Discover this week's fresh tools, tutorials, and resources for navigating work as a Neurodivergent. 👇

Todoist: Todoist's Quick Add shortcut reduces cognitive load by enabling instant task capture from any app, helping to offload ideas quickly and avoid mental overload that leads to procrastination.

This supports better focus and productivity, aligning with research on minimizing interruptions for up to 23% improved output. (FREE)

Todoist: Boost your productivity with Todoist's Ramble: a lifesaver for neurodivergent users.

Capture chaotic thoughts hands-free via voice, instantly turning them into organized tasks with dates, priorities, and assignments.

This cuts mental overload and banishes brain fog for sharper focus and easier wins. (FREE)

NotebookLM: Automates research and generates organized reports, minimizing cognitive overload from planning and synthesis.

Auto-flashcards and quizzes support memory via active recall, making studying more focused and accessible without manual effort. (FREE soon)

My Culture

I have a decent understanding of my family heritage and origins, and they have a strong culture.

A culture built on:

• Community: It takes a village to raise a child

• Respect: Especially for our elders

• Responsibility & Accountability to our families

• A strong work ethic

Culture & Impluse

The culture doesn't acknowledge neurodiversity per se, hence I suspect most immigrant parents I know were able to "soldier on" in life (or appeared to at least).

That tenacious mentality was instilled in me, hence why I probably went decades undiagnosed as a neurodivergent, under the radar.

I won't be surprised if both of my parents are neurodivergent. They never had the resources and knowledge during their time on it, or even mental health.

The culture helped suppress the symptoms, such as impulsivity. You'd think twice if you wanted to do something "silly", as your family name is on the line.

A sense of awareness and the implications of your actions.

You do get some folks who are way off the mark, and perhaps their symptoms are more severe and difficult to manage.

They'll be labelled the "rebellious people", as neurodivergence may be seen as a taboo, due to the non-conformance.

For as long as I was under my parents' roof, I had to respect the culture. I'll be honest, I felt at the time it was BS.

When I tasted a bit of freedom at College/University, the culture left, and the ADHD symptoms crept in.

• Leaving things till the last minute

• Misplacing things

I “lost culture”. Then I decided to switch things up and get back in line. I guess I needed to miss the road to find the road eventually.

How my culture anchors my Neurodivergence at work:

1) Work Socials

I've got the impulse control under control. I don't drink; I like having control over my consciousness.

Also mindful that I have a family to hold myself accountable to. Hopefully, I don’t do anything costly 👀

2) Work ethic

Watching people from different cultures hustle hard and put food on the table for their families, despite their challenges, was humbling as fuck.

They probably have impostor syndrome, language barriers on top of their neurological differences. But they were still able to persevere.

I get that our symptoms show up differently, but I choose to see the glass half full.

ADHDers are said to be the "hunters", so this fits my nature. I have bumps on the road, but for the most part, I'm locked in and eager to push through.

3) Respect for Elders/Hierarchy

My cultural upbringing taught me:

• Who’s leading the chat

• Who pours first

• Who you nod to

So instead of masking hard or blurting out the wrong thing, you just… defer. A supervisor speaks… You listen.

Impulsivity dips because the script’s already there:

• Show up

• Stay polite

• Stay present

The big challenge I found with this while progressing through my career was that some supervisors like proactive team members, who take initiative rather than being "yes" men and women.

Share Your Story! How has your cultural background shaped your ADHD journey? Reply to this email

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Lastly,

Stay Different,

The AuDHD Exec

Disclaimer: I am not your psychiatrist, coach, doctor. Neurodiverse Diary does not provide medical services or professional counselling and is not a substitute for professional medical care. Everything I publish represents my opinions, experience, not advice.