I've been doing fairly decent this semester, even what with starting and changing meds throughout the semester. If I don't blow it, I might even get an A- in Calculus.

But this last week or so, I've had a problem with what I've heard termed "hyperfocus". That is, I get focused entirely on one single thing in my life to the exclusion of practically everything else (sleep, food, people, you name it). Actually, that's been a recurring behavior in my life, it's just the first time it's struck this semester, at least this bad.

Now, if the focus were on my homework, that wouldn't be bad, heck, it would probably even be rather useful. But it's not, it's on something else which is interesting and even useful enough (TCP/IP routing and security, if you must know...), but it's entirely the wrong time. I need to be doing homework, not testing firewall rules.

How do I redirect the focus to my homework? Or at least, "turn off" the hyperfocus so I can more reasonably balance my time between the other things that need to be done?

Hi Deafguy: This went on for me a lot when I was in school as well....I couldn't get off the computer....(not homework stuff).....One thing -- ALLOW yourself time for this "other" thing...BUT do it AFTER you've done a certain amount of homework......

In other words, say to yourself, okay I can do this other thing after I have spent 30 minutes on homework......

I have to agree with Joan... you will be miserable if you try to deny your hyperfocus.

Allow yourself to spend lots of time wallowing in TCPIP and firewalls... but do so only AFTER you have accomplished a reasonable amount of work first.

How do you get yourself to stop something you want to stop doing to do something you should do for your own sake. Some times my anxiety has to get really bad for me to get started doing my homework. I usually end up not having enough time to polish things up and I turn in work that isn't as good as it could be.
Some times I am at department stores and I simply won't stop looking around, becasue I want to avoid the hassle of shifting my attention to something that requires effort. Other times I'll be at home in an "I don't want to do anything today" mode. It's so hard to get myself to star doing things. Once I've started I'm ok, but I always put off starting for later. Concentrating is impossible, organizing my thoughts is painful, it takes a lot of effort and I get head aches. I tried ritalin and adderal, effexor and wellbutrin. I'll try different meds. Do you recommend any I didn't mention. My ADD is more innatentive than hyperactive, but I am somewhat impulsive and compulsive. Thanks everyone for acompanying me in the struggle of living with ADD.

haha, i was studying finals last year and i was bringing along a paper i printed about IPtables. i was reading IPtables 50% of the time. it turned out ok though

First of all, welcome to the forum bekindtoedward.

What is important to you, you will find time to do.

If you school is really important, you will in the end make time for it. I know that not always as easy as it sound, but you CAN do it if school is ulitimately important.

When I was in college I had to find the right places to do my studying. If I was at home it just wouldn't happen because there were always distractions. That could be TV, other roomates, the newspaper, other random stuff. I found that going to a coffee shop was the best for me. I would leave plenty of time, even including some time wasting time. I would spend all day or all evening at the coffee house, buying refills or snacks so I could continue to stay there that long without it bugging them workers.
There were less distractions at the coffee house for me, I emphacize the word LESS. There were still some distractions, but they were not as readily available. Some people like to study at the library but that was always TOO quiet for me.

Also, when I was going to college, I did not have the Internet to distract, so that was probably a good thing. I went to college from 86 to 94 with a 1.5 year break in the middle. As great as the Internet is, it is a major time waster, a giant sink-hole of time wasting stuff. You just need to RUN from any computers with Internet connections while you have to get something done, such as reading etc. If you need to do a paper on a computer, leave your browser closed or unplug the connection if needed.

Goodluck on getting stuff done. Make a plan that has the least distractions!

Well, I better log off this distraction so I can give my kids baths and get them ready for bed:D :D

tnx jimmmaaa!! people here are very courteous... i can't believe it :)

Your welcome Edward!

I was a hyperfocuser and this kept my ADD from being diagnosed. The Adderall XR seems to have abated this and calmed my mind.

Hi all,

I find that doing the thing that _must_ be done alongside somebody else doing the same thing is helpful to me. But only if that person does not have ADD! (or at least has a good handle on it.)

Also, I let them know why I need them there. That way, they can help keep me focused if I veer of course. Of course, finding someone who can do that without making me feel like a slacker can be tough. But I have a few people who can do this for me now, and it works great.

And I agree with Jimmaa, that the place I study really makes a difference. Oddly enough, a cafeteria or other public place where I can find a "quiet" corner is good, because all the noise blends into white noise for me, so I don't notice it.

Concerta has helped a lot with studying and teaching. I stay on the topic longer, am able to get back to the subject at hand sooner after a tangent, remember where I was after a distraction better, and my thoughts/speech don't race as fast.

As far as hyperfocusing the way you described it. I set my loud, obnoxious alarm clock in the other room. I find it too annoying to ignore, and once I get up, I find something else to do until I can go back to the computer and shut it off without getting back into it. (ie: get a snack, make a call, check my to do list, play with the cat...)

Good luck!

I am new here, but relate to your concentration and being distracted. I have a question about Amphetamine (adderal) and addiction. I have found myself procrastinating, alifelong problem, until the night before and popping a couple extra pills if I need to to cram for tests, writing papers, etc. I am a recovering alcoholic, and drug abuser anyway, so when my doctor offered these pills, i told him I was very susceptible to this kind of behaviour. He kind of looked at me like, its that or ping pong brain and told me of other patients that were addicts that were doing real well on this stuff. Personally, I like the energy, the buzz, but my sleep patterns are non existent and I end up a rummy after one of these allnighters, which I do quite often. Comments? I am thinking of getting off all meds, but my life is chaotic where I lost a long term job, my wife is divorcing me (20yrs) I will probaby lose my home, and health problems are exacerbated and I am flunking my courses, mostly because I just don't give a **** anymore. Everything I do seems to end up like this and I am at ropes end.....Please feel free to advise me and tell me of your experiences. I feel so stupid on these meds sometimes, and so ssmart other times and all of these events have coincided with my diagnoses about 1 year ago. Thanks Addlee

Found it funny to stumble on this thread becasue I wasn't even sure if "hyperfocus" was a word, but if it is, I'd use it to describe my normal behavior... more so on meds than not.

Does anybody know if taking meds increaes/decreases the effects? Often times it's not a huge deal (and GREAT when it's on work), but sometimes, I just neglect everything for as long as 11 hours playing video games that I'll never return to after I've bailed on it. Also makes me a total LJ fiend... (LJ, if you don't know... is livejournal... you know, a blogging kinda thing).

Sometimes it gets ridiculous. I wish it was easy to say "Okay, I MUST STOP", but I just can't. Once I was going to play a game for 15 minutes.... before I went to work. Stretched to 3 or 4 hours and I was ludicrously late. Wasn't the last time something like that happened to me, either...

Any suggestions for combatting this menace (which can be quite a bear) is appreciated.

When I'm feeling especially desperate and absolutely must get something done, I'll just sit alone, completely still, free of distractions, and wait for my brain to wind down. That's how programs get finished. Sometimes, that's the only way programs get finished.

But I can blow a couple of hours straight like that so it's kind of a non-solution. :S

I'm not on meds or diagnosed or anything tho... I'd also be interested if there was any way to help that.

im currently a senior in college and i found, especially last year before i was medicated, that i actually hyperfocus on my schoolwork. now you may be thinking that hyperfocusing on school work is a blessing, but let me tell you, when youre at school all day and then come home and do school work until you go to bed, there comes a point when you hit a very big and very hard wall and all systems crash. now i do experience all the distracting elements as well, dont get me wrong, but from my experience, you have to find a happy medium, not just one extreme (only work) or the other (only playtime). personally, the rewards system works best for me. i tell myself if i finish a paper or reading a chapter, then i can have a very defined amount of time to click around on the computer or flick thru the tv. teach35 makes a good point with working with someone else, if youre spacing and theyre working, it really guilts you into focusing on the task at hand.

concerta has helped me so much in school and in life. i really feel like im finally in control and i can participate in discussions in class instead of barely being able to process what people are saying. i think the most important thing with going on meds is to remember that they all affect people differently and that one can have a different affect on you than another one. my dad started on stratera, but that gave him stomach and nausea problems, but hes on concerta now and theres no physical side effects. so if one isnt suitable for you, work with your doctor to find what is.

I've been doing fairly decent this semester, even what with starting and changing meds throughout the semester. If I don't blow it, I might even get an A- in Calculus.

But this last week or so, I've had a problem with what I've heard termed "hyperfocus". That is, I get focused entirely on one single thing in my life to the exclusion of practically everything else (sleep, food, people, you name it). Actually, that's been a recurring behavior in my life, it's just the first time it's struck this semester, at least this bad.

Now, if the focus were on my homework, that wouldn't be bad, heck, it would probably even be rather useful. But it's not, it's on something else which is interesting and even useful enough (TCP/IP routing and security, if you must know...), but it's entirely the wrong time. I need to be doing homework, not testing firewall rules.

How do I redirect the focus to my homework? Or at least, "turn off" the hyperfocus so I can more reasonably balance my time between the other things that need to be done?
have you always been interested in computers, or is just a new thing?

ive noticed in my own life, i am struggling wit h school due to making a bad decision. i decided to major in something that i was slightly interested in at the time. And now, with the semester about half over, im bored out of my mind in these classes. i am going to go computer science again, since ive noticed i still have that zeal to learn about computers, computer networking, and security.

i dont see anything wrong with a hyperfocus on that as long as it fits into what you are studying in school.

You sound a lot like what im doing right now. if you want to talk about networking/security share some ideas, my aim sn withthegloom. im currently toying with freebsd and a bit with openbsd.