How Hyperfocus Distorts Your "Potential"

🏃‍♂️ Why you never quite feel like you're doing enough

Mar 14

Hey friends,

One of the first things that made me say “wait… maybe I do have ADHD?” was learning about hyperfocus.

Before my diagnosis, I thought people with ADHD couldn’t focus on anything. I knew that wasn’t me because I could spend hours completely focused on my latest hobby, book, video game, and even work projects like programming, video editing, writing, etc.

If I found it interesting, it had my full attention.

When people say things like “ADHD is my superpower”, often they are referring to hyperfocus as one of those special abilities that come with ADHD. And, in the right context, hyperfocus can sometimes be helpful and valuable and even feel like a superpower to some.

But it’s important to know the full story, both the ups and the downs. Hyperfocus is often more like fixation, and can make us spend hours focused on something that feels incredibly important in the moment, but we realize was mostly a waste of time in hindsight.

Hyperfocus often contributes to ADHD burnout as well. See this ADHD Nerds podcast episode for more: Trina Haynes: Surviving ADHD Burnout.

And there’s another danger with hyperfocus, which I wrote about yesterday in this short twitter thread:

ADHD hyperfocus on something productive sounds great in theory, but it can give you unrealistic expectations of your performance and ability to get things done. You won’t always be working at this speed, so it can make your “normal” feel like falling short of your “potential”.
I think the important thing is to be aware of this. You can appreciate those sprints, but don't beat yourself up when you're just going through the motions, not getting a lot done. Our rhythm of energy/productivity doesn't look the same as people that are neurotypical.
This is partly why I hate the idea of time sheets so much. I know the way I work doesn't look very productive when you try to map it on paper. I'm very much a sprint-and-rest, sprint-and-rest type of runner.
(source)

Grant yourself some breathing room and forgiveness for taking time to rest in between your sprints.

Being productive is an awesome feeling. And when hyperfocus contributes to that, it feels great! I’m not saying you should look down on those moments—celebrate them!

Those hyperfocus sprints make me feel alive.

But don’t set yourself up to feel bad when you aren’t able to reach that impossible standard. If you’re a sprinter, enjoy breaking those speed records! But don’t forget to take the time to rest, and know that rest isn’t a failing or weakness. It’s necessary.

Stay focused,
Jesse J. Anderson

P.S. If you missed it, I answered a bunch of questions last week in a reader Q&A. We talked about some cool tools and software, whether or not you should medicate, ADHD-friendly jobs, and more. Check it out!