Keep Focused for Longer: Tips & Tricks

[Curl]

I'm having problems keeping concentrated. I want to read a book but every 2 min I find myself getting up and doing something else, wasting time.

What are some good ways of keeping focused for 30 min + ?

 

[Evo]

I'm having problems keeping concentrated. I want to read a book but every 2 min I find myself getting up and doing something else, wasting time.

What are some good ways of keeping focused for 30 min + ?

Have you been screened for ADD or ADHD?

ADD & ADHD is a problem with inattentiveness, over-activity, impulsivity, or a combination.

It can be treated with medication. Many of our members are taking medication to control this disorder and it has helped them tremendously. You might want to check with your doctor.

 

[graphene]

I find myself getting up and doing something else, wasting time.

what are these 'something else's ?
get rid of them, keep them aside.

 

[mugaliens]

I'm having problems keeping concentrated. I want to read a book but every 2 min I find myself getting up and doing something else, wasting time.

What are some good ways of keeping focused for 30 min + ?

Sleep?

what are these 'something else's ?
get rid of them, keep them aside.

"get rid of them, keep them aside"

Ahem, graphene, we don't work that way, and "we" number about 20% of the human population, including some of the best and brightest.

Evo's right, and there was http://www.drhallowell.com/blog/award-winning-documentary-add-and-loving-it-now-airing-on-pbs-stations/" recently. For some folks, our brains (yeah, me) are wired in ways which make most others somewhat uncomfortable by the way we do things or go through our lives.

I've never been diagnosed, nor on medication, but I've little doubt that I'm one of "them."

The thing of it is, somewhere along the line, I somehow learned to cope, at least somewhat. In short, I leveraged my extreme intelligence - (I'm not bragging, just gifted, Mensa, the whole nine yards) only to lead a rather ordinary life. Alcohol got in the way for a couple of years, because coping with the continual failure of not being able to rise to one's potential is a difficult, bitter thing.

Had I been diagnosed at an earlier age and properly treated, who knows what I might have been able to accomplish?

After dinner with my folks on Friday (yes, Jan 29,11) my Mom gave me a book recommended by the PBS special. If I could find it, I'd share it with you! Follow the link above, and it might be there.

I can, and have, accomplished so many extraordinary things! Yet so many ordinary things seem so beyond my grasp. I have a hard time cleaning my apartment, yet I can do so in lightning speed, such as before anyone visits. The other night, when I was helping my Mom cook dinner and things went sour with the several steps I said, "I've got it, please have a seat," and rescued everything from what was headed towards disaster.

I used to be a navigator in the military. I'd like to think that I was good at it, in that I always hit either the target or the bomb range on time (with two exceptions, actually fairly good over the course of one's career using visual means only). But there were far better Navs out there than I was.

What I excelled at, in part because of add/adhd, was in "pulling the fat out of the fire." When the crap hits the fan, my brain goes into hyperdrive when everyone else's brain around me appears to go into gridlock. This happened several times in the military (during inflight emergencies such as engine or electrical fires) and when all was said and done, most just said, "what the heck just happened?"

I've "pulled the fat out of the fire" in other situations, too, most notably while being grilled by commanders or general officers during either exercises or real-world events. Real, verifiable facts. Yet I've seen other officers "fired" (relived of duty/command) because they simply either locked up or couldn't pull it off. Two of the best navs in two separate squadrons failed out of a famous school because they could not "rise to the occasion." Yet they rose higher in rank than I did because I was cited as being "able to rise to the occasion."

(rolls eyes)

I think at least half the commanding officers in the military have it, to one extent or another. I'd rather not get into corporations, as I've only limited experience with that, but yes, I think it's rampant there, too.

So - should we medicate and stygmatize half our military and corporate executives?

No, BUT, I do think we should pull out all stops against any stygmatization, whatsoever, against ADD/ADHD, whether the kids or adults are medicated or not.

We have so much to offer! Find us a place in society where we can utilize our gifts to help everyone else.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I was fired from my job at Tropicana because I couldn't concentrate.

 

[EnumaElish]

You could read while exercising (on a treadmill or stationary bike), and see if that works.

 

[Evo]

I was fired from my job at Tropicana because I couldn't concentrate.

 

[Curl]

It only happens when I read something I don't want. If I pick something out on my own then I don't have problems.

Distractions include coming here, eating, watching sports, etc. I don't think I have ADHD because 1) I've never had problems as a kid, and 2) I can be super concentrated at times, such as in sports and in exams, or when I'm researching something I want to find out about.

...or maybe I have some other disease, lol. Don't know.

 

[glueball8]

Maybe you need a better studying environment. Go to a library its harder to get distracted.

Also, I thought Tropicana is not from concentrated.

 

[Curl]

ye they say it's 100% natural fresh-squeezed juice.

and library works, but I'm too lazy to go.

 

[mugaliens]

I can be super concentrated at times...

So can I. So can my son. That's one of the hallmarks of add/adhd.

He and I both have it.

It's not a detriment if you figure out how to flip it to your advantage. The problem is, most, perhaps more than 90%, people with it just can't get there from here.

I wish I'd had meds back when I was in high school. I wonder where I'd be now.

 

[EnumaElish]

It only happens when I read something I don't want

If you don't want it, why are you reading it? Oh wait, you're not... Hmm...

 

[lisab]

ye they say it's 100% natural fresh-squeezed juice.

and library works, but I'm too lazy to go.

Go anyway. Seriously, get your butt in there if that's what it takes!

 

[EnumaElish]

I was fired from my job at Tropicana because I couldn't concentrate.

imageShack dropped me because of my low resolution.

 

[edward]

So can I. So can my son. That's one of the hallmarks of add/adhd.

He and I both have it.

It's not a detriment if you figure out how to flip it to your advantage. The problem is, most, perhaps more than 90%, people with it just can't get there from here.

I wish I'd had meds back when I was in high school. I wonder where I'd be now.

The ADD and Loving It video can be purchased at the link below. There are other interesting short videos and an adult ADD virtual screening test.

http://www.totallyadd.com/category/totally-add-shop/

 

[EnumaElish]

New hope for ADD and ADHD sufferers

 

[pallidin]

...Alcohol got in the way for a couple of years, because coping with the continual failure of not being able to rise to one's potential is a difficult, bitter thing.

OOoooo... that's me.
Developed clinical anxiety over that.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

imageShack dropped me because of my low resolution.

There's a bunch in this thread https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=248725&page=2"
Starting at post 25

 

[EnumaElish]

Those are funny! I wonder why the thread was closed, too many off-topic posts?

 

[FewPostMcGee]

After reading over this thread, I became quite emotional, even depressed, it definitely has driven my productivity down to 0 and kept me up at night for the last few days. Which is why I am writing this post, under a new account which I created solely for this reason. Only 4 people on this Earth, including me, know about this, so I would prefer to keep my anonymity a little bit.

During my grade 12 year(September), I was diagnosed with ADD. I had started reading about it on a website, during this reading I was noticing these traits in myself and my history. Over a period of a couple days I discussed this possibility with my parents and they suggested I go to a doctor to get formally diagnosed, I did. He administered an oral test outlining aspects of my life, which would qualify me as having ADD. He prescribed Ritalin which I began taking in small doses. I believe the effect I experienced from the Ritalin initially was either a placebo effect, or a decrease in the difficulty of course material. During the first few initial weeks, my marks jumped from 70's to 90's without any extra application of effort on my part. After that, they returned to 70's, while I continued to take the Ritalin. I was told to go to my doctor and ask for an increased dosage if I didn't notice a change, but I had, or thought I had, over the first few weeks. I took the medication up to around April of the next semester, and nothing had changed in my marks.

The reason I stopped taking the medication is that I believed since this is a problem with my own mind, I should be able to fix myself and work without medication, also I had read about ADD being over diagnosed, I thought maybe this is how it is, and I should just deal with it. As it stands, it's about two years later, and nothing has changed. I still have trouble concentrating, poor time management skills, and am very easily distracted, I find myself opening new tabs in my browser as I write this. Reading this thread has made me aware of the time I could be wasting, and the potential I have that I could not be living up to, hence why I am depressed.

So I come to you for guidance.
I am unsure of where to turn right now, should I go back to a doctor and get reassessed?
Should I start taking medication again?
Or am I just being unmotivated and lazy?

 

[Evo]

So I come to you for guidance.
I am unsure of where to turn right now, should I go back to a doctor and get reassessed?
Should I start taking medication again?
Or am I just being unmotivated and lazy?

Go to a doctor, preferably a psychiatrist that does medication control. These are doctors that have not only finished their MD, they have gone on to specialize in brain disorders and have passed the neurological boards.