Weekly Inattention Tracker

Director of Operations promoted six months ago from a hands-on manager role. Now struggling with strategic planning sessions and cross-functional meetings. Believes the issue is meeting overload, but reports suggest attention problems in one-on-ones and project reviews.

Frame this as operational data collection, not self-assessment. 'Before we redesign your calendar, let's see where your attention actually breaks down versus where you think it does.' Most new directors resist tracking because it feels like admitting incompetence. Normalize it: 'Strategic work demands different attention patterns than operational work. This shows us what needs to shift.'

Notice if they rate symptoms lower in the first three days, then higher toward the end - that's performance anxiety about the tracking itself wearing off. If they consistently rate task-switching as 1-2 but report feeling scattered, they may not recognize switching as a symptom. Watch for detailed context notes versus generic ones.

Start with the highest-rated symptom and ask: 'Walk me through what a 4 looked like on Wednesday.' Then compare weekdays to weekend patterns. The key question: 'Which of these symptoms showed up in your old role, and which are new?' This separates ADHD patterns from role-transition challenges.

VP of Marketing who sought coaching for 'meeting fatigue.' Claims perfect focus during creative work and strategy sessions, but admits to zoning out during budget reviews, compliance training, and routine check-ins. Defensive about ADHD assessment suggestions.

Don't mention ADHD directly. Frame as meeting effectiveness data: 'You've identified that certain meetings drain your focus. Let's map which attention patterns show up where, so we can design around them.' Expect pushback on tracking non-meeting symptoms. Position it as baseline data: 'We need to see your attention patterns across all contexts to isolate what meetings specifically do.'

They'll likely underrate symptoms during creative work days and overrate them during administrative work days. If weekend ratings are consistently lower than weekdays, that supports their 'boring work' theory. If weekend ratings match weekday patterns, the issue is broader than context. Look for resistance to rating daydreaming - creative executives often reframe it as 'ideation.'

Start with the pattern across contexts, not the individual symptoms. 'Your Tuesday and Thursday look different from the other days. What was different about those days?' Then: 'You rated daydreaming as a 1 on creative work days but a 4 on administrative days. What's the difference between useful mind-wandering and problematic mind-wandering?'

Finance Director who functions well most of the year but reports severe focus issues during month-end and quarterly close. Attributes it to stress and long hours. Recent feedback from CFO mentioned 'careless errors' in critical reports during these periods.

Position this as stress-response mapping, not attention assessment. 'High-pressure periods affect everyone's focus differently. Let's track your attention patterns during a normal week, then again during close, to see what changes.' Frame the symptoms as performance variables, not deficits: 'These are the attention demands that spike during close periods.'

If they're tracking during a normal week, expect lower ratings across most symptoms. The valuable data is in the context notes - do they mention compensatory strategies they use during regular periods? If tracking during close, watch for all symptoms rating 3+ with little variation - that suggests overwhelm rather than specific attention patterns.

Focus on the contrast between high-stress and normal periods. 'Which symptoms showed up this week that don't usually?' Then drill into the task-switching and careless mistakes rows: 'During close, you're managing multiple urgent deadlines. Walk me through how you decide what to focus on when everything feels urgent.'

CEO of 50-person startup, recently diagnosed with ADHD and started on stimulant medication three weeks ago. Wants to optimize medication timing and dosage based on work demands. Reports improved focus but inconsistent effects throughout the day.

Frame as medication optimization data, not symptom tracking. 'Your psychiatrist needs real-world data about when the medication works and when it doesn't. This tracker gives you specific data points for those conversations.' Note that medication effects can mask underlying patterns: 'We're tracking both medicated and unmedicated attention patterns.'

Look for time-of-day patterns in the context notes - do symptoms spike in late afternoon when medication wears off? If they're rating symptoms as 1-2 across the board, they may be in the honeymoon phase of medication. Watch for whether they're tracking on weekends when they might skip doses.

Start with timing patterns: 'Look at your context notes. Do you see any patterns around time of day or medication timing?' Then focus on which symptoms improved most and least: 'Medication affects different symptoms differently. Which of these eight symptoms feel most changed since you started, and which feel the same?'