On a typical Monday morning in Mumbai, 32-year-old content strategist Priya D’souza begins her workday with a specific ritual. Soft lo-fi beats play through her headphones, and a bright yellow timer, set for 25 minutes, sits prominently beside her laptop. "I don't start work without it," she asserts. "Otherwise I lose track of time, or worse, I don't start at all."
For D’souza, who received an ADHD diagnosis just last year, these strategies are far from fleeting productivity trends. They are essential tools for navigating daily life. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, long perceived in India as a childhood condition linked to hyperactive boys, is now being recognized in a growing number of urban Indian adults. Many are realizing that their lifelong struggles with chronic disorganization, emotional impulsivity, and restless energy have a name.
The Unseen Struggle for Indian Adults
For those who remain undiagnosed, daily life involves a constant process of self-invention. They rely on Pomodoro timers to create a sense of urgency, brain-dump journals to quiet racing thoughts, and WhatsApp "focus groups" with friends to simulate accountability. These everyday coping mechanisms are helping many stay afloat in a culture where adult ADHD is poorly understood, workplaces are inflexible, and stigma runs high.
"In India, ADHD in adults is frequently overlooked," explains Dr. Alok Kulkarni, a senior consultant psychiatrist at Manas Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Hubballi. Symptoms are often misattributed to stress, anxiety, or simple laziness. This is especially true for women, whose inattentive symptoms—like daydreaming and internal distractibility—are less conspicuous than the hyperactive behavior typically associated with boys.
Psychotherapist Tanu Choksi, based in Mumbai, elaborates that many adults with ADHD carry the weight of years of underachievement and strained relationships without understanding the neurological reason behind their challenges. "They feel like they're failing at things everyone else manages, like remembering deadlines or controlling impulsive spending. Without a diagnosis, it's seen as a character flaw," she notes. The consequences can be severe, leading to chronic guilt, low self-esteem, unstable employment, and financial insecurity.
Why Simple Hacks Become Lifelines
In the absence of formal accommodations or widespread understanding, these simple hacks transform into critical survival tools. Timers are effective because they provide an external structure for an internal sense of time that is often unreliable. "They make time concrete, breaking work into manageable intervals that reduce overwhelm and build momentum," says Dr. Kulkarni.
Music, whether lo-fi, white noise, or high-BPM electronic, serves as sensory stimulation. "It boosts dopamine, helping ADHD brains, which are under-stimulated, to focus and stay motivated," he adds. Another powerful technique is "body doubling," where an individual works alongside another person, either physically or virtually. Manavi Khurana, a counselling psychologist and founder of Karma Care in Delhi, describes it as "borrowing someone else's presence to mimic neurotypical focus cues."
Choksi refers to these strategies as "outsourcing executive functioning." They lighten the mental burden of self-monitoring by creating predictable environmental cues that the ADHD brain learns to associate with focused work.
For 28-year-old Bengaluru IT professional Arjun Behl, mornings begin with a "brain dump." He writes down everything—emails to send, bills to pay, even simple reminders like "take lunchbox." "It's the only way I can calm the chaos in my head," he shares. Without this ritual, he risks forgetting entire tasks, sometimes endangering important projects at work.
Meanwhile, Delhi-based entrepreneur Sana Mehta is a firm believer in body doubling. "I run a small design studio, and I co-work with two friends over Zoom. We keep cameras on and check in every hour. If I don't, I procrastinate endlessly. Knowing someone is watching, even silently, keeps me on track."
Hacks Are Starting Points, Not Complete Solutions
Despite their ingenuity, experts caution that these hacks have their limits. "They provide short-term relief, but the core neurobiological deficits remain," warns Dr. Kulkarni. Their effectiveness can also wane as the ADHD brain, which craves novelty, becomes accustomed to them.
Choksi adds that hacks do not address co-occurring issues like depression, anxiety, or trauma, which are common in adults with ADHD. Khurana points out a critical vulnerability: "During stressful times, your brain can't think clearly enough to reach for a timer or playlist. Everything gets muddled. That's when hacks collapse."
There is also the risk of "masking," where individuals appear high-functioning because they have perfected these hacks, causing their underlying struggles to go unrecognized and potentially delaying formal diagnosis and treatment.
The consensus among experts is clear: hacks are invaluable starting points, but they are not substitutes for comprehensive care. Therapists can help individuals build sustainable systems, structured routines, and undergo ADHD-adapted cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to strengthen executive functioning skills. For some, medication can also provide significant relief.
Support networks are equally vital. "Therapists can encourage clients to advocate for accommodations at work, create co-working setups, or involve family in understanding ADHD," says Khurana. Choksi emphasizes the importance of foundational lifestyle elements: "Exercise, nutrition, sleep hygiene. These create resilience, so hacks don't collapse under stress."
As Dr. Kulkarni puts it, "ADHD is a manageable condition. Diagnosis and treatment can transform daily life. The key is to move from temporary fixes to long-term frameworks." For adults who suspect they may have ADHD, the message is one of validation and hope. You are not broken, and you are not alone.
5 Rituals to Focus Better
Here are five hacks that many adults with ADHD find indispensable:
- Pomodoro Timers: Breaking work into 25-minute focused bursts with short breaks prevents tasks from feeling endless.
- Body Doubling: Co-working with a friend, even virtually, creates instant accountability and makes initiating tasks easier.
- Lo-fi Playlists & White Noise: This type of music provides the steady sensory rhythm and dopamine boost that ADHD brains often need to maintain focus.
- Brain-dump Journals: A daily practice of writing down every racing thought frees up mental bandwidth and reduces forgetfulness.
- Fidget Tools: From stress balls to discreet spinners, tactile stimulation helps regulate restless physical energy.
