I'm just starting the O'dell book. It's amazing because I couldn't believe that she knew how I prefer to sit, etc.
For me, I notice I'm hyperfocusing when I'm working (at work) and I've got lots to do and I'm organized and feeling good because I'm a good worker. At home, it's a completely different beast. I can't think of any time I'm really 'hyperfocused'. Home is an overwhelming place and the only way I can get anything done is if I really organize the way I'm going to attack. Like if I can get myself to say, "This weekend, I'm going to clean out the kids' rooms, including cleaning the closets and drawers and bookshelves." If it is one definable task, I can hyperfocus and get it done. If it is too broad or general or requires long-term commitment and on-going diligence, I fall down. I do better with a giant job like cleaning out the bedrooms (completely) than I do making sure the bathrooms get cleaned every weekend. My house is messy but the damn bedrooms are clean!
(A side note... since the kids are getting older, I'm finding ways to have them help me in the areas I fall down. They both have a bathroom to clean on the weekends. My older is responsible for checking the calendar every day before school. And there are many other 'little' things that they are starting to help me with that are so tough for me. I'm blessed with absolutely wonderful boys!)
sachetm wrote this question in a thread that I was reading and I thought it deserved its own thread. So here it is . .
"Hum... Now that I think about it, I wonder what makes our ability to hyperfocus kick in.
Any ideas, anyone?"
For me, I think that when something really interests you, you have a desire, a drive, or a reason to prove to someone that you can actually do it, you hyperfocus on the activity. I believe hyperfocusing is paying such close attention to the ativity, or whatever, that you block out all other stimuli for a while. If you don't, you instinctively know that you are going to get distracted. So you can't let yourself go there.
According to O'Dell (in Stopping ADHD) our STNR reflex we have as a baby is bothering us, and causing our destraction. So, hyperfocusing is like putting all your energy into an activity so that you can ignore the discomfort for a while, so you can finish the project. I totally relate to that. O'Dell says in the book that many activities that require an ADD or ADHDer to bend their arms and legs at the same time require TEN TIMES the effort of a person without ADD or ADHD. I believe that.
Pleasure (art).