How adult ADHD shows up at work
- Claire Baker
- Dec 25, 2025
- 2 min read
“Wait. The Project files don’t go in the Project folder?”
“You’d think so, but they actually go in the Assets folder.”
“How about you just send me the link?”
If you have ADHD or you work with someone who does, this conversation is probably familiar.
When we think about ADHD in adults, most people still picture the overactive extrovert who’s always late to meetings and speaks out of turn.
Which, maybe. But there are a lot of other ways that adult ADHD shows up at work that you might not recognize.
Like having trouble classifying things.
I first went to a psychiatrist in 2018 because I thought I had brain damage.
When I told him about the silly mistakes that I couldn't explain, he said, “I can give you the screening, but I’d be surprised if you have ADHD.”
“ADD? Me? No way.”
I didn’t struggle in school. I could sit still in meetings (usually while doodling). Sure, I made off-the-wall comments sometimes, but that’s what made me “fun.”
The “little piles” changed my mind.
ADHD makes it hard to separate things into categories, leading to little piles of unlike objects wherever you spend time.
Right now, I'm looking at a pile on my shelf that has:
a certified letter from 2022 (unopened, but probably important)
a miniature whiteboard
an unopened Christmas card from last year
an adorable scarf for my dog
the insert from the letter my driver’s license came in
Medication changed my life, but that’s not the point.
The same tendency that makes it difficult to structure Google Drive folders also leads to creativity. Neuro-atypical brains make connections between things that other people wouldn't see.
Like waiting in the line at the DMV inspiring how computer network routing works.
Or needing to cash a check after hours and thinking, "I know! Vending machines!"
Or looking at a mechanical juicer and getting the inspiration for an artificial heart.
Or solving the problem of robotic sensing by studying cat whiskers.
So when you're searching for a folder in what seems like a disorganized mess, broaden your search. You never know when you might stumble on a chocolate-meets-peanut-butter-like connection, just waiting to be discovered.
Do people on your team have trouble following the processes you prescribe? Your procedures may not make sense for others' brains.
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