Stop Romanticizing ADHD. Start Building Systems for It.
There's a version of ADHD that gets celebrated online.
The hyperfocus that produces genius-level work.
The scattered energy that's reframed as creative brilliance.
The chaos that somehow becomes charming.
I get it. It feels better to turn a struggle into a strength. But romanticizing ADHD doesn't help the people who actually have it. It just makes the hard parts invisible.
I've written before about how ADHD shaped my career and led me to start FifthHouse. That's true. ADHD gave me pattern recognition, speed, and the ability to connect dots other people miss. I wouldn't have built what I've built without it.
But that story skips over the hard parts. The parts where ADHD made things harder, not easier. The parts that required systems to survive.
ADHD isn't a superpower. It's a brain that works differently. And if you want to build a career or run a business with that brain, you need systems, not slogans.
The Romanticization Problem
Somewhere along the way, ADHD became trendy. Social media is full of posts about how ADHD makes you creative, spontaneous, able to think outside the box. It's framed as a gift that just needs to be unlocked.
That narrative is appealing because it's partially true. ADHD can come with real strengths. Pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, the ability to make unexpected connections. I've experienced all of that.
But the narrative leaves out the rest. The paralysis when a task feels too big or too boring. The email you rewrite six times before sending because you can't stop second-guessing the tone. The project you know exactly how to do but can't seem to start. The deadline you hit, but only because the pressure finally kicked your brain into gear at the last possible moment.
Romanticizing ADHD erases that reality. It makes people feel like they're failing at something that's supposed to be a gift. And it lets everyone else off the hook for understanding what ADHD actually involves.
Willpower Isn't The Answer
For years, I tried to brute-force my way through. More discipline. More focus. More effort. Just try harder.
That doesn't work. ADHD isn't a motivation problem. It's a neurological difference in how the brain processes dopamine, prioritizes tasks, and regulates attention. You can't willpower your way out of brain chemistry.
Every productivity system built for neurotypical brains failed me. The advice to "just write it down" or "make a to-do list" assumes your brain will cooperate with the list once it exists. Mine doesn't. It ignores the list, forgets the list, or gets overwhelmed by the list and shuts down entirely.
The breakthrough came when I stopped trying to fix my brain and started designing around it.
Systems Over Willpower
The only thing that's worked for me is building external systems that don't rely on my brain to remember, prioritize, or stay on track.
That means everything lives in one place.
Tasks, deadlines, client details, project notes. If it's not in the system, it doesn't exist. I can't trust myself to remember it, so I don't ask myself to. Thank god for project management tools. I'd be lost without them.
That means automation wherever possible.
Recurring invoices, scheduled emails, templated processes. Anything I can take off my plate, I take off my plate. Not because I'm lazy, but because every decision I remove is one less thing competing for limited bandwidth.
That means building in friction for distractions and removing friction for the work that matters.
I have an app on my phone that disables certain distracting apps during set hours. My project management tool opens automatically when I start my computer. The path of least resistance points toward the work, not away from it.
That means deadlines and accountability.
Not because I need someone to babysit me, but because external pressure activates my brain in a way internal motivation doesn't. A deadline two weeks out doesn't exist to my brain. A deadline tomorrow does.
The Myth Of The Messy Genius
There's a related myth that creative people are supposed to be disorganized. That the mess is part of the magic. That structure kills creativity.
I don't buy it. Structure is what makes creativity sustainable. Without systems, I'd spend all my energy managing chaos instead of making work. The messiness isn't a sign of genius. It's a sign that something isn't working.
The most prolific creatives I know have systems. They're not winging it. They've figured out what their brain needs and built scaffolding around it. The work looks effortless because the systems are invisible.
That's the goal. Not to perform productivity, but to build something that holds you up so you can focus on the work that matters.
What I Wish I'd Known Earlier
ADHD isn't something to overcome or something to celebrate. It's something to understand and design for.
That means being honest about your limitations instead of pretending they don't exist. It means asking for help building systems instead of white-knuckling through every project. It means forgiving yourself when things slip, because they will, and getting back to the system instead of spiraling into shame.
It also means letting go of the idea that you should be able to function like everyone else. You won't. Your brain is different. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can build something that actually works.
Quick Answers
Is ADHD a creative advantage?
It can come with strengths like pattern recognition and creative problem-solving, but it also comes with real challenges around focus, prioritization, and follow-through. It's not a superpower. It's a different operating system.
Why doesn't traditional productivity advice work for ADHD?
Most productivity systems assume a neurotypical brain that can prioritize, remember, and self-motivate consistently. ADHD brains don't work that way, so the systems fail.
What systems help with ADHD?
External systems that don't rely on memory or willpower. Centralized task management, automation, reduced decision-making, built-in accountability, and environmental design that reduces friction for focus.
How do you stay organized with ADHD?
By building systems that do the remembering for you. Everything in one place, automated where possible, with external deadlines and accountability built in.
The Takeaway
Stop waiting for ADHD to become a superpower. It's not going to magically turn into an advantage just because you reframe it.
What works is understanding how your brain actually operates and building systems that support it. Not fighting it. Not romanticizing it. Just working with it.
That's not as inspiring as the superpower narrative. But it's real. And it's what actually lets you do the work.
