Neurodiverse? Use genAI to work smarter
The task had been on my to-do list for weeks: Write my year-end review.
Each week, I’d stare at this line item. I’d think about doing it for approximately 5 seconds. Then I’d ignore it and do something else on my list. Something easier. Something I could cross off quicker.
I knew I’d wait until the very last minute to write my self-review — like every year. By putting it off, it had grown to a Herculean task in my mind, even though it probably wouldn’t even take that long.
But that’s what ADHD does to me — if I don’t have the Perfect First Step, I procrastinate until I can’t anymore. So what did I decide to do differently this year? I didn’t ask generative AI to write my review for me — but I did ask it to help. It was so helpful, in fact, it made me think about all the ways this new, slightly-scary-but-super-exciting tool can help neurodivergent people like me.
What is neurodiversity?
First, let’s set the foundation. Neurodiversity refers to the differences in how people’s brains are wired, and embraces the idea that there’s no “correct” way for the brain to work. Those differences show up in neurological conditions where you learn, think, or behave in ways not considered “typical” — conditions such as autism, dyslexia, OCD, ADHD, and others.
Everyone feels anxious, overwhelmed, or distracted from time to time. But neurodivergent people often feel this on a far greater scale because of other scientific and social factors related to their diagnosis, such as:
- Hiding symptoms from colleagues, friends, and family (“masking”)
- Mimicking behaviors to match societal norms
- Perfectionism getting in the way of completing tasks
- Hiding quirks or tics because you want to appear “normal”
- Higher rates of burnout due to constantly trying to make up for executive functioning deficits
- Lower self-esteem impeding career and personal growth
How genAI can help
Here are a few ways generative AI has helped me — plus some extras:
Turn big to-dos into smaller chunks
Are you a procrastinator? Or a Perfect First Stepper? Or both, like me? Many ADHDers put off bigger, tougher, more cognitive-heavy tasks in favor of smaller ones that are easy to do. This gives us a dopamine fix, similar to eating sugar or opening a present.
Next time you have a big thing on your list that you keep avoiding, ask genAI to break it down into smaller steps. Let’s use my year-end review as an example. For this, I used GPT-3:
Prompt: I need to write my year-end review for work, but I can’t bring myself to actually sit down and do it. Break this down into steps.
Output:
1. Set aside a specific time to write your year-end review.
2. Gather all relevant documents and information that you need to reference for your review.
3. Make a list of your accomplishments and successes throughout the year.
4. Brainstorm ideas for how you can improve in the coming year.
5. Outline the structure of your review.
6. Write a draft of your review, focusing on the positive aspects of your performance.
7. Edit and revise your review to ensure accuracy and clarity.
8. Submit your review to your supervisor.Not bad! But what if I specified my issue?
Prompt: I need to write my year-end review for work, but I have ADHD, which means I have a hard time sitting down to actually complete the task. Break this into smaller steps.
Output:
1. Set aside a specific time to write the review.
2. Gather all the necessary materials, such as performance reviews, notes, and any other relevant documents.
3. Make a list of accomplishments and areas of improvement from the past year.
4. Set a timer for 15 minutes and write down as much as possible during that time.
5. Take a break and come back to the task when the timer goes off.
6. Read through what has been written and make any necessary edits or additions.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 until the review is complete.
8. Have a colleague or supervisor review the review before submitting it.Having 1 to-do bloom into 8 might feel like a lot to some people, but to me I felt relief. I loved the output it gave me when I specified ADHD, because I need those structured breaks built in. And it still includes a list! I love lists.
Written reminders to do discrete tasks — even as mundane as gathering materials — help the bigger task not feel so overwhelming. Even if I did two things per day, I could have my review done before the work week was over. And crossing stuff off feels so good, doesn’t it?
Take meeting notes
My workplace has a meeting-heavy culture. The teams I work with are also not great at sharing out meeting notes. This is hard for me, because ADHDers retain less in their working memory (4 items) than neurotypical people (7 items). So unless I’m scribbling down notes, I tend to forget what was discussed.
And if I’m honest…look, I’m not going to watch the Zoom recording.
Here’s where genAI comes in! Use it to summarize transcripts and note any decisions or action items. This can also be beneficial for deaf or hard of hearing folks, where a recorded meeting may not be the best format to get information.
I used the Recaps feature in Writer to generate a meeting summary from a Zoom transcript. Within seconds, I got notes, decisions, and action items from the meeting — details I might’ve forgotten or misremembered! (Bonus: With Writer — a tool we use on the Intuit content design team — you can also upload media files or URLs.)
Caveat: Make sure you’re aware of data privacy, security, and data ownership with whatever tool you use. Some tools use your inputs to train their model. You don’t want to accidentally leak any sensitive company info from a meeting.
Handle the boring or difficult stuff
Feeling overwhelmed? Did you say “yes” to too much because you’re afraid to let people down? (Remember when I said how neurodiverse people have higher rates of burnout due to constantly trying to make up for executive functioning deficits? Yep.)
Let genAI give you a leg up on the stuff that takes a high cognitive effort but gives you relatively low reward. What’s “boring” or difficult varies from person to person, but it could be:
- Drafting Slack announcements & emails
- Finding the right word or synonym for something
- Conveying the appropriate tone for certain contexts
- Rewriting your irritated/angry/spicy thoughts into more polished, professional ones
My colleague Ivory used Writer—an AI language-checking tool we use and love at Intuit—to draft a Slack announcement.
Grow your skills
Looking to discuss career goals and strengths, advocate for yourself in performance reviews, or make a mobility move? GenAI can help you identify skills to grow (and how to get there) and even practice for interviews and important work conversations.
Similar to many neurotypical people, neurodivergent people often struggle to prepare for difficult or uncomfortable conversations. As a result, they might just avoid it altogether, impeding their career growth.
Using an internal OpenAI tool—and her excellent prompt-writing skills—Ivory got a detailed list of tips and advice for a manager convo.
Prompt: Help me prepare to have a conversation with my manager about being promoted from my current role of product designer to senior product designer.
- What are some questions they might ask me, and how do I convince them I deserve the promotion?
- What are some skills I can work on to show that I’m ready for the promotion?
- Give me some examples of things I can say to convince my manager in a kind, respectful, and confident tone.
- Break down the steps I need to take to prepare for this conversation with my manager.
Focus on what makes you great
Society is set up for people who think a certain way. As a result, many neurodiverse folks tend to focus on their weaknesses, or ways they don’t live up to neurotypical standards. For a lot of us, those deficits have been called out our entire lives — in school, at home, and at work.
No matter who you are — or whether or not you’re neurodiverse — let genAI help with things you struggle with. Find things to take off your plate so you can focus on what drives you, not what drains you.
After a lifetime of listening to your loud inner critic, it’s time to focus on your strengths. Embrace what makes you different and what makes you great at your job. Let the bot handle the rest.
This article was originally a presentation/demo at Intuit’s GenAI Spring Craft Fair. Special thanks to Ivory Brown, who co-created the presentation with me and reviewed this article.
