If your brain thrives on chaos (or maybe too many open tabs), you know the struggle: your workspace can start to feel overwhelming instead of helpful. I’ve been (knowingly) living with ADHD since I was 15, and over the years I’ve learned that a few simple systems can make all the difference.
Growing up, my mom (who was a teacher) helped me sort through both school and life with routines, flash cards, and color-coordinated charts. Stickers (hello, celebration creatures!) worked wonders for my brain, and many of those tools followed me into adulthood. I credit those early strategies with helping me graduate at the top of my class, and later, helping me find my calling in a move from “copywriter” to “project manager” at one of my first ad agencies.
Helping others organize their spaces to get the work done (and done well) became a natural career move. Today, my teams and I thrive with the help of Asana. Here’s how I make it calm, clear, and actually usable for neuro-spicy brains like mine:
Sections & color coding aren’t just pretty — they’re survival tools
Break projects into clear sections with simple, descriptive names.
Assign colors strategically: like-projects should have the same colors (for example: internal projects could be blue, client projects could be pink, finance projects could be green, etc.)
Tip: Don’t overdo it. Too many colors = visual chaos (especially at the task level). Pick 2-3 and stick with them.
Minimal views, maximum focus
I mostly stick to List view for task clarity and Board view for creative flow.
Hide sections or projects I don’t need today. Out of sight = out of mental clutter.
Another idea is to favorite projects you use most frequently, so they always appear at the top!
Tiny rituals to start and end my day
Every morning: check My Tasks and prioritize 3 “must-do” items.
Every evening: ensure all completed tasks are checked off, update any due dates where tasks are extending, and glance at what’s coming tomorrow.
These micro-habits reduce the anxiety of “What even needs to get done?”
Workarounds for the messy bits
Sometimes my boards aren’t perfect. I have a “Notes + No Due Dates” section and quirky labels like “brain dump” for ideas that don’t fit anywhere.
But fitting everything into perfect segments isn’t the goal. Calm is.
Bonus: use rules & reminders
Gentle nudges with reminders = accountability without stress.
Prefer to see them in Slack? Add on an external rule.
A workspace that feels calm and clear doesn’t have to be perfect — it just has to work for you. Play with views, colors, sections, and little rituals until it clicks. Your brain (and your team) will thank you for it.
I’m all about the colors, emojis, and flying creatures too, @Erica_Tay! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the community. It is so empowering to see you and other neurodivergent folks thriving!
I plus one all the tips you shared because I use most of them myself, and they do wonders for me.
This is a great way to wrap up our Neurodiversity Celebration Week: by showing everyone that ‘perfection is in the eye of the beholder.’ If a system works for you and helps you thrive, just Go Your Own Way!
One thing I’ve found frustrating in trying to lead the charge to utilize ASANA on my team as a non-leader with ADHD is that I feel like I’m taken less seriously. Its written off easier and faster because it will only work for a “brain like yours.”
… its simple organization, processes, workflows, and collaborations!!!
RIGHT?! Right?! Why is it so hard for everyone else
This is great—especially the emphasis on calm over “perfect.”
One small ritual that’s helped me during the workday (when I’m actively working, not planning) is keeping My Tasks incredibly simple and low-noise. I get distracted easily!
I use a Weekly Priority custom field with only 3 options: Time-Sensitive Priority, Secondary Priority, and Non-immediate. These are all created with calmer/cool-toned colors, rather than hot reds and oranges.
In My Tasks, I filter to Time-Sensitive Priority + Incomplete tasks and I temporarily “live” in that incredibly minimal view while I’m working.
For me, just a few options + calmer colors reduces the “everything is urgent” feeling and keeps decisions fast and work focused. Sharing in case it helps someone else who gets overwhelmed by too many visible tasks at once.
this is such a great idea! i’m going to implement this today Too often, I just avoid going to My tasks because I don’t want to feel overwhelmed by All The Things.
@Marina_Borker, this is so great! I love the idea of using calm colors, not the red and orange to mark urgency. Going to implement this as well! Thanks for sharing!
Yes, a colleague of mine who spent a lot of time in high-stress military settings put me on to this idea of using calmer colors since most priorities at work (although important) are not in fact actually “code red”. I’ve found that it helps soften my mood in association with tasks.
I hear you, @Nora_Clark. The reality is that as work becomes more global and complex, every team needs a clear “source of truth” to stay aligned. Whether a team is spread across continents or just different offices, having that shared visibility and accountability is what makes modern collaboration possible. The fact that Asana suits different work styles is a huge bonus, but at its core, it is just about building a more effective way to work together.
Please don’t let that discourage you from leading the charge! If there is anything our Community can do to help you advocate for these processes, just let us know.
@Marina_Borker, the color factor is such a good point! My background is in graphic design so I spent a lot of time studying things like Gestalt and color psychology. It is funny because I know exactly how much color can influence mood and stress levels, YET I never actually thought about applying it to my own task list.
I have definitely been using too many alarming colors for things that are not exactly life saving priorities. I’m gonna change that right now. Thank you for the great tip!
Totally hear and agree with you on this one. I would start with leadership buy-in and then push downwards. I also agree with @Vanessa_N about having a single source of truth. Maybe its one project space where all the Asana How’-To’s live.
Not at all! See the screenshots below. The “Recently Added” field is native to Asana, so that didn’t need any additional rules. I keep that up top so I can see anything that might be assigned same day.
The other section without rules is “Future Tasks”. They usually first populate into “Recently Assigned” and I’ll manually push them to this group if it’s something happening farther out than the current week.
Sections & color coding aren’t just pretty — they’re survival tools
Minimal views, maximum focus
Tiny rituals to start and end my day
Every morning: check My Tasks and prioritize 3 “must-do” items.
Workarounds for the messy bits
“brain dump” for ideas that don’t fit anywhere.
Bonus: use rules & reminders
Too often, I just avoid going to My tasks because I don’t want to feel overwhelmed by All The Things.
