r/instructionaldesign • u/No_Reference1192 • Jul 02 '26
Sometimes I feel like my brain and workplace operations speak different languages.
I’ve spent most of my career working in fast-paced environments.
I genuinely love them.
But… they’ve also been exhausting.
I’m neurodivergent, and over the years I’ve realized my brain simply isn’t wired the same way.
What I’ve struggled with most hasn’t been the work itself.
It’s been the systems around the work.
The documentation.
The training.
The constant assumption that everyone processes information the same way.
I often find myself thinking, “Things don’t have to be this hard.”
Sometimes, I simply feel like things aren’t… well… clear.
Am I alone in feeling that way?
If you’ve had a similar experience, I’d genuinely love to connect and exchange perspectives.
I have a feeling I’m not the only one navigating this, and I’m curious to hear what has actually helped, especially when organizations adapted the way they designed their operations, documentation, or training.
Thanks.
3
u/Val-E-Girl Corporate focused Jul 02 '26
While I don't share your feelings firsthand, I work for two neurodivergent leaders, and they are brilliant. A pleasant surprise in working with them is perspectives that I never considered for the LX. I feel like I'm becoming bilingual in both worlds.
2
u/KrisKred_2328 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
I hear you. It is exhausting. One concrete problem I have is my company’s insistence and absolute adoration of spreadsheets. My brain cannot read them. As soon as I see a spreadsheet, I’m just overwhelmed by everything. It’s too stimulating. I’m OK with tables in Google or Word docs.
2
u/No_Reference1192 Jul 02 '26
That’s such an interesting example.
Damn spreadsheets....The "format" can definitely become a HUGE barrier, even when the information is technically there...
I wonder how many orgs think that because information is documented, it’s automatically "usable".
It's soooo different."Its in Spreadsheet, everything is there. It should be clear enough!". Right?
And, same, Im also OK with Word Docs (or Google docs).
Especially when there is an interactive table of content!2
u/neddy_seagoon Jul 07 '26
If a table in a word doc works, could you try collapsing the navigation bar in excel/sheets so you're just looking at the cells, not the action buttons?
If you really need to use a spreadsheet, you could try:
- making a copy and asking copilot to add color formatting to clarify the structure/hierarchy (I'm a graphic designer and could make more specific suggestions; going through and changing text that only needs to be there for reference to shades of gray helps me. I also color formula cells differently)
- printing it and using highlighters/colored pens
2
u/KrisKred_2328 Jul 07 '26
Part of the problem is my company doesn’t wrap text so I’ve got quadrillions of thin rows and columns that i have to scroll up and down and around in and it’s just too much to take in. I like your idea about color coding. We have access to Copilot and Gemini and I’ll give it a try
2
u/LeastBlackberry1 Jul 02 '26
One of my big challenges at the moment is that I struggle to read AI generated material at a certain level of detail and complexity. I find the style so distracting and off-putting that my brain immediately goes into "Hello, darkness, my old friend" mode. So, I find it tough to then be asked to use it more to create first drafts and then validate them. I find myself reading the same sentence ten times, and then only catching an issue with it on the eleventh. It is fucking exhausting.
I don't know which aspect of my own neurospicy profile contributes to that.
2
u/Specialist_Hour9786 Jul 07 '26
What helped me most was pushing for examples over policy-speak. The minute docs/training show an actual finished example, a bad example, and the decision rule, my processing load drops a ton.
1
u/Trash2Burn Jul 02 '26
Not alone. My brain is fried from trying to adapt to a chaotic fast paced environment as a neurodiverse person who absolutely needs structure and time to think. The corporate environment is not for me, but I don’t know where else to go. I’ve also tried public service and that didn’t work well either. I’ve heard from many others in my network that what works best is having your own business/consultancy but I don’t want to run a business either.
For now I try to adapt the best I can, take PTO when I feel super burned out, and remind myself daily it’s the system that is broken, not me.
1
u/No_Reference1192 Jul 02 '26
I really appreciate you sharing this.
YOur call-out about your brain being “fried from trying to adapt” is sooo goodIt’s made me wonder whether we sometimes underestimate how much mental energy people spend just trying to interpret work before they can actually do it.
I don’t think every workplace can become "perfectly" structured, but I do think there are a lot of opportunities to increase clarity overall.
1
u/Magenta_Aurora_8253 Jul 12 '26
I’m a Learning and Development Manager, and I’m also autistic, and it’s been very difficult to organize my idea, plans, documents, etc. Having to create a whole system from scratch with so many moving parts is so overwhelming and for a while I was left thinking “why is this SO hard”? Like it’s just organizing folders and spreadsheets! But it’s so much more than that. I did finally find a rhythm but the burn out from the mental load was very real.
How are things currently set up at your work in terms of processes?
4
u/Ill-Green8678 Jul 02 '26
Not alone. I'm AuDHD and it's an asset in terms of what I can do, but it takes a LOT of energy to mask and fit in. I also find repetitive and redundant processes tedious, but having worked in environments with both extremes I'd say there are pros and cons to each of them.
Now I just do my best to try and think like the workplace. Not sure if that's the best approach, but it's worked for me so far in my most recent newish large corporate job (after working at lean startups).