ADHD in Advertising: Why You’re Not ‘Just Lazy’ and How to Work With Your Brain, Not Against It

Advertising moves at 100mph. Your ADHD brain moves at 1,000mph – just not always in the direction you need it to. If you’ve ever felt like you’re brilliant but inconsistent, creative but chaotic, and ten steps behind but three steps ahead at the same time… welcome.

You’re not lazy, disorganised, or incapable. Your brain just works differently, and no amount of colour-coded to-do lists or time-blocking is going to change that. But what will change that? Strategies that actually work for you, not the productivity gurus with their rigid morning routines and single-tasking advice.

The Traditional Productivity Lie

Let’s be honest – traditional productivity hacks are designed for neurotypical brains. The entire concept of ‘just prioritise better’ assumes your brain processes tasks in a linear, logical way. But ADHD brains don’t work that way. Instead, we experience:

• Time Blindness – Everything is either ‘now’ or ‘not now.’ Deadlines sneak up on us, and time slips away without warning.

• Task Paralysis – Ever stared at your to-do list and felt physically unable to start anything? Welcome to ADHD purgatory.

• Dopamine Dependence – If a task isn’t interesting or urgent, our brain refuses to engage with it.

Traditional productivity advice doesn’t work because it assumes intention equals action. But with ADHD, just wanting to do something doesn’t make it happen. Our brains need the right activation strategy.

How to Work With (Not Against) Your ADHD in an Agency

1. Turn Deadlines Into Dopamine

Your ADHD brain thrives on urgency. Without pressure, tasks get mentally filed under ‘later’ (aka: never). Instead of waiting for the panic of an actual deadline, create artificial urgency:

• Fake Clients: Set ‘pre-deadlines’ and tell someone (a colleague, your coach) to hold you accountable.

• Race Against the Clock: Use a timer to gamify tasks (e.g., ‘How much can I get done in 20 minutes?’).

• Public Stakes: Tell your team you’ll deliver by X time, so now your reputation’s on the line.

2. Decision-Free Days

Agencies love ‘pivoting.’ Great for strategy, terrible for ADHD brains. Every decision we make drains mental energy, which means by 3 PM, we’re fried. Reduce this by assigning default days:

• Monday = Pitch Decks & Presentations

• Tuesday = Admin & Project Management Tasks

• Wednesday = Brief Writing

This stops you from wasting brainpower deciding what to do next and creates a rhythm your brain can rely on.

3. Use Task Switching (Properly)

ADHD brains crave novelty, which is why forcing yourself to ‘focus’ for hours on one thing is torture. Instead of fighting it, use task switching to your advantage:

• Alternate between deep work and shallow tasks (e.g., 30 minutes on a big project, 10 minutes answering emails).

• Rotate between tasks that require different kinds of thinking (e.g., numbers vs. creativity).

• Use movement breaks to reset your focus (a quick walk, stretching, etc.).

This stops your brain from shutting down when it gets bored while keeping you moving forward.

Why ADHD Coaching is the Cheat Code You Need

You don’t need another planner. You don’t need another app. What you do need is a system that actually works for how your brain functions. That’s where ADHD coaching comes in.

• No generic advice. Just ADHD-friendly strategies that make agency life easier.

• Practical systems, not productivity porn. Because no one in advertising has time for that.

• One-to-one support. Because ADHD is messy, and you need solutions that fit you, not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ method.

If you’re drowning in deadlines and distractions, let’s fix that. Book a 1-2-1 ADHD coaching session and start working with your brain, not against it.