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1. zozbot+(OP)[view] [source] 2026-01-23 03:46:32
Hyperfocus is not about "focusing intensely on your job until you perform it at world-class level". The hyperfocus of ADHD is essentially random and driven by the very same inattentive "monkey mind" that's the defining feature of ADHD itself: it's not necessarily targeted to a productive task.

Those who face this issue can of course try to "gamify" their upcoming tasks to themselves in a way that will hopefully steer that focus in desirable directions, but that's not always easy. The monkey mind also resists ongoing habit formation, which is the tool most non-ADHD folks would generally resort to in order to effectively manage their overall schedule and just be more on-task.

replies(2): >>mjanx1+2c >>Aurorn+Ai
2. mjanx1+2c[view] [source] 2026-01-23 05:55:46
>>zozbot+(OP)
Its not random. The neurodivergent brain lacks the ability to perceive (some aspects of) the virtual social reality as something real and to focus on that. In a startup, where the problems at hand are objectively real, the ADHD hyperfocus can excel. In a typical corporation, where the situation is the opposite, it struggles.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9541695/

replies(1): >>zozbot+0s
3. Aurorn+Ai[view] [source] 2026-01-23 06:52:52
>>zozbot+(OP)
> Hyperfocus is not about "focusing intensely on your job until you perform it at world-class level"

I was responding to the comment that compared the high performing people in this article to a case of ADHD.

I agree that the features of ADHD are not consistent with intense, directed focus on specific goals as discussed in the article.

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4. zozbot+0s[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-23 08:18:00
>>mjanx1+2c
It's obviously true that making outcomes more immediately tangible helps make them more appealing to the ADHD brain (that's a very clear kind of "gamification") but I'm not sure how that disagrees with what I said.
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