The Attention Economy's Impact on ADHD Professionals
It has major implications for those of us with ADHD, who often have a harder time filtering out irrelevant stimuli, resisting distractions, and sustaining focus.
As a professional with ADHD, you likely face unique challenges in today's fast-paced, information-saturated work environment. Staying focused, managing distractions, and allocating your attention effectively are crucial to your productivity and success. But a concept called the "attention economy" suggests that broader economic forces may be making those tasks harder than ever.
The idea of the attention economy, first proposed by Herbert A. Simon in 1971, is simple but profound: when information is abundant, attention becomes the scarce resource. In the 21st century, we are absolutely inundated with things competing for our awareness - emails, instant messages, news feeds, ads, streaming media, and so much more. There are only so many hours in the day and only so much information we can process. So our attention itself becomes tremendously valuable... and everyone wants a piece of it.
For professionals with ADHD, this can pose some special difficulties. Common ADHD traits like distractibility, impulsiveness, and time blindness are heavily exploited by many modern technologies and work tools. Think about how easy it is to go down a rabbit hole online, endlessly clicking links. Or how hard it is to focus on one task with a steady stream of emails and Slack messages pouring in. Our phones and smartwatches buzz with more notifications than we can keep up with.
To neurotypical people, this constant bombardment of stimuli is hard enough to manage. But when you have ADHD, you're already prone to distractions, forgetfulness, and getting sidetracked. An attention economy, where every app, website, and advertiser is vying for your focus, amplifies those tendencies. It becomes easier to hop between tasks, chase every ping, and put off important work for one more YouTube video.
The problem extends into the physical workplace too. Open office plans have become hugely popular, despite studies showing they tank productivity, partly because they facilitate more interaction and "collaboration." But for ADHD brains that struggle to filter out irrelevant stimuli, they can make sustained concentration nearly impossible. Background conversations, visual distractions, and frequent interruptions are kryptonite to deep work.
This isn't to say the attention economy is all bad for ADHD professionals. In some ways, it plays to our strengths. We tend to be creative, great at coming up with novel ideas and associations. When something grabs our interest, we can hyperfocus for long stretches. An environment with endless information and opportunities to explore can be amazing for tapping into that.
The key is recognizing the upsides and downsides of the attention economy for your own work, and consciously shaping your environment to support your focus. That might mean using apps or browser plugins to block digital distractions, setting firm boundaries around your availability, or wearing noise-canceling headphones in an open office. When you understand the attention economy, you can flip the script - instead of letting it control your focus, make it work for you.
Some tips to thrive as an ADHD professional in an attention economy:
Be strategic about notifications - customize them to minimize interruptions
Schedule uninterrupted "deep work" time, ideally 2+ hours
Use tools like time tracking, site blockers, and Pomodoro timers
Turn distractions into rewards - e.g. checking social media after focused sprints
Find environments that support your focus (quiet spaces, coworking, WFH)
Build in exercise, meditation, or other attention-restoring breaks
Play to your strengths - follow creative tangents and hyperfixations
By understanding the attention economy and proactively managing your focus, ADHD doesn't have to be a deficit - it can be a professional edge. You have the ability to deep dive into topics, make unexpected connections, and bring incredible passion to your work. The trick is creating an attentional environment that lets those talents shine.