The daily routine of a UI UX Designer with ADHD

When it comes to working every day as an ADHD adult consistency can be a tricky concept to work around. What makes it worse is the deadlines. Having ADHD in a UI/UX design career can offer benefits like creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, rapid idea generation, adaptability, empathy, and high energy. However, it may also bring challenges like organization and focus. Managing these traits with strategies and support can lead to innovative and user-centered design work.

Initially, when I wasn’t privy to my condition, I was convinced that I am unable to perform simple functions. So, if you know that you have ADHD that is the first step in the right direction.

In the beginning, I observed myself and accessed how ADHD was affecting my work, education, and life. But for this article, I will be focussing more on work and the day-to-day actions you can perform that can help you.

Create an Action List

At the beginning of your day, you want to create an action list of things you will be doing. I don't like the word “to-do list” because this isn’t just a list. This is where you discuss your tasks, make decisions (by writing down notes) and work on a way to complete them (by breaking down your tasks). For notes color everything to your fill. Make the page look funky for your unicorn brain. An example would be as follows:

you can create a project listing section and type out the action items in it. Everything organized!

I would suggest that you should start using Notion. This will be your second mind. A place where you make gradual increments, write notes, and document everything. Don’t make things complicated for yourself, don’t overdo anything keep it simple, and steadily incorporate it in your daily life. Burnout is a real thing.

Cope with Time Blindness

While working on a task it is easy to claim that the work will be done in twenty minutes but when you get on it the entire dynamic changes. Twenty minutes turns to forty minutes, then to one hour, and by the end of the day, you bemoan at the lack of control you have over yourself, asking yourself “Why did I take 3 hours to create a component of a button?”.

I feel your pain

Pomodoro is a well-known technique to create a workflow and give yourself some time to rest. But we’re not going to use it that way because those 5 mins turn into 4 hours of arbitrary research on “how to speak to cats?” btw to call a cat to come to you just say “Ma-AH” 🐱

We’re going to use this to initiate work and be accountable for How much time it really takes to complete a focused task.

You can add an extension in your browser or your device.
I use Flow — Focus & Pomodoro timer

Create your Tunnel Vision

Before, while working on a use case I used to end up procrastinating and handing over an incomplete design. Realizing it made it clear that my focus retention lacks durability.

To cope with this I would say, create a tunnel page in your Figma file. This page will be in dark mode and you're going to create a single use case. This helped me from looking at other designs and diverting my attention to other problems that might be in the file or components.

One tunnel page one task. Complete it!
you don’t have to do it for all use cases, just the ones you’re stuck on.

Just to Recap…

1. Create an action list for that use-case (meaning what are you designing and what will be the flow)
2. Create a tunnel page and design with intention.
3. Start your Pomodoro timer to initiate your task and see what you were able to do in twenty minutes of focus. Continue working till your task is completed.

Good luck ✨