Managing My Mind’s Mayhem

Dealing with Adult ADHD in the wild world of sales

Image Credit Karin Sweet

Just sitting down to write this article was a nightmare of inconsistencies, distractions, ideas, and throughput that often goes haywire as my brain tries desperately to connect the dots & hone in on a specific task. I meant to write this article weeks ago but alas, my brain was not prepared for that level of intense focus. If I’m being honest with myself, it's not ready for it now. Such is life with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

             As I write this epic tale of a woefully distracted brain, I’m listening to Bear McCreary’s Outlander Season One Soundtrack Song, Fallen Through Time. Sort of fitting, isn’t it? But there is a point to my quirky choice of music. Over the years I’ve learned that soundtrack music helps me deeply focus on a task far better than any other type of music. I’m not sure why that is but I know it works like many other trial and error remedies for improved focus I’ve cobbled together over the years. You see, I was only diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and so I lived a life in a state of blissfully distracted ignorance up until a few months ago.

             For years I wondered why I would get bored with a TV-Show two seasons in. Why I would read a book series halfway through and not care enough to find out what happened at the end. Why I would start a job, obsess over learning it only to master it, grow bored, and look for quick promotions. Why I would latch onto a new hobby with a fierce fervor only to abandon it after only a project or two. I would often wander from room to room on a mission only to end up losing track of what that original mission was. I’ve written several novels three-quarters of the way through. I have a good one, a really good one just waiting for an ending. Why? Who knows!

             As a youngster, I was always in LA LA Land. I would wander aimlessly, spending time in the horse fantasies galloping around my young mind. Oh yes. Horses! Now that I could focus on. I was obsessed with horses. I read every horse book and magazine I could get my hands on. I watched every horse movie. Knew every random horse fact. I was obsessed with watching horse competitions on TV. Every toy I owned was horse themed. I set up jumping courses in our house with my Mum’s brooms & mops.

I started riding ponies as a toddler, competing in the British Pony Club before moving to the US as a pre-teen. Then I started competing in the Virginia Horse Show circuit. I was a Highpoint Virginia Horse Show Association Year-end Champion for seven years straight. I went professional at the age of eighteen teaching riding lessons and training horses to pay for my show career. I got certified in Equine Sports Massage Therapy. I ate, slept, & breathed horses. I was hyper-focused on my equine obsession. I still have three horses of my own to show for it.

The funny thing about ADHD, when something truly inspires you it's hard to escape it. It settles on your brain and infiltrates all your thoughts. You learn all there is to know on the topic. You are unsettled when life inevitably pulls you away from it. You always want to go back. ADHD to passions is like a drug to an addict. You want what you want!

Does that sound insane? It does to me but it’s the truth.

So, the question is, how does that insane desire to obsess over a particular topic of interest and the constantly changing interests of the brain affect my career in IT Sales. The answer is a great deal, though I’m loathed to admit that.

When I mentioned that I was planning to write an article about ADHD I was flooded with messages of support from fellow Salespeople. Ramsha Ahmad said “your last post really resonated with me… I noticed we have a few similarities, we’re both in sales, [and] I also have ADHD (which has its ups and downs).” Ramsha went onto say that, like me, she was also diagnosed as an adult and wished she’d known sooner.

Another connection said that it’s difficult to “articulate to people just how bad ADD prevents [them] from accomplishing things sometimes [and that] every day is a constant struggle, but we learn to cope and manage!”

You know what else I learned? There are many, many salespeople in particular that struggle with ADHD. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but I can venture a guess.

ADHD brains thrive off the challenge. We love a good puzzle! We love digging into a mystery and learning all there is to know about a topic (or a prospect). We obsess over the objective whether that’s getting the meeting or closing the deal.

ADHD brains also come up with limitless content. Seriously, my note pad is one topic after another of my inner musings and sometimes incoherent ideas. If you’re ever lacking content reach out and I’ll pull something from my sack of ideas and share it with you, but you can’t hold me responsible for the outcome! Use my brain at your discretion.

I am often asked, are you always like this? Sarcastic, eccentric, weird, spastic…

Yes - I am.

Is that unfortunate? I don’t think so. I think it makes me easy to talk to. A winner winner chicken dinner in the world of sales! My natural curiosity like many others with ADHD means I have a willingness to chase a rabbit trail or talk to just about anyone at any time. It has led me to some fascinating relationships and epic memories.

In my job at IntelliMagic selling IT Operations Analytics for IT Infrastructure, my ADHD has served me well. I mean, I’m not far off when I say I took a job trying to sell some of the hardest technology you could possibly fathom without an iota of technical experience. I came into this industry not knowing the difference between a storage device and a server. And holy, moly acronyms! CICS, Db2, WLM, MLC, zERT, MQ, TCP/IP, ITOA, AI, ML, YMCA…

You know what though? It fascinated me. I didn’t get it. It was hard. I didn’t know what anyone was talking about. And because of that, I LOVED it. It was a challenge of epic proportions. I could spend hours of time obsessing over learning this new subject and would never touch the depths of the genius minds behind this technology. I poured over articles. I watched YouTube videos like:

“What is a mainframe?”

“What is z/OS?”

“What is a SAN?”

And my favorite -“Connor Krukosky - the ‘Mainframe Kid’”

             Now I’m sort of poking my head above the water of IT sales. I can sort of hold my own in a technical jargon filled conversation. My favorite jokes to crack at work are “How many tech guys does it take to fix a…” or “technology…amiright?” whenever we have our own “technical difficulties” to contend with. I also love to compare what we do to a good check engine light and code reader analogy. I won’t lie, I’m pretty proud of that one.

             ADHD sure does suck but for all its downsides it has its upsides as well. If you’re struggling with ADHD here are a few tips & tricks I’ve learned to manage the mayhem in my brain:

1.      Schedule everything - Seriously. Email blocks, call blocks, administration tasks. Put it all on a schedule.

2.      Music - When I need to intensely focus, I listen to soundtrack music. Anything with words distracts me but musical scores help calm my mind. Find music or nature sounds that soothe all the swirling thoughts when you need to really dig into something.

3.      Embrace the chaos - If I have a thought, I write it down. I’ve come up with subject lines, email content, and witty one-liners that have made the difference in a sales campaign from jotting down my random musings.

4.      It is what it is - the sooner you learn that your brain functions a little different from others the easier you’ll be on yourself. It's ok to have an off day. You can always make up for an unproductive episode. Give yourself some grace.

5.      Diet - Low carb, low sugar. ADHD brains go nutso on carbs and sugar. Avoid them at all costs.

6.      Exercise - This is a no brainer (pun intended)

7.      Hobbies - let yourself obsess a little. Is there something you can’t stand to live without? Is it a pony? Do you want to ride my pony? I’ll let you. I’ll teach you everything there is to know about ponies. Want to have a conversation about all the ponies in the world…You get my point. ADHD brains love to be fascinated so let them.

Thank you to all my friends that encouraged me to write my first LinkedIn article. I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s feedback and reading all your articles. And if I ever forget to respond to you, forgive me. I have the best intentions but sometimes my brain has other ideas.