ADD Topics: How Interruptions Cut my Productivity

I have written before about how "interruptions" are the bane of my existence, especially when I am working. Seems to be a fairly common experience for those who live with ADD (inattentive, or otherwise) that it's not only hard for us to get focused... once we're focused and then interrupted, it's extremely hard for us to get back to a focused place.

I already know that when I am 40 minutes "into" something and going well... if someone comes and "needs something" for five minutes... I just got "set back" 30 minutes on my progress with that task.

Yesterday, I was thinking about the subtle ways in which this can actually be a "double whammy." You see, there is only "so much time" in my work day. So here's what often happens: On a lot of occasions I end up not restarting-- at all-- because I realize (just an example) that "there's only 30 minutes till I have to run my errands."

How does that "work?"

Well, let's say I just got interrupted. Now I know (from experience) that it will take me 20 minutes to "get back on track." And it's only 30 minutes till I have to stop, anyway, for a "real" reason. Meaning I'll get in only 10 minutes of actual productivity... and I end up thinking "Bah... there's really NO POINT in starting up again.

It feels like a sort of "passive" or "inadvertent" time loss.

Of course, I often tell myself it's "just a rationalization" but I'm not so sure, these days. It feels like a very "real" and "practical" consideration, to me.

Musings about the "Restarting Issue"

When I try to do something, I eventually hit a "groove"... if only I stay with it, long enough. Once I'm in a groove... the worst thing that can happen is someone interrupting me.

The problem?

It takes me forever to figure out "where I was" when I was interrupted, and then get back to moving forward again. In other words, a 5-minute interruption by someone who has an "unrelated question" can lead to my spending 20 minutes just getting back to the spot where I left off.

I have heard others who live with inattentive ADD speak of this issue.

It feels like I have an utter and complete inability to "bookmark" stopping points in the daily process of life... and sometimes I end up wasting what feels like a huge part of my day doing little more than "running in place," trying to get back to work.

I am actually remarkably productive when I am left alone in a quiet room with only my music and no interruptions and my tasks I need to get done.

As a writer, I can turn out 1500 words of high quality article prose in less than an hour... but if someone interrupts me-- even when the article is 95% done... it suddenly becomes almost impossible for me to finish the task. It seems stupid. Or dysfunctional... because it's all right there. Yes? I can't "access" my train of thought anymore.

I used to say (jokingly) "My train of thought has left the station, but I am still standing on the platform."

Alas, it's far more "real" than a joking matter.

It's hard to describe what physically happens. I can only think of it through the analogy of using your web browser. The "tab" I am working on, not only "closes" when an interruption forces me to switch to another tab... but when I need to get back to the closed tab, I need to spend all this time searching through my "browser history" to find the page I was working on. And once I get the "old" tab opened again... then I am struggling to remember exactly what my last "operation" was... and what my "next step" was supposed to be.

It makes very simple tasks extremely laborious. And I have not yet found an effective way around it...