My office, at home. Lots of chats lately about working from home versus working from an office.
We have a co-working space available to us should people want to get out of the four walls and work elsewhere and I suspect that most of us opt for in person rather than Teams now where we can.
I wouldn’t want to go back to an office setting now when factoring in the extra time seeing the kids, ability to flex commitments, better time use without commuting etc.
Some employers want to see their staff and ensure that they’re working hard, switch to setting desired outcomes and monitoring them. More important than watching the clock and getting away with whatever people can.

But what about working from home as an ADHDer? Some of these examples are very personal to me as i’ve experienced them, others not as much.

Pros

You can control sound levels in the office and temperature, reduce risk of overstimulation and distraction

As a multitasker it can be easier to juggle home life and work when physically there (some of these if excessive can become cons)

You don’t have to show your face to colleagues when you’ve had a tough night with little sleep or when stressed, particularly after an interaction with someone that hasn’t gone so well

Cons

Temptation to procrastinate and distract is higher as there are no eyes on you, integrity becomes important (what you know when nobody is looking)

Health risks if your energy levels are low you can raid the fridge or biscuit tin or pop to the shop and fill your face with sweet mood lifting food which ends up with a crash and shame, plus an expanding waistline further giving fuel for self flagellation. Sitting for extended hours can cause musculoskeletal problems particularly low back pain

It can be isolating and for those vulnerable to rejection sensitivity dysphoria there can often be nobody around to talk to when you perceived criticism in someone’s words and actions

If you get used to working from home it may lead to reduced social interaction outside of the house and accompanied by social anxiety typified by late call offs from commitments in the evenings and weekends

Many ADHDers want to feel useful but also have a way of getting validation that they are from others which can be hard spending a lot of time alone

Top tips for working from home for ADHDers (and everyone else!)

1 Find ways to stay focused when nobody is watching, perhaps divide the working day up into mini challenges/quests to keep it fresh

2 Help your back by getting a standing desk

3 Keep in regular touch with work colleagues and if offered meetings in small groups see if you can do it in person, even better outside on a walk

4 Close email programs when doing a piece of work so as not to let the novelty of a new message and dopamine hit of being wanted take over from what you were doing

5 Prepare healthy lunches and commit to block out time to take a break every day. Many of us are prone to poor planning ahead and skipping meals or eating junk food/sugary foods to fight hunger pains

6 Find what works for you to help you to remember things important in your role. This could be having a stack of post it notes that you keep visible with reminders or important things to do, using a planner on the wall or wipeboard too. Use task management programs like MS Outlook tasks, Monday.com etc if it helps

7 Experiment with your office environment regards listening to music/podcasts etc, smells from candles, sprays, air fresheners etc to find how to feel most inspired and productive

8 If you find that you often think in images it may be worth printing off images that represent themes that help to keep you grounded and on task

9 See if you can access ADHD coaching to help to understand how neurodivergence can hold you back but also harness the good stuff – there is both

10 Be kind to yourself. Many of us are perfectionists and overcompensate to avoid criticism and feed that typical fear of failure. Often ‘good enough’ really is just that, perfection isn’t real and continually revising and revisiting work can cause big reductions in productivity

Please do add your own thoughts on working from home with ADHD and feel free to share photos of your office set up.