My ADHD diagnosis and the digital habits I finally understand
In May 2025 I was diagnosed with ADHD. That moment gave me language and clarity for struggles I’d carried for years. What I had often dismissed as “bad habits” or “lack of discipline” were in fact patterns shaped by how my neurodivergent brain works. And one area that was affected was my digital wellbeing. The constant pings, endless feeds and infinite scroll weren’t just distractions; they were amplifying my challenges with focus, memory and self management.
Digital tools are meant to make our lives easier. Yet for many people with ADHD, they can quickly become overwhelming, and that’s exactly what happened to me. What starts as a quick check of email or social media can spiral into time lost, stress heightened and wellbeing compromised.
That’s why I joined Kate Moryoussef on the ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast to talk about digital habits, boundaries and how neurodivergent brains can thrive in a connected world. Here’s an overview of the themes we explored. And you can listen to the podcast here.
Impulsivity and the digital hook
Challenge: Impulsivity is a core trait of ADHD and something that I experience on a daily basis. This trait does mean that I can think on my feet and speak from the heart, but the downsides are real and when online, it shows up as the urge to click, check, refresh or reply instantly. Notifications are designed to grab attention and resisting that pull can feel almost impossible. The result? Constant task switching, fragmented focus, a sense of never quite finishing anything and inevitable overwhelm.
Solution: Turning off notifications can really help you to take control as to when you are going to check your tech. I also recommend experimenting with batching communication, for example, checking email three times a day instead of constantly. Practising mindfulness also helps to exercise slowing down and pausing – something that is invaluable if you feel you are acting before thinking and want to feel more in control.
People pleasing in the inbox
Challenge: Many neurodivergent people struggle with people pleasing tendencies. In digital spaces, this can mean replying immediately, saying yes to every request or over committing. The inbox becomes a place of pressure rather than productivity.
Solution: Starting to set clear expectations with colleagues about response times is a game changer. Creating clearly labelled folders where emails can sit until you are ready to respond can help. Leaders and managers play a vital role here too by modelling healthy boundaries and reinforcing that slower replies don’t equal poor performance.
Memory, focus and the digital fog
Challenge: ADHD often affects working memory and digital overload makes this worse. It’s easy to forget tasks, lose track of conversations or miss deadlines. This resulted in me living my life with my phone beside me and jumping on and off to action or check stuff all day – and then getting lost in the rabbit hole or too mentally preoccupied with what I had seen.
Solution: Capturing actions on paper and batching online tasks to reduce the fog and restore confidence. Task managers, pinned chats, or meeting notes used consistently can also help. It’s important to keep systems simple: one trusted tool or system is better than five different apps.
Dopamine and the scroll
Challenge: Digital platforms are engineered to deliver dopamine hits. Likes, comments, new emails, breaking news all keep us scrolling. For ADHD brains, which often seek stimulation due to dopamine dysregulation, this can become addictive.
Solution: For me, the only choice was to come off social media entirely, even LinkedIn. For others, batching social media checks, moving apps to laptops instead of phones and setting intentional offline windows can help reset the brain’s reward system. Replace digital dopamine with healthier alternatives like movement, creative hobbies, or time outdoors. I try and get out every day without my phone and have a walk in nature. It helps me to reset and clear my head and without the distraction of the device in my pocket feels like a true break.
Continuous partial attention
Challenge: Many of us live in a state of “continuous partial attention”, always half focused on the next ping. For neurodivergent brains, this constant readiness is exhausting and can trigger anxiety, poor sleep and burnout.
Solution: Storing phones out of sight during meals, homework, or downtime is helpful – in our house the phones live in the tea and coffee cupboard. Also keeping devices out of bedrooms protects sleep – something which can be disrupted for those of us with ADHD.
The Harmony acronym
On the podcast, I shared my HARMONY framework for healthier digital habits at home, which is especially useful if we are trying to help young people:
H = Have conversations about digital overwhelm and management. Adults need to normalise conversations around digital habits
A = Amount of time. Use timers to self manage and help young people to start to put boundaries around their online time
R = Relationships. Ensure tech isn’t displacing connection by removing it from your environment when you are spending time together
M = Mindful use. Remove “junk food apps” from your device, explain why you’re doing this and batch online time
O = Out in the open. Keep device use visible and ensure that children spend their online time in public spaces in the home such as the living room or kitchen
N = Nighttime. Protect sleep and encourage good nighttime habits by keeping phones out of bedrooms
Y = Your behaviour. Model the boundaries you want others to adopt to ensure more digital harmony at home.
Workplaces and organisational culture
Digital presenteeism is widespread: 94% of people feel they must stay “always on.” I have worked with over 35 law firms since 2016. These types of high pressure working environments are particularly affected, with burnout being experienced by many professionals who struggle to put boundaries in place around their tech use.
Solution: Leaders should model boundaries, encourage screen free breaks and use tools like Outlook’s Work Offline to reduce interruptions. Cultural change starts with leaders but benefits everyone - neurodivergent and neurotypical alike.
Final thought
Technology isn’t going anywhere, but we can choose how we engage with it. For neurodivergent brains, boundaries aren’t about restriction, they’re about freedom and empowerment. They allow us to thrive, harness creativity and live with more balance in a connected world.
If these themes resonate with you, listen to my full conversation with Kate on the ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast for deeper insights, practical tools and real life stories of how digital harmony can transform wellbeing.