Finding your career with ADHD - Marie & Jesse's ADHD journeys - (Ep. 1)
Oct 1, 2024
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Marie Ng and Jesse J. Anderson, both with ADHD, share their personal journeys of navigating career paths that align with their unique strengths. They discuss the challenges and humor in finding suitable jobs, including unconventional career aspirations and whimsical summer gigs. The conversation touches on the importance of flexible work environments and embracing individual work rhythms. They offer practical tips for ADHDer listeners to reframe productivity and adapt to career changes, celebrating creativity and satisfaction in their professional endeavors.
Individuals with ADHD often thrive in dynamic work environments, making flexibility and excitement crucial to their career satisfaction.
Embracing a shame-free approach to productivity allows ADHD individuals to recognize their unique strengths and make better career choices.
Deep dives
Understanding ADHD and Career Paths
Individuals with ADHD often navigate unique challenges in their career journeys, leading to frequent job changes. Many people with ADHD find traditional job structures, such as fixed hours and timesheets, stifling, which can lead to boredom and frustration. The discussion emphasizes the importance of recognizing one's brain's differences; jobs that serve neurotypical individuals might not be well-suited for those with ADHD. Normalizing the experience of switching jobs often helps many people feel more accepted in their professional journeys.
Personal Experiences with Job Compatibility
The hosts share their personal job histories, highlighting the diverse roles they have taken on throughout their careers. One host recounts delivering pizzas, a job that provided the flexibility and excitement that matched their interests, while also avoiding monotonous tasks that did not suit them. This experience showcases the significance of finding jobs that align with one's unique working style, as well as the positive impact of having engaging and fast-paced environments. By identifying non-negotiable traits in a job, individuals can curate their career paths towards options that enhance their productivity.
Embracing Entrepreneurship
The conversation touches on the benefits of entrepreneurship, particularly for those with ADHD, who may thrive in more dynamic and flexible environments. Having the freedom to create and innovate plays a critical role in keeping individuals engaged and productive. The hosts discuss their ventures and the balance they maintain in their professional lives, emphasizing the importance of pursuing passions alongside responsibilities. By allowing for creative expression and autonomy, entrepreneurship can help individuals align their work with their interests and strengths.
Shame-Free Productivity and Self-Acceptance
A core insight from the episode centers around the idea of 'shame-free productivity,' encouraging individuals to embrace their differences instead of feeling inadequate. The hosts advocate for a curious and judgment-free approach to understanding productivity challenges, where individuals can identify what works for them. This reframing helps eliminate the negative stigma often associated with struggling in conventional work environments. Learning to accept and appreciate one's unique working style allows for better career decisions that align with personal strengths and values.
Finding your career can be tough. And it can be even tougher if you're an ADHDer.
Join our co-hosts Marie Ng and Jesse J. Anderson for the very first episode of The Distractables - your ADHD friends, a casual conversation amongst ADHD friends, focusing on practical ADHD tips/tricks/hacks to get through daily life.
In this episode, Marie and Jesse will introduce themselves and also discuss their personal journeys on finding and creating a career that works for their ADHD minds, and how they got to where they are. They'll explore the trials and tribulations that this involved, as well as successes, and share some tips/tricks/hacks which might help if you're an ADHDer trying to navigate your career path right now.
00:00 Welcome to The Distractables 00:37 Marie and Jesse introductions 01:40 Connecting Over ADHD 02:29 Navigating Career Paths with ADHD 04:48 Unusual Job Experiences 05:39 Dreams and Realities 12:51 The Perfect Job Fit 15:34 Navigating Work and Personal Goals 16:31 Balancing Entrepreneurship and ADHD 18:31 Finding the Right Work Environment 20:26 Challenges in Corporate Settings 21:45 Embracing Unique Work Rhythms 23:41 Creating a Compatible Work Life 25:01 Shame-Free Productivity 28:54 Adapting to Career Changes 29:59 Conclusion and Where to Find Us