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ADD and other distractions

LadyValtyra

Super-Earth
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
so im working on writing a novel and i have this bad habit of writting furiously for about 10 min then wondering off and doing something else at this rate ill never finish my novel...

any suggestions?
 
i jsut need to buckle down and try and focus... but i cant really find a way to focus..stupid ADD
 
I know what that is like.

In my experiences, medication is really the only thing that would help.
 
LoL

I don't like the thought of it myself, but there is only so much you can do without it.
 
I have adhd and I dont need meds to focus. It just takes some effort and you have to work at it. Its not something you can get in a day.
 
ADD and ADHD are different. You can't expect the levels of difficulty to be the same in each category.
 
I have it bad. My attention span was like ten minutes? Even that took work. I was just saying with enough work you dont need drugs.
 
Adderall. Yeah, I took that for a few years. I haven't taken it for a while but I know it works.

Pills sucks but it helps me if I set an alarm on my phone and I take all of my medicine at the same time.
 
yeah i stopped because of that...and when i was younger i was on riddlen(cant spell) and it did the same...
 
Ritalin is actually pretty dangerous o_O


I mean, most medications are but that one stands out the most to me.
 
I remember hearing of a study linking an increase in attention span and memory to mantra-based meditation. If nothing else, I'm at least helped by the placebo effect when I meditate. Caffeine is also a helpful chemical for the self medicating absent minded person. I know a friend of mine went to Japan (where adderall is classed as an illegal drug) and would often use that. Personally, I find it works, but it's very easy to overshoot since it takes so long to be effective (roughly an hour) and sometimes I'll end up on the jittery, unable to think side.

I'm on Adderall and have experienced no negative side effects. However, I'm on a pretty sporadic schedule for it and take it as rarely as possible.
 
DeathsDisciple said:
i guess ill have to get medicated

Don't take meds. Being medicated for ADD is really weird... you become a zombie D=
It's totally possible to overcome this! Believe in the me that believes in the you!
 
People have written novels that way, as for medication, results vary for different people as you can probably tell from all the responses.

Ritalin and Adderall can help. It depends on the dosage that you get from the doctor. I used to take Ritalin, and I know that I stopped eating, but they also told me it wouldn't work unless I 'wanted to focus.' I'm not really sure if I ever felt like a zombie. I probably with my ADD feel more like a space cadet most days staring off and just getting absorbed into some train of thought.

Rather then getting medicated, you can try to make a list of what you want to accomplish and just try and be a little more hard pressed to get it done, like keep reminding yourself. Use guilt if you have to. I find the caffeine helps me focus rather then over stimulating me. But that is just me.

I know that, for me, even removing distractions, I will find something to be distracted by. Like going to get a drink from the kitchen, I will wind up, lingering around the house and not quite making my way back to the PC, lol.

You could also set an alarm for when you walk away and give yourself a fifteen minute free period between 10 minute writing sessions.

I hope you find a solution to your problem. C:
 
ToxicWaste said:
that last one does help ive always set an alarm

Ahaha, yeah, sometimes when lost in thought or ADD land, its nice to have an alarm go off...

Kinda like Inception, lol
 
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