A new survey suggests that for many adults with ADHD, attention isn’t broken; it’s inconsistent. That inconsistency, tracked by users themselves, may be one of the most under-recognized realities of mental performance today.
A survey conducted by CerebrumIQ gathered data from 1,204 adults who self-identified as having ADHD. All participants had completed a digital cognitive test and volunteered to answer questions about their mental patterns, task habits, and how they manage daily attention.
One trend cut across the data: variability. 74% of participants said their focus wasn’t stable across the day. 61% described frequent cognitive "spikes", brief periods of clarity surrounded by longer stretches of distraction. Only 9% felt their ability to focus remained consistent throughout the day. These fluctuations weren’t just noticed; they were disruptive. Respondents said they struggled most when expectations of steady output collided with a mind that didn’t cooperate on command.
Strategies reflected adaptation more than correction. 72% of respondents had tried some form of regular cognitive training or structured task practice in the month before the survey. Among them, 39% said they became better at persisting through tasks, while 26% noted improved awareness of their performance rhythms. Respondents who reported greater consistency also described small behavioral shifts: changing the order of tasks, breaking assignments into shorter intervals, or deliberately working against time constraints to trigger urgency.
Tools ranged from the familiar to the improvised: 53% used timers or countdowns, 41% adjusted their physical environments, and 32% tracked alertness in notes or journals. Many described switching from rigid routines to flexible scaffolds, setting windows for work rather than exact times, rotating task types, or working in bursts. These weren’t grand overhauls, but tactical adjustments based on real-time feedback from their own attention.
When asked what helped most, 67% said it wasn’t willpower, it was structure. Small adjustments made a noticeable difference when timed right. For example, 48% found they performed best on cognitively demanding tasks before noon, while another 22% reported a late-afternoon surge in clarity. Meanwhile, 44% said their worst performance coincided with tasks that lacked clear external boundaries, open-ended projects, unstructured conversations, or loosely defined priorities.
The findings complicate the idea that attention is either "on" or "off." Instead, for many adults with ADHD, focus behaves like a shifting resource, responsive to context, pacing, and timing. In an era of digital work and self-managed schedules, that variability is becoming harder to ignore.
As CerebrumIQ observed in the aggregated results, what used to be seen as inconsistency is increasingly viewed as a trait to track and design around. The rise of flexible work, micro-tasking, and self-monitoring tools is changing how people relate to their attention. In this context, ADHD isn’t just a diagnosis; it’s a frontline example of how modern environments strain older models of productivity.
The survey doesn’t claim to resolve these tensions, but it offers a snapshot of how real people are adapting. More users are treating attention not as a personal flaw, but as a dynamic input. Instead of demanding steady focus, they’re organizing work around cycles of mental availability, adding structure where needed and removing friction where possible.
"The takeaway is not that people need to fix their attention, but that they’re starting to understand it on their own terms," said Phillipa Goncalves, Managing Director CerebrumIQ. "This kind of data shows a quiet, practical shift, people working with their attention, not against it".
In systems still built around uninterrupted focus, variability might not be a flaw. It might be the baseline. And if that’s true, then the future of productivity will belong not to those who can concentrate the longest, but to those who can respond to their own patterns with the most agility.
About CerebrumIQ:
CerebrumIQ is a cognitive performance platform designed to strengthen mental skills through a blend of IQ testing, neural training games, intelligence puzzles, educational courses, and expert content. The assessments are calibrated to reflect standard IQ tests and used globally to track and enhance users’ thinking abilities. The platform, used by over a million people worldwide, offers more than 300 lessons on emotional intelligence, problem-solving, innovation, confidence-building, and decision-making, helping users develop essential life skills in a structured, engaging way. CerebrumIQ is redefining how people engage with their mental potential. Unlike entertainment-style brain games, Cerebrum IQ is a structured training ecosystem built to deliver lasting neural growth.
CerebrumIQ is a cognitive performance platform designed to strengthen mental skills through a blend of IQ testing, neural training games, intelligence puzzles, educational courses, and expert content. The assessments are calibrated to reflect standard IQ tests and used globally to track and enhance users’ thinking abilities. The platform, used by over a million people worldwide, offers more than 300 lessons on emotional intelligence, problem-solving, innovation, confidence-building, and decision-making, helping users develop essential life skills in a structured, engaging way. CerebrumIQ is redefining how people engage with their mental potential. Unlike entertainment-style brain games, Cerebrum IQ is a structured training ecosystem built to deliver lasting neural growth.