The ADHD & Inbox Test

• Part 1: your brain

  Twelve questions about attention, organization, restlessness and impulsivity, plus two about when these started and how much they get in the way. They cover most of the trait areas in the official criteria, in our own words.

• Part 2: your inbox

  Six questions about your unread count, what floods your inbox, when your brain is freshest, your colors, a quick-fire round and how you handle an “action needed” email. These build your Ada setup and your organizer archetype.

• How we score it

  Each answer is worth 0 (Never) to 4 (Very often). A trait shows up when you pick Often or Very often, because the official criteria use the word “often.” In scenario questions, the last two choices count. Each group of six gets a band: 0 to 1 is a little, 2 to 3 some, 4 to 6 a lot.

• How we pick the lean

  Four or more of the six attention traits leans inattentive. Four or more of the six hyperactive and impulsive traits leans hyperactive-impulsive. Both is combined. Clinicians use five of nine for adults, so ours is a rough echo, not the real criteria.

• Your privacy

  Your answers never leave your browser. They're saved on this device so you can pick up where you left off, and “Clear my answers” wipes them. We only count that someone started, finished, saved or shared their card, copied their setup, or clicked through to sign up. If you click through to sign up, the link tells us your organizer type. Never your answers or trait results.

• Your archetype

  Eight organizer archetypes, picked mostly from your inbox answers with a nudge from a few Part 1 patterns. It's for fun, it's the only thing you can share, and it never includes your trait snapshot.

What it covers: six of the nine attention areas and seven of the nine hyperactivity and impulsivity areas in the official criteria (one question covers both blurting out and interrupting). It skips careless mistakes, seeming not to listen, losing things, leaving your seat and running or climbing.

Want a screener with research behind it? Try the official WHO Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) and take your answers to a clinician.

• Predominantly inattentive

  Mostly attention and organization traits. Easy to miss, because it's quiet.

  It can look like

  • Drifting off in dull tasks or long conversations
  • Losing track of details, steps and deadlines
  • Putting off tasks that need sustained thinking
  • Forgetting appointments, bills and replies

• Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive

  Mostly restless and impulsive traits. In adults, often more restless mind than restless legs.

  It can look like

  • Fidgeting or feeling restless when you have to sit still
  • Feeling driven, always on the go
  • Talking a lot, or finishing other people's sentences
  • Finding it hard to wait your turn

• Combined

  Traits from both lists show up often. CDC describes both sets as equally present.

  It can look like

  • Attention and organization traits show up often
  • Restless and impulsive traits do too
  • The mix can shift as life changes

Want the full story, including why “7 types of ADHD” lists aren't real diagnoses? Read Types of ADHD: the three presentations, explained.

• The Tab Collector

  Forty tabs open. All of them important.

  You save things for later, and later is a very big place. Your inbox is part library, part museum, and somewhere in there is a coupon from 2019 that's doing just fine. You're curious and you hate losing things. Fair.

  Superpower: You never lose an idea for good. Watch out for: The important email hides among the interesting ones.

• The Deadline Surfer

  Pressure is your favorite coffee.

  You can do a week of work in one glorious night, as long as the deadline is breathing down your neck. It works, mostly. The tricky part is seeing the wave before it's right on top of you.

  Superpower: Clutch focus when it counts. Watch out for: Due dates that sneak up quietly.

• The Idea Firehose

  Ten ideas before breakfast.

  Your brain is a party and everyone's invited. New plans, new projects, new group chats. You bring the energy to every room. The trick is catching the emails that need a reply while you're mid-brainstorm.

  Superpower: Energy and ideas on tap. Watch out for: Replies that get lost in the rush.

• The Quiet Drifter

  Your mind takes the scenic route.

  You're thoughtful, kind and somewhere else for just a sec. Your attention drifts like a cloud, and some emails feel so heavy you'd rather not open them at all. That's not laziness. It's a brain that gets overwhelmed, and it deserves a gentler inbox.

  Superpower: Deep thinking and a big imagination. Watch out for: Heavy emails that sit unopened.

• The Hyperfocus Diver

  Gone for six hours. Came back with a masterpiece.

  When something grabs you, the world disappears. You look up and it's dark outside, you've built something brilliant, and 47 messages are waiting. Diving is your gift. You just need someone watching the surface.

  Superpower: Laser focus on what you love. Watch out for: Everything that happens while you're under.

• The System Hopper

  New planner, new me. Again.

  You've tried every app, notebook and color-coding system, some of them twice. Setting up a system is the fun part. Keeping it going after week three is the boring part, and boring is your kryptonite.

  Superpower: You design great systems. Watch out for: Systems that need you to keep them running.

• The Plate Spinner

  Work, home, school, the group chat. All spinning.

  You keep a lot of plates in the air, and most days they stay up. Your inbox is where every part of life piles together: a school form next to a work thread next to a bill. You need it sorted by area, not by chaos.

  Superpower: Juggling more than most people would dare. Watch out for: One plate wobbling while you watch the others.

• The Steady Sorter

  You've got a system, and it mostly works.

  Your inbox is under control most days, and you'd like to keep it that way without thinking about it. You don't need a rescue. You need a helper that does the boring sorting, so busy weeks don't knock you over.

  Superpower: Calm, steady habits. Watch out for: Busy weeks that knock the system over.

1. CDC: Symptoms of ADHD
2. CDC: Diagnosing ADHD
3. NIMH: ADHD in Adults: 4 Things to Know
4. WHO Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1) checklist, PDF hosted by ADDA
5. CHADD: Diagnosis of ADHD in Adults
6. American Psychiatric Association: What is ADHD?