ADHD hyperfocus — it’s a glorious thing when you can get it to work

Summary

The article discusses the experience of living with inattentive ADHD, particularly focusing on the concept of hyperfocus as a beneficial aspect when harnessed effectively.

Abstract

The author of the article shares their personal journey with inattentive ADHD, challenging the stereotype that ADHD solely equates to a lack of focus. Instead, they highlight hyperfocus, a state where individuals with ADHD can concentrate intensely on tasks they are passionate about, often achieving remarkable productivity. The author explains that while ADHD can make mundane tasks difficult, it also allows for deep engagement with activities that are personally interesting. They offer insights into how they create conditions conducive to triggering hyperfocus, such as setting up a to-do list, managing time, and finding the right environment to work in. The article emphasizes the importance of recognizing and leveraging hyperfocus to enhance productivity and suggests that embracing this aspect of ADHD can lead to a more fulfilling and efficient use of one's abilities.

Opinions

The author initially felt embarrassed about their ADHD diagnosis as it conflicted with their self-perception of having a good memory and quick learning ability.
They believe that inattentive ADHD doesn't equate to a lack of attention across the board but rather an inability to focus on uninteresting tasks.
The author views hyperfocus as a strength, describing it as a glorious state when it works in one's favor.
They suggest that hyperfocus cannot be forced and requires the right conditions to emerge, likening it to enticing a cat with a shiny object.
The author emphasizes the importance of time management and a distraction-free environment to foster hyperfocus.
They acknowledge the unpredictability of hyperfocus, noting that it can sometimes lead to intense productivity in unexpected areas, like household chores.
The author advocates for giving oneself short breaks to reset attention levels, which helps in maintaining overall focus throughout the day.
They express that it's acceptable to prioritize tasks based on where one's focus naturally leads, as long as essential responsibilities are met.

ADHD hyperfocus — it’s a glorious thing when you can get it to work

When I was first diagnosed with inattentive ADHD, it was, quite honestly, kind of embarrassing to me. It didn’t fit my internal narrative about myself. I have a bizarrely good memory. I’m aggressively absorbed by my interests and can learn quickly. And when I’m working on something I enjoy, the entire world falls away and I can go for hours without coming up for air. How could I — me! — be inattentive?

And yes, sure. In school, I would often lose interest in lectures. I’d become either so physically irritated that I’d have to get up and leave the class. Or I’d literally fall asleep while trying to take notes in order to engage my brain. My college notebook for Intro Physics (a required course) is full of long, ragged dashes showing when my hand slid and fell from the page. I tend to work quickly to get things out of the way, which leads to careless errors.

But this is the thing about inattentive ADHD: It doesn’t mean you don’t pay attention to anything. It means you can’t attend to things you don’t care about. This is an obvious hurdle in the world, since much of being an adult is attending to tasks and chores you don’t find especially thrilling, like taxes, clearing out the inbox, or sitting on hold with the bank.

However, there’s strength in this, as well. Because for every ruthlessly dull thing you have to do just to be a person, there’s probably another thing that you get to do — and you get to do it really hard. This is hyperfocus. And if you can make it work for you, it’s absolutely glorious.

Make way for hyperfocus

Hyperfocus can be a kind of illusive creature. One minute you’re doing some normal tidying of the kitchen. And the next it’s three hours later and you’ve scrubbed every surface, vacuumed and mopped the floor, and even moved on to meal-planning for the next week. How does that happen?

You can’t, of course, just flick the ol’ Attention Switch into Hyper and make this happen on command (though that would be very cool). Instead, you have to lure this state of mind toward you. You might think of it a little bit like playing with a cat: You dangle something shiny in front of it, bounce it around some, and boom! You’re in the game.

The key, I’ve found, is to create the right conditions for hyperfocus to take hold and then, once you’ve noticed that it’s happening, holding on and riding that wave. And a huge element of creating that environment is making ample time and space to go all in.

This often starts for me with a to-do list so I can clearly assess what needs to be done. Otherwise, it will all feel like too much and I’ll just start to shut down. I have daily, weekly, and monthly to-dos on my calendar to help me chunk up my days. This way I’m not wasting attention on trying to remember what I have to do. And I don’t have to worry that I’m forgetting something, which is a very good way to ruin a good hyperfocus.

Whenever I have to do a writing or research task that I’m not that excited about, I try to draw hyperfocus to me by putting myself in a position and headspace that are conducive to it. When I’m writing, I can’t work if there are words happening in the background. I either need to a) turn on some kind of sound that isn’t talking; or b) go out in public, where all the talking runs together, creating white noise. Then, I need to make sure I have at least an hour or two for the task.

This isn’t because I can’t work when I’m on limited time. It’s actually the opposite. Some of my most intense bouts of hyperfocus on projects have been when I knew I only had 15 minutes before my next meeting and I was absolutely wrecked when I had to break the flow to dial up on Zoom. Having your hyperfocus broken by the alert reminding you of a meeting is truly one of the circles of Hell.

So I like to make sure I have enough time to actually focus and do what I need to do. The same is true with household stuff, like cleaning. If I wipe down the counters, there’s a nonzero chance I’ll also put away the dishes, which will lead into reorganizing the cupboards, which will lead into…you get it. It’s like a very boring grown-up version of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Probably called If You Give a Neurodivergent a Task, but we can workshop the title.

This might be 100% just a me-thing, but I find that the more I try to force myself into a position of focus in the hopes that it will go into Hyper Mode, the harder it gets for me to focus on anything. It’s like I have a finite amount of attention each day, and if I use it up haphazardly, it’ll be spent before I can actually get anything done.

This is why I try to give myself tiny — seriously, five minutes, tops — breaks between tasks wherein all I do is wander my house, look at my belongings, gaze out the window, and maybe get a new can of Spindrift to add to my collection of Emotional Support Beverages on the table next to my work station. Taking these little moments to give my body some new sensations, my eyes something different to look at, and my mind something new to consider helps me realign and refill that attention bank.

Knowing what to prioritize can be difficult, especially when your mythical Can (your ability to do something) feels like a Sasquatch you’re trying to catch on your iPhone but it keeps wandering in and out of the shot. Some days, all you can manage to do is the bare minimum, while other days are massively productive. And sometimes, you can’t seem to do any of the important stuff, but your Can shows up, narrows its eyes at you, and says “Oh! Let’s scrub out the bathtub. That’s a great use of our time and in fact it’s the only thing we are capable of.” Sorry, unread emails! You’ll have to wait.

But like, what if that’s OK? And what if every day, you do what you can, and you allow your hyperfocus to help you to be productive in whatever way it wants? As long as everything that’s necessary — picking the kids up, paying the bills on time, making sure everyone’s fed — is getting accomplished, maybe you can let some of the other stuff slide until your hyperfocus turns that direction?