She reported that, just by noticing where her attention went, she was able to bring herself back to the class discussion more often, and even made a few relevant comments. I asked her to make a list of things that distracted her in that class and to bring it to my office for the next session. I pay attention to any little thing except what’s going on and then, when he calls on me, I am totally lost and embarrassed.” Marla, a twenty year old sophomore in college who struggled with panic attacks, complained to me about her required writing course and her distractability: “It’s boring, I hate writing, and the teacher has a monotonous voice that puts me to sleep. This is more difficult than it sounds, and, when somebody is stressed, anxious or depressed, it’s even tougher. To improve any type of focus, begin to notice where it is and where it isn’t. Recognizing States of Focus and Distraction You can cope with these moments of disorientation by learning to be as intentional about what you’re not going to concentrate on as what you are going to do. Perhaps this happens to you: you’re not sure where the time went, and you don’t really have a plan for re-entry or catching up. Many folks with ADHD may not notice when the hyperfocus episode begins but become aware when they return from it. Hyperfocus is an amplified type of focus, where you can be totally captivated on something until you are interrupted or just lose interest. Where you direct your focus is akin to pointing the spotlight of your attention on something.
Focus is a dynamic process of choosing what is critical to notice, attempt or recall. Self-Awareness During Hyperfocusīeing aware of where you are directing your attention, and fo r how long, is an important step in addressing hyperfocus. By nurturing executive functioning skills such as prioritization, time management and self-awareness, you can harness the power of your hyperfocus more efficiently. Hyperfocus, it seems, is a double-edged sword: a great capacity for effective performance on interesting, high-value tasks on the one side, and a great capacity for avoiding things by disappearing into pleasurable distractions on the other.
But some folks also see it as a weakness: it accounts for vast periods of time spent on distractions to dodge unpleasant responsibilities. Many people with ADHD see hyperfocus as a superpower: it’s a state of mind that fosters unusual productivity through total absorption in a task. That’s part of what makes it both exhilarating and frustrating. Your concentration is captivated by something, and, although your attention can be channeled into have-to tasks, it can be drawn towards unproductive, procrastinating activities, too. Hyperfocus is defined as “a phenomenon that reflects one’s complete absorption in a task, to a point where a person appears to completely ignore or ‘tune out’ everything else.” Hyperfocus frequently occurs during a fun or interesting activity, and it often crops up without conscious intent. Are you ever so engrossed in an activity that time seems to stop and nothing can tear you away? Does it ever seem like you lose sense of where you are and what’s happening around you? This can be the experience of hyperfocus for many people with ADHD.
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