I’m condemned to a week-long meeting soon, and it makes me want to put a shotgun in my mouth to even think about it. What can I do to make it more bearable?
Take hand-written notes
Take them in cursive too if you’re not used to it. Learning cursive made taking notes actually pretty fun for me.
Draw
Increased adderall frequency for me, or I’m falling asleep in an hour
Neurotypical people don’t have to battle to stay awake during death march meetings?!
We had a few casualties yesterday. There were some bad flights Sunday though.
I know; it doesn’t make any sense.
They do! Sometimes I feel like I got adhd because so many symptoms are just normal people stuff. Then I guess it’s just about how badly it’s impairing you.
Never been diagnosed with anything but yeah meetings will put me to sleep if we are having to be quiet and what they are addressing isn’t new information that directly effects me. (Especially if I didn’t sleep well the night before which is often).
If you spend 30 minutes talking about another department expect I stopped listening and mentally checked out 28 minutes ago.
I had one of those. They handed out Starbursts, and I made paper cranes out of the wrappers. Some of the time I doodled. I think most people nowadays understand that doodling doesn’t mean you’re not paying attention.
In hindsight maybe the paper cranes gave me away a little. But then when it came time to get into the actual meat of the meeting, I gave some really valuable insights and solved a problem that no one else could figure out. As long as you’re demonstrating your value, people will be more generous interpreting your behavior.
But every work environment is different. I had a pretty good handle on mine and had already built up a good reputation.
Do what ADHD people do best. Zone out, and if your name is dropped, zoom backwards what was said and try to catch up before zoning out again.
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I worked for a company that had Play-Doh, pipe cleaners, scratch pads, and colored pencils for meetings like this. Could you bring things like that?
I fidgeted and made all sorts of stupid things with it, but it worked.
You’re not the only person who has discussed fidget peripherals in meetings. Is ADHD awareness at this level in some areas? In what country do you live.
This was in the US, west coast, about 7 years ago.
I’m not entirely sure the company did it purely for ADHD, I think possibly because they knew 8hr meetings 5 days a week were a boring, slog for anyone and they at least acknowledged that one could fidget and still pay attention.
edit: Sadly as with most things in the US, they got acquired by some megacorp and went to crap. Bunch of people I knew laid off. I don’t even think the office exists anymore.
My goto brain game is how many digits of long of division I can do just in my head. Usually only like 7-10 cause I’m dumb.
Get into writing your own fiction stuff you’re really interested in. My science fiction universe is about the first stage of interstellar colonization. I love working out the technology and what the experience might be like without any fantasy magic involved. The best part is the positivity that comes with imagining a distant future and what is actually possible. It creates perspective about where we are actually at now and how limited it truly is.
Damn, I wish you would share. That sounds so cool.
I was in a month-long work orientation completely over Zoom/Teams in 2022. Having 2 monitors and using picture-in-picture mode really helps me avoid losing track of the meeting while multitasking. Play music in the background if you find that helpful.
If this is an in-person meeting, push for more frequent breaks if the host is receptive to that and bring your fidget toys and doodling supplies. Chewing gum also helps me not be too restless, but obviously be respectful and don’t chew obnoxiously.
A… week long meeting? Surely there’s a more productive use of everyone’s time.
You’re right. We should have a meeting to discuss other ways to realize this productivity.
We need a meeting to make the agenda for that meeting. Also, going to need you all to show up in person for team synergy. I’ll provide pizza. We’re all a big family. Don’t worry, I’m grooming you for management.
Heroin
Bone-conductive headphones.
Oh oh I’ve got an actual potentially brilliant solution for you! 😁
It’s called an Infinity Cube. I’ve bought like 20 of them and given most of them away (I have 2 now lol). They’re not expensive but they have made a huge difference for me in being able to listen to people, period. I also use it for all the meetings I go to and in fact now I really notice what a struggle I go through if I forget to bring one.
The one I linked is made of smooth black, rigid, silky material and has a perfect weight to it. It’s also very quiet so people won’t notice you’re cycling it. I say cycle because that’s kind of what it does in a sort of infinite loop and I think that’s why it’s so perfect for the brain squirrels.
The other interesting thing I’ve noticed about it is that people more towards the AuDHD end of the spectrum don’t vibe with it at all. Letting someone I’m talking to play with it has almost become a way to stealthily test if they are my flavour of ADHD hehe
I’m a conlanger, so I would just handwrite my notes in my own language and script, and be coining new words as needed. And doodling. Got me through lots of meetings and trainings.
What’s a conlanger?
Sorry, missed this question until now. Conlang is short for constructed language, as in a language intentionally created by one or more people, as opposed to a natlang, i.e. natural language, which evolves slowly as a group of people just speak it without intentionally designing it. English, Turkish, Nepali, and Vietnamese are all examples of natlangs. Klingon, Na’vi, Sindarin, and Esperanto are examples of well known conlangs. But there are thousands of us who also just work on our own languages, for a variety of reasons, such as needing one for a fictional world we’re developing, or wanting to experiment with some grammatical feature that interests us, or just for our own personal use and enjoyment. I’m one of that last group.
Bone conduction headphones, music of your choice. Only you can hear the music, and you can still hear everyone else around you as your ears aren’t covered.
I didn’t know this was a thing. It it good for loud environments that make you crazy too? Don’t suppose noise reduction factors it. I still might consider those just for this application, though.
The hearing aid phones? Can those be used for music!?
It’s the same tech but there are some made for music just like regular.
Nah these are specifically meant for music, I have a pair of Shockz but there are cheaper options as well.
Lego set. My work offers a sensory room with Lego sets and other stimming toys. I have never listened so well to a meeting as with a new Lego set in front of me.
