Here are three effective tips for maintaining focus with ADHD. Many individuals with ADHD find focusing challenging especially on tasks that aren't inherently interesting. It's common to experience intense focus or 'hyperfocus' on activities that capture your interest lasting from 30 minutes to an entire day. However triggering this level of focus at will isn't always feasible. In reality we can't always engage only in tasks that excite us. Ideally one's lifestyle would allow this but it's a luxury not everyone has. So when you need to tackle tasks that aren't particularly engaging but still require attention these three tips can be incredibly helpful.
Something I really like to do lately is turn on a movie or series in the background where people are talking and let it play while I am working on something. This distracts my distractive mind but also allows me to focus on what I am working on at the time. My theory is as follows, the part that usually distracts me with all types of nonsense is too busy with processed what is being said, but not busy enough to actually distract me from work. It's a little hard to explain but at least for me it works wonders. Every time I go to work I put on a series of something online, usually something I've seen before. I can actually kind of follow what's being said in the series and stay focused on my work, but it's not too distracting because I don't see the visuals. It probably won't work for everyone, but for people who are highly visually stimulated, I think this could work very well.
Another effective strategy for boosting focus involves minimizing distractions. This approach goes beyond the usual advice of avoiding distractions. It entails a thorough cleanup of the workspace and clearing everything visible from both sides of the desk to create a minimalistic environment. After tidying up, the next step is to switch off the room lights, leaving only the computer screen visible. This technique significantly cuts down on visual and sensory stimuli, aiding in concentration. It's particularly useful for tasks requiring deep focus and can be seen as an on-demand concentration method. The downside is that it’s not very good for your eyes and is considered to be a masking/coping technique. You can also not really turn down the light in the office when you are at work, people start looking at your strangely. But for those moments where you are home and the deadline is closing in on you, it can be a game-changer.
Another good tip is to keep things in sight. You've probably heard this before, if something isn't in plain sight for someone with ADHD, it doesn't really exist for that person. So before I had Float Note, I would write down every task I had, grab the notepad from my computer, put it on top of every other window and write down what I was doing. This would ensure that when I was working on something, it would stay on top of every window and I wouldn't get distracted as easily. And even if I did get distracted, the window would be there to remind me to get back to work and focus on what I was doing. Now that I have Float Notes, that's a thing of the past. If you're looking for an easy way to improve your focus with this technique, give FloatNote and their ‘Focus Mode’ a try. It basically does exactly what I just described, only prettier. And cooler. And it even has a built-in Pomodoro timer that you can turn on and off, which is great for people with ADHD. They like to see a visual representation of time ticking away as they work, lol.
