Protecting your time and space at work is crucial to prevent burnout. Meetings often take up a lot of time, making it difficult to get work done.

In this video, Brett shares his experience as an autistic person with over ten years of experience in leadership and management. He talks about how to build in time to think, process, and get work done. One effective solution is to block off your calendar for an hour or two, or even a whole day, to ensure you have time to focus without interruptions.

Try starting small with an hour or two for lunch as one way to begin. Hold your boundaries, and don’t allow meetings during that time. As you build up your ability to protect your time, you can take on more significant challenges like blocking off a whole day. Be an advocate for yourself and communicate your needs clearly to your colleagues. Remember, protecting your time and space is not a luxury but a necessity for your mental health and productivity.

I’m Brett, the AuDHD Boss, and I work on this site to help other neurodivergents in the workplace. On this channel, we provide career coaching for those who work in corporate jobs and want to grow their career into leadership or those who just need some general career guidance.

In today’s video, I’m doing the “Newbie Challenge” for new YouTubers where I’ll be addressing ADHD and Autism. So let’s get started with my questions.

Why did I start this channel?

I started this channel to give back. When I was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, I found that there were many YouTubers and educators on TikTok and Instagram who provided educational and informative content, which helped me a lot. It made a huge difference in my self-diagnosis, which eventually led me to get my formal diagnosis about four years ago. As I talked about my experiences at work, I helped others discover their pathway to neurodiversity and their own diagnosis. This led me to think that if I could help people I work with, why not help more people? The more I talked about it, the more I found that there was a lot of information that people needed to know. So I decided to share my knowledge with the world.

What can I bring to YouTube?

I have over 15 years of leadership experience and years of lived experience with Autism and ADHD. I am a new YouTuber, and I bring authenticity to my channel. I think the more I talk about my experience, the more I can help people with Autism, ADHD and anxiety see themselves in the workplace, in the world, and in their diagnosis.

What am I most excited about?

I am excited about contributing to the community. I have a lot of knowledge about work-related issues like how to communicate with managers, when to mask, when to unmask, how to show up at work successfully, and how to grow your career. Many people who identify as Autistic or ADHD struggle with holding a job and staying at work. I want to help people grow in their careers, and ideally, I would love to see more neurodivergent individuals grow into leadership positions. We need more neurodivergent people in leadership and management roles to create a user-friendly work environment for all.

When did I get diagnosed?

I got diagnosed about four years ago. I did self-diagnosis first, which is valid because not everyone can afford formal diagnosis. Self-diagnosis is an important step, and there are many resources available to help people diagnose themselves. The Neurodiverse umbrella covers many conditions, including Autism, ADHD, and several others.