I used your article's own opening line as the title, since "Focus? Depends on the Playlist." is far stronger than the working title and it's already sitting right there at the top. SEO Title filled because the real title has a question mark and is short on keywords, so the override gives search something clearer to index. How ND brains actually lock in. Hint: it's not silence. There's this running joke that people with ADHD can't focus. Truth is, we can focus too hard. On the wrong thing, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason, while completely forgetting what we were supposed to be doing in the first place. Add a Zoom call or a spreadsheet to the mix and it becomes a full-contact sport. But here's the thing. The way we focus isn't broken. It's just wired differently. And the stuff that helps us focus? Usually looks like distraction to everyone else. Mining Shows Are My White Noise (But I Hate White Noise) You know what gets me into a great working rhythm? Grown men digging in dirt. Gold Rush. Curse of Oak Island. Outback Opal Hunters. If there's a group of people using heavy equipment in remote areas, hoping to strike it rich but mostly just yelling about gravel, it's probably playing in the background while I'm deep in a work session. These shows are my white noise. But not actual white noise. Can't stand that. The static hum, the artificial drone? No thanks. Give me repetition. Give me mild drama. Give me rugged Australians arguing over a quartz vein. It's ambient chaos with just enough stimulation to keep the restless part of my brain entertained, without hijacking the part that needs to focus. Sounds ridiculous, but this low-stakes, predictable background TV keeps me on task. The episodes blur together in a comforting rhythm. I'm not watching them, not really. I'm anchored by them. They hold the edges of my attention so the core can lock in. Zoom Calls Are Torture (And Why I Paint Minis During Them) Let's talk about Zoom. Or any video call, really. For neurodivergent folks it's a gladiator arena of sensory input: Staring at faces, trying to read social cues Listening while waiting your turn to speak Watching your own face in real time Trying not to interrupt or lose your train of thought Managing lag, tone, and awkward pauses It's exhausting. Not because we don't care. Because it burns so many mental resources at once. So yeah, sometimes I doodle. Sometimes I paint freshly 3D-printed minis. But only during long meetings where I'm in a passive listening role, not leading or presenting. And always off-camera. Not because I'm checked out, but because that little bit of physical activity helps me stay more present. It quiets the background noise in my head by giving it something small and repetitive to do. It actually helps me hold onto the information better. That's not disrespect. That's adaptation. Studies have shown that fidgeting or light physical engagement can boost working memory and attention in people with ADHD. Our brains crave stimulation, and if they're not getting it from the conversation, they'll manufacture their own. Might as well point it at a paintbrush instead of letting it spiral into mental tangents. Music Is a Mood-Based Focus Tool My music shifts based on what I'm trying to get done. Creative work, designing, writing, ideating, is all rock, outlaw country, or folk. Something with a heartbeat. Grit and character. That stuff matches the emotional texture of building something from nothing. But staring down a financial model or a data-heavy deck? That's when I need quiet acoustic, ambient classical, or even epic cinematic scores. No lyrics. Nothing I've heard before. Something that fills the space without grabbing me. Why? Because familiarity pulls me in. Lyrics make my brain want to sing along. Something spacious and unfamiliar gives me room to breathe and keeps the anxiety in check while I wrestle with Excel. Neuroscience backs this up. For a lot of ND folks, music with lyrics hijacks verbal processing, while instrumentals support focus by giving you rhythm without the semantic interruption. And dopamine regulation, which often runs low in ADHD brains, improves with stimulation. Music can be that boost. Funny enough, my dad could never understand how I did any schoolwork with rock music blaring through my room. I still remember getting my first Walkman for my 12th birthday. Game changer. If a teacher let us wear headphones in class, it felt like a saving grace. Decades later, I kind of wish I hadn't cranked it so loud. RIP high frequencies. But back then, it was fuel. My dad was more of an AM talk radio guy. CBS talk types mumbling in the background while he tinkered in the garage. My mom would blast music in the house while cooking or cleaning. Always loud, always singing along. Whistling too. Our house had a rhythm, and everyone danced to their own beat. My mom grew up in a small town in northern France, my dad in Toronto. She loved the classics. Mario Lanza, Edith Piaf, real icons. But the song that always stuck with me, the one I still love for reasons I can't fully explain, is Roger Miller's "King of the Road." No clue why that one burned in so deep. Every time I hear it, it feels like home. Podcasts: Light Days, Light Minds Podcasts are a whole other rhythm, and I do love them. But they're best for me on light-task days or when I'm driving. Shows like Modern Wisdom or Diary of a CEO are great. Insightful, well-produced, engaging. But they ask too much of the language part of my brain for deep work. Give me a day of organizing files, cleaning up workflows, or a solo drive, and that's when podcasts shine. They become a productive companion, feeding me new ideas without needing my full analytical bandwidth. For actual focus work? They go in the "background, but not during crunch time" bucket. "Just Eliminate Distractions" Is a Neurotypical Fantasy You ever get productivity advice from someone who clearly doesn't have your brain? "Just turn everything off and focus." "Work in silence." "Remove all stimulation." Yeah, cool. That's like telling a hummingbird to meditate. For neurodivergent people, silence isn't peaceful. It's loud. Our brains fill it with noise, ideas, anxieties, background tasks, imaginary arguments, or some TikTok jingle we haven't heard in years. It's not quiet. It's unstructured chaos. Which is why external structure helps. Background TV. Repetitive physical tasks. Specific playlists. Talking to ourselves out loud. Visual timers and alarms. These aren't crutches. They're strategies. The way a diver needs gear to breathe underwater, we need these systems to work with how our attention actually flows. Here's What Actually Works for Me Everyone's brain is different, but here's what lives in my personal focus toolkit: Discovery/History Channel shows. Repetitive, simple, non-intrusive, oddly hopeful. Creative music. Rock, Americana, old outlaw country when I'm in the zone. Numbers-work music. Ambient acoustic or unfamiliar orchestral. Long, slow, non-verbal. Zoom doodling. Drawing, painting, or messing with something tactile during meetings. Passive listening roles only, always off camera. Camera off. When I can, it cuts the self-monitoring exhaustion. Ambient task pairing. Light movement with mental work. Walking, pacing. Podcasts. Modern Wisdom, Diary of a CEO. Perfect for driving or light-focus days. Different Isn't Wrong. It's Just Different. We all focus differently. And for those of us who spent years trying to contort ourselves into someone else's definition of "productive," it's easy to internalize a lot of guilt and shame around how we actually work best. But that ends here. Focus isn't about being still. It's about being present. And if painting a 3D-printed Mandalorian helmet while watching Oak Island reruns is what gets you through your quarterly planning session? Embrace it. That's not distraction. That's alignment. Let's normalize different ways of working. And let's stop pretending silence is the only road to productivity. Because sometimes the quietest your brain ever gets is when there's just enough noise to drown out the chaos. Further Reading Why certain sounds help you focus and others drive you insane (The Mini ADHD Coach). Misophonia versus helpful noise, explained. Sound sensitivity and ADHD (Inflow). The three types of sound sensitivity, and how to tell which is yours. ADHD symptom spotlight: sound sensitivity (Verywell Mind). A medically reviewed take on managing auditory hypersensitivity.