How My ADHD Presents At Work
Some of you may know that I am a mental health personal independence coordinator (MHPIC); I work with individuals who have severe mental health issues or need that extra emotional support.
The aim of my job is to conduct assessment tools to rate individuals’ current being (looking at them holistically) and then depending on their needs, to signpost them to the relevant services.
Currently, I have about 28 clients and their needs range from housing support to referrals to counselling. During the time that I spend conversing with my clients either face to face or on the phone, I have actions that I try my best to help them with.
Let me break down what my ‘usual day’ consists of; I say usual but no two days are the same when working in mental health.
Let’s take a Thursday for example.
I start work at 9 am and I have an Integrated Care Network (ICN) meeting with fellow professionals (district nurses, social workers, Age personal independence coordinators) for my locality; locality is the area in the borough that I work in. Within the meeting, we may discuss our own clients and get advice or give an update if we have to. That meeting tends to last for 45 minutes max depending on how many people there are to discuss.
At 10 am, I have a team meeting which lasts for an hour. More listening is done as we just hear about our fellow colleagues and the projects that they are working on. I may talk for all of 2 minutes unless I am asked more questions which is great.
On alternative weeks, I will have a GP huddle at 11:45 am. A GP huddle consists of a general practitioner, social worker, age pic, MHPIC (Me!), district nurses. Depending on the caseload to discuss in that meeting and if I have to give back an update this meeting may last for an hour tops.
Then I will have lunch for an hour and get back to work.
I usually try to work with 3 clients a day; either face to face or a telephone call. Once I have completed appointments with clients, I have to type up notes from the meeting, update the relevant parties if necessary and do the actions mentioned in the meeting.
It is safe to say that I have a lot of work to do.
Even writing this on a weekend has got me thinking that next week will be a busy one!
As it is difficult for me to focus, during the day I can get VERY distracted. In the middle of doing admin work, I will start daydreaming or my colleagues and I get into conversations about other clients or things that I totally unrelated to work. Which I do love.
I love my colleagues!
I am grateful that thus far, I have worked my hardest to not let my ‘difficulties’ interrupt my workflow and it has worked for the most part.
How I hear you think?
I have conjured up a routine that has helped me to stay on top of everything.
Now, I am going to talk about the strategies that have helped me to get it done at work.
To-do lists
At the end of every day, I write to-do lists for the following day. When I do this, I make sure I have a look at my diary to make sure I write down all the appointments. Basically, I copy things from my diary to my notepad or vice versa and that way it sticks. If I forget one at least I have the other. If I am not able to complete all the tasks, I move it to the following day with the most crucial first.
Upload my tasks to my calendar
We have to do this as part of protocol so we can see when and if other colleagues need to accompany each other to home visits or if we have to schedule a meeting.
I aim to schedule most of my appointments with my clients as early as possible
I find that I am the most focused in the morning. After lunch, it is more difficult to focus so I try to do the most important tasks in the morning. If this is not feasible, I take breaks after I do each task because I need it because it is like brain overload.
I get to work early
I start work at 9. I tend to get to work around 8.30 am. I like to get in early, relax and get ready for the day instead of rushing around. It helps me to keep my stress down. The other day, I got to work at 8.50 am and I felt a bit flustered! It took me longer than normal to settle into work.
I give myself enough time during appointments
If I have an appointment with a client via telephone, I ensure that I carve out at least an hour an a half for that appointment. Then I make sure that I have ample time until my next meeting so I am not rushing around and cutting things short. Also, depending on the topic matter discussed during the appointment, I might need to debrief with my colleagues so I need that time to get things off and ask for advice if necessary.
I do my work as I go
When I am talking with my clients, I make sure that I have my headphones in so I can take notes at the same time because lord knows that I will NOT remember it if I do not write it down. The way my working memory is set up, I need to write everything down. It helps and it saves more time than having to write down the notes of each session after the fact. I might as well do it at the same time. It also helps me to stay focused.
So far this has been great and has helped me to manage my time and my symptoms.
Staying focused all the time is not doable and that is fine.
A lot of overstimulation makes me feel tired and doesn’t help me to focus so I need to take breaks and that is cool.
My colleagues also think that I am on top of everything which I feel like I am because when I am focused, I am FOCUSED. My colleagues will be talking but I am in work mode and I need to do as much as I can because I don’t know how long it will last for and when it comes to an end, I need a break lol.
Take away
Disclaimer; this is what works for me. It may not work for all but it has proven effective for me. ADHD means I think differently not that I can’t do what everyone else can do. I enjoy my job; it can be overwhelming at times so I need to do what is best for me and manage my stress accordingly.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope you find it useful.
Take care and stay safe.
