Ask for what helps you at work
Pick the one thing that helps you most. What comes out is a request easy to say yes to, in your words.
The short version
- Choose the one working condition that would make the biggest difference, answer two short prompts, and you get back a low-risk could we try… request plus a written follow-up line to send your manager.
- You don't need a diagnosis to ask for a setup that suits you. Framed as how you do your best work, most of these are ordinary good practice, and framed as a small change to try, they are easy to agree to.
- This is not a form that goes anywhere. It rearranges what you pick and type, and hands it back for you to copy.
Most people do sharper, calmer work in the right conditions. Yours might look a little different to the person next to you, and asking for those conditions isn't asking for a favour. The trick is to point at the good work a change produces rather than the thing you find hard, and to ask for one small thing to try rather than a whole list at once. This tool does the wording for you.
Before you begin
Think about the days work feels easier and the days it feels like wading through mud. Pick the one change that would move the needle most, you can always come back for the next. Nothing you type is saved.
Questions
Step 1 of 4
Your request
Copy it somewhere it will survive
Select the text below and paste it into a message to your manager, or use it as a script for a quiet one-to-one. This page keeps nothing.
Two things to remember when you send it
Pick a calm moment, not the end of a stressful day or the middle of a crunch. Say it plainly in person if you can, then send the follow-up line so it sticks and doesn't get lost.
The written note isn't just tidy, it means you both remember the same thing in three months. And because you asked to try it, saying yes costs your manager nothing: it's low-risk, it's reversible, and once one small thing works, the next ask gets easier.
Worth knowing. A lot of what helps you is good working practice, a quiet corner, clear instructions, a heads-up before a meeting, and plenty of people ask for these without ever naming a condition. You don't need a diagnosis to ask, and "this is how I do my best work" is a complete and reasonable sentence on its own. If you do want something more formal, workplaces can put adjustments in place officially, and you're entitled to ask about that too. But you can get a long way with a quiet, ordinary conversation first.
Nothing here is saved or sent anywhere. What you type exists only while this page is open.
Written for Thought Club as general guidance, not medical advice. Free to read, print, and share.