could do things a certain way and it simply isn’t working, no matter how hard you try, the best thing to do is to stop trying and find another way. Whatever way works is ultimately the best way when it comes to functioning with ADHD, and the only way for you to find out what’s best for you is to try different things. And never trying to replicate the life someone else is living.

Tip 7: Ask for the Help You Need

A wise friend of mine recently told me, “You are not selfish for asking for the things you need.” Even though it’s important to prioritize yourself and find the things that work for you, we don’t exist on this earth alone. We don’t need to do things alone, we shouldn’t, and most of the time we can’t. And that is okay. It’s kind of great, actually.

Be open about what is different about you and what helps you perform. Discuss with your colleagues what could be done to improve things, while also taking into account the needs of others. Just having body doubles and accountability buddies can help a lot, too. Heck, I sneaked into my colleagues’ office and claimed the sofa to write this blog. Involving other people, even in the simplest of ways, helps by adding some much-needed external structure and activation that ADHDers often struggle generating internally.

Tip 8: Sleep

So simple and yet so difficult. Among the many things that come with ADHD, sleep has been one of the biggest struggles for me. And I’m not alone, since sleep issues and disorders are regrettably common for people with ADHD.

A lack of sleep makes everything more difficult. It intensifies all the challenges you already have, and sleeping enough is the foundation for everything. I am no longer allowing myself to neglect sleep in favor of other things, and neither should you. I’m not telling you to get a regular sleep schedule, wake up early every day, form a routine, and whatnot. Sleeping enough is all it takes, whatever that looks like for you.

Bonus Tip: Make A List of Your Tips to Share with Others

See what I did there? I swear it wasn’t planned.

Writing this blog has been a therapeutic experience and has helped me really hone in on the things I’ve learned. It has reminded me of what’s most important, and hopefully it’ll help someone else as well. Even though I talk about ‘us’, ‘we’, and ‘you’, each neurodivergent person has a different experience. Disagreeing with these tips and not relating to my experience isn’t a bad thing at all, it’s yet another way to learn about yourself.

And for all of you who made it this far: Isn’t it refreshing to read something delightfully messy and authentic that’s actually written by a person?

About the Author:

Olivia is much more than our Content and Media Specialist. For example, she’s our very own Chief Language Officer. Since 2022, her creativity, fresh perspectives, literature expertise, and young spirit has brought our marketing activities (and many other things) to the next level.