UNMASKING ENTREPRENEURS - A CONVERSATION WITH AN ADHD ENTREPRENEUR (and accessible tech tool recommendations)

Interior Designer, Lisa (name changed for anonymity), has permitted us to share these great efficiency and work tips with you all. She has also shared her experiences as an ADHD entrepreneur.

I met Lisa through the business network I co-founded in East London, Hive Collective CIC, and she was a guest speaker at our London "Unmasking Entrepreneurs" event in March 2025. 

(Which, by the way, was an absolute mindblower! The panel discussion, with 4 amazing Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs (and me as the MC), lasted over an hour, and the audience kept the questions coming!)

Would you like to see the whole thing? A video drop is incoming. Just sign up for the Hive Collective Mailing list to get notified when it happens.

To maintain anonymity, as Lisa is not 'out'/masked in her work or with her family (imagine sharing with your clients the extent of your Neurodivergent problems with focus, procrastination and time management!), we didn't film the part of the event where I interviewed Lisa. This really was a very heart-wrenching and candid conversation, but she has kindly shared her great tips and tools for managing ADHD as a self-employed creative.

Lisa is a freelance interior designer who also writes about design and teaches ad hoc on the topic. She is multi-passionate, sometimes working in a more advisory role and occasionally styling photoshoots related to her work.

Very cool and some exciting stuff... Here's what she had to say:

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I'D LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR WORK - HOW DID YOU BECOME AN ADHD ENTREPRENEUR?

I never intended to work for myself or have any concrete career plans. I just knew I wanted to do something creative and media-related that involved designing and writing. I loved interior design, but was always more interested in the decorative side rather than the more technical aspects of design, mainly because I struggle with calculations and measurements. I’m terrible with numbers (I suspect I have dyscalculia).

So, I started working in film and media productions at a junior level. Being on sets and hanging out with celebrities (albeit as their tea server) was pretty dopamine-tastic. But I couldn’t see myself lasting long-term, as production is very intense, and I was starting to realise my need to balance the full-on shoot days with quieter solo projects.  With my on-set experience, I started doing more artistic work, met designers who worked on branded and commercial jobs as well as residential, and then jumped ship.

YOUR WORK CAN ALSO BE VERY FAST-PACED. HOW DOES IT WORK FOR YOUR ADHD (OR AGAINST)?

"You’re also doing creative work alongside like-minded people."

Shoot days can be great for ADHD because they allow you to be hyper-focused and constantly problem-solving, which I love.

You’re also doing creative work alongside like-minded people. It taps into the ‘great in an emergency’ ADHD trait - it’s sort of my equivalent of working on an A&E ward; the one time the barrage of thoughts and anxieties about the rest of the world just completely vanishes and you’re totally in the zone and thinking with calm and clarity - but then the ‘post-shoot hangover’ hits so I need a few really quiet days alone to recalibrate.

HOW DO YOU GET ON WITH THE LESS-ON-YOUR-FEET, BLISSFUL CHAOS SIDE?

When I’m researching for design ideas or something I’m writing, my ADHD is both a superpower and a curse. I come up with interesting connections, but I struggle to know when to stop and usually amass way more research and ideas than I need, then feel overwhelmed trying to work out which direction to take, to get it written and finished, - my executive function dries up as the ‘fun’ but is over. Then I spend too long scrutinising it all and have to force myself to stop because I’ve run out of time, which leaves me feeling unsatisfied with the result. 

In hindsight, I kind of unwittingly created my perfect career based on my special interests, as I love working on different kinds of projects and seeking out new, interesting looks and trends. I feel compelled to dive deep into whatever I’m designing or writing about, often to far greater levels than I need to, partly because I feel I need to wholly and fully understand something, or my brain just won’t engage.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON INCLUSIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE

I’ve never really liked working in an office. I struggled to concentrate and made excuses to wander around and wake my brain up. Then, I often stayed late, as my brain didn’t really come online until the end of the day. 

"One key thing for me is being asked how you’d prefer to communicate."

I’ve not been in that sort of environment post-diagnosis - but I’d probably disclose my ADHD and ask for adjustments like a sit-stand desk, being allowed to wear noise-cancelling headphones, avoiding being in the middle of a run of desks, and a degree of autonomy to stretch my legs, etc., without feeling like I have to pretend to be going to the post room. 

This is less relevant for me, as I generally have a lot of freedom to work however I want to, and according to my schedule. But more broadly speaking, one key thing for me is being asked how I'd prefer to communicate, for example, by phone call vs. video, Zoom vs. Teams, Slack or WhatsApp, or over email, etc.

I would much prefer collaborating via Google Docs than being forced to send Word docs back and forth, especially when someone renames them with ‘new’ or ‘final’, then ‘final 2’, which drives me insane and is so rife for making mistakes. I am also a big fan of running AI during calls and asking it to create a summary with the next steps, which I can email immediately after the call.

AI SUMMARIES ARE A GAME-CHANGER! WHAT OTHER TECH TOOLS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND? 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Tech tools like the ones below can sometimes be funded by Access to Work if the assessor agrees they would help you manage your condition, so always be sure to ask during the application process.

SUNSAMA - is a smart day/time planning app that aggregates everything into one place. For example, you can add tasks directly to plan your days, but it also feeds from your calendar, emails and other productivity apps like Trello/Notion, so you’ve got a more holistic view of your day. You can then drag your tasks onto a timeline and add estimated duration times to the time block, and it checks in with you and asks you to review your day. 

NOTION - a super clever, everything-planner for tasks but also bigger projects, knowledge resources, etc. I’m slowly migrating all of my knowledge and tasks to live here. It isn’t very easy to set up, but it’s super powerful once you’re in the flow. 

It works really well for my ADHD brain because it’s tag-based rather than folder-based and customisable. So, I can link loads of different things together and see everything in limitless different views. 

SETAPP - this app subscription gives you access to loads of other apps. So, within SetApp, there are over 200 apps you can download as part of your subscription - most are focused on one niche, like a smart calculator app, a focus Pomodoro time, a tool that helps you better organise your screenshots, or a smart calendar that has note-taking abilities. 

I love it because there are so many useful tools that really help streamline workflows. It cuts down the overwhelming task of searching the entire internet for an app that does the weird thing you were looking for. It also means I spend less time deliberating on the best app for XYZ, as I can just try one out and then try something else if it doesn’t suit me. 

AIRMAIL - an email platform that pulls through your email accounts from Gmail, iCloud, etc., so it’s all in one place and helps you create workflows. I find it a lot easier to use than Gmail directly, and it makes it easy to add labels to things with keyboard shortcuts.

I get lots of press releases emailed over with info I might find useful in the future, so my tags allow me to process these quickly. They can live in several different places (again, anything that saves me from having to choose a single category for something is far better for my brain!).

WAVEBOX - a smart browser that allows you to create different tab ‘groups’ (aka, sets of browser windows) all from the one browser, and you can also pin go-to websites (and apps), meaning far less desktop clutter. 

I can then almost use it to ‘file’ things to deal with later. For example, I have a ‘read/watch’ group for random stuff that’s taken my interest, a ‘shopping’ group, groups for each of my current work projects, and groups for ‘topics’ like social media, and digital design tools.

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I really hope you find a nugget or app here for you. One of biggest challenges faced by my creative and business ADHD Coaching clients is what tools can help them and how to use them, so this practical advice given by Lisa is invaluable. If you're looking for coaching in your creative career specific to you and your ADHD, do get in touch! In the meantime, why not try one of the tools, to see if they work for you.

A huge thank you to Lisa for allowing us to share this with you!

Sending like-brained thoughts your way

Nat x

PLEASE NOTE LISA IS NOT THE REAL NAME OF THE PERSON INTERVIEWED HERE

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ABOUT NAT HARRISON - ADHD CAREER COACH, AYAMA COACHING

ADHD Career Coach Nat Harrison of Ayama Coaching

Hi, I am Nat. I'm a certified ADHD coach specialising in supporting neurodivergent people who want to harness their brains for the better, improve their relationships with themselves and overcome barriers to making the desired change.

Book a FREE consultation below if you would benefit from some coaching in your work life.

Book Your Consultation Here

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