Re: Hyperfocus vs. Perseverance?

[Bibliophile]

Interesting post, Bill. I too very rarely can control the “hyperfocused” state.

Sometimes when I need to get stuff done, it just doesn’t activate and I have to work 3x or 4x as hard to finish the task on time. Other times it triggers when I don’t want it too. This happens a lot when I am trying to work out something in my head but sometimes it just happens over a task I start.

When it does click in, distractions melt away and all I can see is the task at hand. This can be difficult though if the task involves incorporating other tasks. It works best when the task centres on one set of actions, e.g. web editing, playing a video game, (sometimes) reading. It is like the mind is looking through a glass tunnel with everything aside from the task is obscured or opaque. Time becomes meaningless, bodily needs become last minute thoughts. It is not necessarily linked with things I enjoy as sometimes it will kick in on something I don’t enjoy doing, e.g. watching a program, researching something I disagree with, arguing, etc., and I want to get out of the states or stop it, but can’t. It is not a compulsion per se as it is not necessarily repetitious, e.g. counting stairs or flipping channels, and does not reflect a fetishizing of a task, the need to do the same task each time, which is a feature of OCD. You say to yourself, I should not be doing this now, but can’t seem to make the switch.

Turning it off is the problem. I can’t. It will stop when it stops. Hopefully, I will have completed the task. If the task will take multiple days or too long, it might not click back in when I go back to the task. Sometimes it lasts too long, beyond the task’s completion and this results in much wasted time. Sadly, there is no activation switch that I can control.

I do notice that it will activate a little more frequently under duress/stress, which includes meeting time lines, dealing with a crisis at work, and other agitated emotional states.

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