Or: How Working in Pajamas Can Be Both Liberating and Mildly Dangerous
Ah, remote work. The dream. The promise. The utopia where we’d all be more focused, more balanced, and more productive… once freed from the distraction dungeon of open-plan offices.
But for ADHD marketers? Remote work is a double-edged sword, one side is freedom, the other is a bottomless rabbit hole of distractions (many of which are your own fault).
On one hand, no chatty colleagues interrupting your flow every six minutes. On the other, there’s a mountain of laundry winking at you seductively while you’re supposed to be launching an email campaign.
So, is remote work a blessing or a curse for the ADHD marketing brain?
Spoiler: it’s both.
The Blessing: Your Brain, Uncaged
Let’s start with the good stuff, because there’s a lot of it.
✅ No Commute = No Executive Function Tax
Remote work means you skip the hellscape of morning logistics. No remembering where your shoes are. No packing a lunch. No pretending you don’t hate public transport. That’s two hours of energy you can now reinvest into your actual work, or at least into pacing around your kitchen while thinking about work.
✅ Control Over Your Environment
You can set up your workspace however your dopamine demands:
Fairy lights? Done.
Four whiteboards and a wall of sticky notes? Obviously.
A weighted blanket and a cat that judges your every move? Essential.
Unlike traditional office life, you no longer have to pretend fluorescent lighting and grey carpet are good for productivity.
✅ Freedom to Work With Your Brain, Not Against It
ADHD isn’t 9-to-5. Your hyperfocus may kick in at 9am or… 11:47pm. With remote work, you can lean into your natural rhythms (as long as deadlines are met, and no one’s calling HR about your midnight Slack messages).
Also, let’s not underestimate the power of being able to walk around during meetings without looking “weird.”
The Curse: Also Your Brain, Uncaged
And now, the flip side. Because let’s not pretend it’s all flow states and deep work.
⚠️ The Fridge is Right There
You sit down to write a campaign brief. But suddenly, you need a snack. And then you remember you should probably clean the fridge. And now you’re deep into a 45-minute comparison of oat milk brands, and the campaign brief? Yeah, still blank.
Remote work has everything you like to do and none of the accountability to stop you.
⚠️ No One Sees You, So You Spiral Freely
When you’re alone, it’s much easier to get trapped in decision paralysis, start seventeen tasks, and finish absolutely none.
In an office, someone might say, “Hey, how’s that report coming?”
At home, the only voice you hear is your own inner monologue screaming, “WHY ARE YOU REDESIGNING THE ENTIRE LANDING PAGE, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO JUST EDIT A HEADLINE.”
⚠️ Structure? Never Heard of Her.
Remote work without structure is like handing your ADHD brain a puppy and saying, “Be responsible.”
You can create routines. Time blocks. Focus sprints. But without external pressure, it’s easy to float through the day in a haze of multitasking, aimless tab-jumping, and wondering where the last four hours went.
Survival Tips for the Remote ADHD Marketer
If you’re embracing the chaos of working from home, a few simple strategies can help turn this from a Greek tragedy into a creative triumph:
🧠 Fake a Commute
Walk around the block before you start. Pretend you’re going to your office. Even if that “office” is a blanket fort next to your laundry pile.
📅 Time-Block EVERYTHING
Seriously. Lunch. Deep work. Admin. Breaks. Existential crises.
If it’s not on your calendar, it becomes a surprise activity mid-task.
📵 Control Your Environment
Remove distractions. Use app blockers. Hide the remote. Lock the fridge (okay, maybe not that). Design your workspace to support focus—not tempt chaos.
📞 Create Accountability
Whether it’s a coworking Zoom, a weekly check-in, or just texting a fellow marketer “I’m starting this task now,” a little human accountability goes a long way.
🍕 Reward Yourself, Shamelessly
Yes, you’re allowed to bribe your brain. “If I finish this pitch deck, I get pizza.” Motivation doesn’t need to be noble, it just needs to work.
Final Verdict: It’s a Blessing… If You Know How to Tame the Beast, Remote work gives ADHD marketers exactly what they crave: flexibility, autonomy, and the ability to work with their neurodivergence rather than against it.
But left unchecked? It’s also a minefield of procrastination, self-sabotage, and TikTok-fueled doom loops.
The trick is to build systems that support your actual brain, not your imaginary “focused” alter ego who wakes up at 5am and journals before logging in.
Do that, and remote work becomes more than a blessing. It becomes your superpower.
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