On the Value of Hard Focus(calnewport.com)
calnewport.com
On the Value of Hard Focus
http://calnewport.com/blog/2009/06/22/on-the-value-of-hard-focus/
2 comments
I wholeheartedly second the Murakami book recommendation. It's really nice how he talks about being a hardworking writer in a very personal and unglamorous manner. The analogy he draws with running is also very thoughtful.
How (or does) this relate to ADD and ADHD? Can ADD be trained away? I ask this seriously, I personally think our ability to literally change our minds is not well understood and extremely underestimated.
I don't know about ADD/ADHD, but the ability to focus can definitely be improved with training; this is a major benefit of most forms of meditation, for example. Similarly, there's a lot of techniques in Attention Management coming out of the Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy community (and the Meta-Cognitive folks, as well).
Personally speaking, I'd say that if you've got a diagnosis, you ought to talk to the appropriate medical/psychological people for advice; if you're simply interested in improving focus, find a meditation center. YMMV, naturally.
Personally speaking, I'd say that if you've got a diagnosis, you ought to talk to the appropriate medical/psychological people for advice; if you're simply interested in improving focus, find a meditation center. YMMV, naturally.
When I twisted my knee and strained a ligament, I was told to do exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee. Apparently strong muscles can make up for weak ligaments. Maybe strong "concentration muscles" can make up for whatever is weak in a person with ADD. Or, maybe ADD can be defined as a person with weak concentration muscles.
Except that concentration isn't a muscle, its a chemical.