It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week, and on Tuesday we invited you to join Gavin as he led us through his day as an engineer with ADHD and autism. Today, we’re delighted to be following Helen through hers as an engineer with dyslexia and ADHD.
Meet Helen
Helen is a Weights Engineer with BAE Systems, which means her role is to monitor all weight throughout the design stage of ships. Her aim is to keep each ship under a certain weight and monitor how the weight is distributed. She has kindly offered to bring us with her for a day to share what it’s like, and why it works well for her. Over to you, Helen!
Mornings
I should preface this with that fact that there is no real ‘typical’ day in engineering – everyday is different, which is part of the fun!
However, today starts with an early wake-up call at 5:30am, ready for my first meeting at 6am. I don’t have these early meetings every day, so I have bought a weekly planner that allows me to clearly mark when I do. I keep this on my desk so I can still see it when my computer is turned off.
Perhaps surprisingly, I actually quite enjoy the early meetings, they help me get focused and in the mindset for work right away, and I find I can be more productive on these days. Sometimes I can fall into ‘doomscrolling’ if there isn’t a clear starting task or meeting, so though it may sound painfully early, it works for me!
These early meetings are usually with overseas customers, so I have to make sure I’m clued-up and prepared the day before – or it would be a real scramble in the morning.
Due to the nature of my role and the amount of collaboration required, I’m usually asked to attend regular cross-team meetings which I use as information gathering exercises – weights engineers are sometimes referred to as the ‘accountants’ of engineering, as they deal with budgets and margins. These meetings can be over 2 hours long which can pose a challenge for my focus, but as they are teams meetings, I can knit throughout, this really helps maintain my concentration – sounds counterproductive, but it really helps!
Aside from these meetings, my mornings tend to be made up of reactive and proactive tasks. Proactive tasks could include writing policies and procedures, analysing and reporting data and feeding back any issues. I’m regarded as a good verbal communicator, so I’m often given the task of presenting. My neurodiversity means that I don’t see colleagues in terms of a hierarchy, which makes it easier to speak to all levels of the organisation as equals.
Reactive tasks could include reviewing supplier documents, assessing the budget and weight impact of change requests and supporting customers and colleagues with info requests.
When it comes to organising my tasks, I find that Post-it notes work best for me as memory-triggers. I’ve found I’ve become immune to digital reminders as they’re so easy to dismiss. A brightly-coloured note stuck directly in my line of sight is much harder to ignore! In fact, I created my own laminated planning sheet that I can stick the notes onto directly, making it much easier to prioritise and visualise. Plus, there’s nothing like the satisfaction of physically screwing up and throwing out a task – I have a small bin on my desk that I call the ‘task monster’, which gets the pleasure of gobbling them up.
One of the biggest challenges I have is transitioning between tasks. Sometimes I might end up re-doing work as I’m concerned I’ve done it incorrectly, or I forget I’ve done it in the first place! However, on the flip side, when I get focused I can complete a week’s worth of work in three days – especially if it’s a topic I’m interested in.
Afternoon
I’m the member of numerous neurodiversity networks, and these usually take place over lunchtime. These are a great place to meet other like-minded engineers and share experiences.
To make the most of our learning from experience, I occasionally attend cross-platform meetings in the afternoon. Here, we share challenges and solutions, hopefully aiding our colleagues on other projects from making the same mistakes.
I also have weekly 1-2-1 meeting with my line manager to go through my tasks. These regular and informal catch-ups are really helpful to ensure I’m on track and not wandering off on a tangent.
After work
One thing I do struggle with is finishing on time. I don’t like logging off mid-way through a task which can lead to some long days. I’m trying to get better at reminding myself about work-life balance and that my work doesn’t have to be perfect or finished immediately – it’ll still be there in the morning – but it’s hard.
However, I find that the accommodations I require differ depending on external factors, for example, sleep quality and general health. If I’ve had a particularly bad nights sleep or I’m feeling burnt-out, it can be even harder to focus, so it’s important that I look after myself outside of work, too. So, I try and log off at a reasonable time, ready to take on whatever the next day has waiting for me.
A huge thank you to Helen for sharing so openly about her day as a neurodivergent engineer.
If you would like to learn more about neurodiversity and the experiences of neurodivergent engineers, take a look through the resources below.
Understanding neurodivergence at work toolkit (theiet.org)
Neurodiversity in engineering and technology report (theiet.org)
Building neuroinclusive workplaces: one size doesn't fit all (youtube.com)
You can also join our Neurodiversity Member Network to meet other engineers with similar experiences and engage directly with our EDI team – email inclusion@theiet.org to find out more.
