Podcast Summary: Hacking Your ADHD

Episode: Research Recap with Skye: How ADHDers Succeed and Why It’s Complicated
Host: William Curb
Guest: Skye Waterson
Date: October 31, 2025

Overview

In this episode of the Research Recap series, William Curb and Skye Waterson dive into two recent research papers examining how people with ADHD experience both challenges and success in the workplace. Their discussion explores the nuanced strengths found in ADHD brains and the complexities behind defining or achieving “success” for ADHDers, while also considering the impact of person-environment fit and adaptive strategies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction and Episode Framework

• William introduces the Research Recap series, which takes a close look at key ADHD research papers and distills practical takeaways (01:05).
• Today’s two papers:
  • Strength and Challenges to Embrace Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Employment, A Systematic Review
  • Paradoxical Career Strengths and Successes of ADHD: An Evolving Narrative
• William and Skye enjoy the quirky names of academic papers and invite listeners to suggest future topics.

2. Paper One: Systematic Review of ADHD in Employment

Main Findings (02:20–14:30)

• The systematic review synthesized 79 studies from over 68,000 screened to build a model explaining:
  • Challenges
  • Strengths
  • Adaptations / Mediating Factors
  • Person-Environment Fit
• Key Challenge: Even adults whose ADHD “doesn’t persist” by diagnostic criteria still tend to have worse employment outcomes (03:55).
  • “My hot take is that we don't actually grow out of ADHD. People either learn enough coping strategies to mask the symptoms, or they just mask in general.” – William (04:13)

Categories of Findings

• Challenges (05:35)

  • ADHD symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity)
  • Poor workplace performance
  • Lower job satisfaction
  • Maladaptive thoughts/behaviors
  • Interpersonal difficulties

• Strengths (07:06)

  • Determination, resilience, creativity, hyperfocus, multitasking, emotional intelligence, and embracing ADHD
  • Skye notes practical ambiguity between multitasking and hyperfocus:
    • “It was very weird because they put multitasking and hyperfocus right next to each other. Those things are 100% different.” – Skye (08:56)
  • William critiques the assertion that ADHDers are good at multitasking:
    • “People that think they're good at multitasking are the worst... Everything I've seen suggests that ADHD should be worse at multitasking.” – William (07:34)

• Mediating Factors/Adaptations (09:28)

  • Person-environment fit: Jobs with autonomy, stimulation, novelty, and flexibility suit ADHDers.
    • “If your interest leads you to a bureaucratic job with very little autonomy, it's not going to be very great.” – Skye (11:50)
  • Clear deadlines and structured, yet stimulating, environments are beneficial.
  • High suitability of roles in academia, entrepreneurship, and even “unconventional” jobs like intelligence or emergency services (11:36).
  • Medication as accommodation: Mixed feelings—helpful, but associated with ambivalence, side effects, and sometimes resentment (13:02).
    • “For some people the medication makes all the difference in the world... sometimes it takes some time to figure out what medication is the right one for you.” – William (13:45)
  • Social support: Technical and moral support systems at work play a significant role (14:30).

3. Paper Two: Paradoxical Career Strengths – Qualitative Interview Study

Approach & Methodology (15:14–16:52)

• Unlike the systematic review, this was a qualitative, in-depth analysis of 17 adults (including three self-diagnosed, which surprised both hosts).
  • “I couldn't believe... that blew my mind that that was in a research paper.” – Skye & William (15:51–15:53)
• Used thematic analysis to draw insights from personal stories.
  • “This is not generalizable; this is experience, this is people's stories. What you're trying to do is pull out information that maybe helps prompt future studies.” – Skye (16:20)

Core Themes & Takeaways

• Construction of Strengths

  • Participants identified:
    • Spontaneity
    • Idea linking (“connecting dots” in unconventional ways)
    • Humor as a coping strategy
  • “That's one of the ones that I very strongly resonate with – the idea that I can have ideas here and link them in ways that other people would never see.” – William (17:57)
  • Being quick to act (“action as a paradoxical strength”)

• Adaptive Strategies

  • “Active altruism”: Driven to help others in areas they struggled themselves (19:57).
  • These strengths are often adaptations to manage ADHD-related obstacles.
  • “Being able to help other people to do that now is literally what gets me up in the morning and makes me super excited.”—Skye (20:57)

• The Double-Edged Sword of Strengths

  • Over-reliance on core strengths (e.g., hyperfocus, overcommitment) can contribute to burnout.
  • Hyperfocus often misunderstood as a superpower; it can be risky if left unchecked.
    • “Hyperfocus is not a superpower for ADHD. It is borrowing from our future selves.” – William (21:37)
  • Example: Extreme focus to the point of missing important external cues (22:32).

• Complex Paths to Success

  • Many experienced “hard won” moments of achievement prior to diagnosis; mixed feelings of pride and difficulty.
  • Ongoing struggle to distinguish whether success was “because of” or “in spite of” ADHD (24:11).
    • “It's very much trying to focus on this self-acceptance, reframing your strengths, and finding this very meaningful definition of success.” – William (24:11)

• Self-Acceptance as an Inflection Point

  • Struggles with self-criticism and not feeling successful are common (24:40).
  • Notable closing quote emphasizing the importance of embracing strengths and working with one’s weaknesses:
    • “I do think the biggest difference came when I accepted my strengths and found strategies for my weaknesses. That's the point where I really felt most like me... and when I felt most like me, that's the point where I started to achieve.” (24:51, attributed to a study participant)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “My hot take is that we don't actually grow out of ADHD... it's not actually supported by research yet... in the next 20 years, we might change our opinion on.”
  — William (04:13–05:22)

• “People that think they're good at multitasking are the worst—Not as people, but at multitasking... Everything I've seen suggests that ADHD should be worse at multitasking.”
  — William (07:34)

• “If your interest leads you to a bureaucratic job with very little autonomy, it’s not going to be very great.”
  — Skye (11:50)

• “For some people, the medication makes all the difference in the world... The big factor here is finding a doctor that’s willing to try things with you.”
  — William (13:45)

• “This is not generalizable; this is experience, people’s stories... maybe that information then helps prompt future quantitative studies.”
  — Skye (16:20)

• “Hyperfocus is not a superpower for ADHD. It is borrowing from our future selves. It is ignoring other things that also might need to get done at the time.”
  — William (21:37)

• Closing participant quote on acceptance:
  “I do think the biggest difference came when I accepted my strengths and found strategies for my weaknesses. That’s the point where I really felt most like me. And when I felt most like me, that’s the point where I started to achieve what I stopped trying to fit into boxes I wasn’t going to fit into. I don’t really understand why, but it’s working for me. So it’s what I’m going to go with.” (24:51)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Episode Setup – 01:05
• Systematic Review Overview – 02:20–05:35
• Challenges & Strengths Discussion – 05:35–09:14
• Mediating Factors/Adaptations – 09:28–14:30
• Qualitative Paper: Methodology – 15:14–16:52
• Strengths & Adaptive Strategies – 17:57–21:10
• Burnout & Hyperfocus Complexities – 21:37–23:20
• Meaning of Success & Self-Acceptance – 24:11–25:19
• Memorable Closing Quote – 24:51

Tone and Style

The conversation is candid, practical, and laced with relatable humor. Both William and Skye frequently reference their own experiences and preferences, staying accessible while connecting abstract research to real-world struggles and mindsets for ADHDers.

Summary

This episode provides a rich synthesis of emerging research on ADHD at work, offering listeners both evidence-based findings and deeply personal insights. It highlights the individuality, creativity, and resilience of ADHDers, while also acknowledging the complexity—and sometimes the messiness—of their paths to success. Embracing both strengths and weaknesses, and pursuing environments that fit, emerges as core advice for those seeking more fulfilling lives with ADHD.