External distractions are rampant in the current open office environment, which is very ADD-unfriendly. 2- Ask for permission to work at home part of the time. 3- Use head phones or a white noise machine to muffle sounds. 4- Face your desk away from the line of traffic. 5- Ask to use private offices or conference rooms for periods of time.
Internal distractions can be even tougher to avoid, but here are some tips.
1- Write down your intrusive ideas so you can get back to task. 3- Work at a particular task for briefer intervals, and shift to a new task when you find your attention wandering. This technique may work best at tasks which you find boring and repetitive. It may help to talk your dissatisfactions over with a friend or spouse, and look for less drastic solutions. If you impulsively blurt out comments in meetings which you later regret, learn to take notes, write down what you're thinking of saying.