Imposter syndrome
At some point early in a new role, a lot of folks with ADHD start to feel imposter syndrome really acutely.
It may be on the first day. It may be after the first week or two. But at some point, the volume of information you’ve had thrown at you becomes overwhelming, and you feel like you’re way over your head.
For me, it’s usually when my new coworkers start using acronyms or talking about a tool or process that everyone else seems to already know about, and I feel like maybe I should, too.
It’s important to remember that all of these people were in your shoes once, too.
Everything they innately know was learned by slowly absorbing it over months and years. The reason no one is explaining it to you is not because they expect you to know, but because they’ve forgotten that they once didn’t know it, either.
It’s really important that you push past that awkward feeling of admitting you don’t know something.
Ask what an acronym means. Ask what a tool is. Ask why they do things they way they do. Even if its something that you were already taught. It’s OK to forget things!
The silver lining here is that you’re approaching your new teams systems and behaviors with fresh eyes.
You can evaluate things that they do out of sheer inertia or muscle memory with a more critical eye. You’ll notice obvious gaps or issues that they’ve gotten so used to that they don’t even notice them.
Being the person who asks “what” and “why” makes you asset, not an annoyance!