On hacking your ADD

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=824318

by jrwoodruff • 17 years ago

4 4 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Of those of you afflicted with ADD/ADHD tendencies during your normal working day, how do you deal? For instance, when you're required to read a manual, or some other mind-numbing task, what are your tricks for getting it done?

Novash• 17 years ago

Stablish goals (like reading one full chapter before a break).

Take small breaks. Even 5 minutes help.

Be interested in the task.

Drink water. Dehydration reduces concentration and will make your situation worse.

Hank_Lenzi2• 17 years ago

First of all, I use Google and all their goodness (Docs, Calendar, Gmail, etc.) This saves me from loosing my schedule (because it's just "up there" in the "cloud").

I have task lists and spreadsheets that monitor task activity (for instance, pages/day read since start date).

Task lists are ordered by priority. Days since start date is monitored, too. I use color code (red = DO IT, NOW!).

I set up queues (e.g., reading list queue).

Budget's in Google Spreadsheet. Google Calendar is set up to warn me of upcoming dates (e.g., recurring payments like rent).

Task list is conceptually different from Calendar. Tasks are either urgent or can wait a bit (depends on priority). Calendar is for what you have decided you will do, and in what order. Setting up some time to plan your next day is crucial for efficiency.

I also have a small statue of Saint Rita in front of me, on my desk. I'm not Catholic. She stands for "Ritalin", but you might like to know she's the "patroness of impossible cases". ;-) She's a reminder. (http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=205)

BTW, if you're having trouble with mind-numbing tasks, you are probably under-medicated. Talk to a specialist in adult ADD/ADHD.

For study material, I am currently setting up a database for it, retrievable by software, with metadata description (this is for theorems, etc). Again, I use Google's resources, because you cannot not find Google. :-) I'm also beginning to experiment with some memory techniques - I read about SuperMemo the other day and also a thing with labels and calendar dates.

You might choose to inform work partners and family you have ADD/ADHD. Educate people. If people don't hear about ADD/ADHD, they will think somebody with it is either lazy or stupid (if your ADHD/ADD is out of control), because you get so side-tracked but research shows there's no correlation with IQ. Let them know you've got this condition. You got it anyway. It's not nice, it's not good, it's not a badge of honor, but it's who you are. So the fuck with it. They don't like it, they're prejudiced? Me, I don't give a fuck. I've achieved some things most people haven't and will never - this, besides my condition. Nobody can take those things away from me.

Also, have a good night's sleep. Ritalin doesn't work well if you're too tired. Learn to let go. Life was tough enough for you, you don't need to torture yourself. Take it easy.

Hank_Lenzi2• 17 years ago

Oh, I forgot to say. Ambient noise can really get to me. So, if I'm studying or performing some mental task in a public place that's noisy, I'll use my iPod - but with NO MUSIC.

At first I used to listen to a lot of Bach - but I found I was concentrating on music, and not the task.

Then, I used pink noise (you can buy pink noise soundtracks on the web), but now I've switched to using binaural beats (probably just placebo effect, but it's less boring than listening to rain and water soundtracks for a prolonged period of time...).

jrwoodruff• 17 years ago

That's interesting - I find myself using music to 'regulate' myself a lot. Usually I'm able to let it exist in the background, but when I start paying attention to the lyrics, I switch to Bach, or Mozart. Rachmaninoff is a nice blend of keeping me awake, but without lyrics I end up listening to.

I've actually never been medicated, but I've always had problems with tasks that I wasn't intensely interested in. Always been a daydreamer. I don't think I've ever read an entire textbook, for instance. I'll force myself to concentrate and slog through a paragraph, just to find my mind is in some other world by the end of it and have to reread it. I don't have this problem at all with fiction, I've finished 700 page novels in a few days.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely bring this up in my next visit to the doctor.

On hacking your ADD

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