Difficulty concentrating - can anyone relate?

I've become convinced that having too much concentration is worse than occasionally having your concentration wander.

 

With my ADD I can hardly concentrate without my Adderall. If I'm not on my meds, I find that headphones and some hard rock/heavy metal played at a deafening level seem to help me write the best. Otherwise I have to have the alone silence to be able to pull off anything decent.

 

I don't have a diagnosis of ADD or anything like that, but I'm as scatterbrained and deficit-attentioned as you get. I like listening to music loudly or having loud noise in the background while focusing on writing or other stuff. My mind needs the chaos.

 

Maybe it's the shared amusement for bad chicken imitations, but the loud music works well for me every time.

 

Chicken immitations?! Wow, that brings me back to 1987 or so at summer camp. There was a girl, Carla Wedner, and I can't believe I still remember this, but she did the funniest chicken immiations i.e. walking, clucking, perfect bobbing of the head, etc. Man, she was a human chicken when she did her shtick, and it was funny as hell. She was one of the cutest girls I've ever known, and her chicken acts so made her that much more attractive.

I guess you always remember the funny ones.

 

One thing you might want to try, is investing in a quality set of headphones. I always have mine on, but I'm not always rocking out. Sometimes they dull the surrounding noise just enough to help my concentration.

 

Are you feeling guilty about something? (seriously.)

 

You're not fucked, Waylon. But getting some kind of help probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

Perhaps I should take the same advice. I'm finding as I get older, I get less focused and more easily distracted. I'm thinking that may have something to do with not being a sportswriter anymore.

When I was a writer, I could lock in and focus easier than I do now. Writing a press release, doing a media report or updating stats just doesn't entail the same level of brain involvement as writing a takeout or story on deadline did.

 

Ritalin works wonders.

 

Waylon, your original post was one I've wanted to write on this board. I know where you're coming from, and the responses from others have been helpful - more than I what I received from family members. My wife laughed when I told her my lack of concentration could be a result of ADD - and she's in the medical profession. I've struggled with my writing and concentration since getting back to that writing side of the paper after three years in the online division. Even tried some of the organizing tricks taught by the writing coach who visited our paper a few years ago, but I still struggle to come up with the words.

Dang, I had an easier time writing this post than some of my recent features.

 

I think the struggles come from seeking perfection. This business strieves to be perfect in an imperfect world. As a writer, you think that everyone is going to love what you write. When they don't your feelings are hurt.
Try to enjoy the craft. If you can't enjoy it, you are hurting yourself in the long run.

 

Personally, I think it comes from my mind trying to go too fast.

Way too many times I've been told to slow down, but it's when I slow down that I usually make mistakes.

In fact, if I write a story on deadline, it's oftentimes better than the ones I write and later go back and "clean up".

And I hate to sound arrogant or conceited, but I think it has to do with those with higher IQs (mine is 135). We seem to think faster than the world would like us to.