The Wandering Mind and Hyperfocus
Mind wandering is a fairly common condition with ADHD - our thoughts can kind of just take over a lead us away from what we were doing. I've certainly had my fair share of listening to podcasts and finding myself getting caught up on something said and then five minutes later realize that the podcast was still playing and I have no idea what they just said.
A big part of this is what's known as the default mode network. Let's get a little neurosciency here - brain networks are collections of brain-regions that activate together to perform various cognitive functions. By having various regions of the brain fire together we can create more complex functions - for example, our vision requires a number of regions of the brain to fire together to create what we see.
Before we get too far here I also want to mention that the Default Mode Network is fairly recent science - while ideas about the DMN go as far back as 1929, it didn't get a name until 2001. Although research has been piling up in support of the network there are still some who believe these brain states can be explained with simpler ideas. But as more of these large-scale brain networks have been discovered it is leading more credence to the idea.
With that said, the default mode network is another of these large-scale brain networks and it is primarily active when someone is in a wakeful rest state - so it's what's active while we're doing things like daydreaming or letting our mind-wander. It is inversely correlated to another network called the task-positive network which is associate with the regions of the brain that are active when we're engaged with attention-demanding tasks. What this means is that when we're engaged with a task is that we should see less activation in our default mode network - at least in neurotypicals.
As we've all experienced, this is not the case for ADHD. Our default mode network doesn't have the same inverse relationship to the task-positive network [1]. This is why it is so easy for us to get pulled away in our thoughts when we're doing something else. Our brain simply hasn't disengaged the parts that let our focus wander. There are even scientists that believe that this decoupling of networks is a better metric to explain the symptoms and impairments of ADHD [2].
I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I do think it explains a ton about how our brains work and why we do some of the things we do.
Now this isn't to say that our wandering minds are all bad.
Some of the characteristics most admired about ADHD are our creative abilities and ability to connect ideas. These are two features of the DMN - there is some evidence that letting our minds wander enhances our creative abilities. This is also related to divergent thinking, which is about fully exploring ideas, creating unexpected connections, and spontaneity. I don't know about you but that sounds fairly ADHD to me. A common divergent thinking assessment is the alternate use task - which is where participants are asked to find novel uses for common objects [3].
For example a participant might be asked to come up with alternate uses for a fork. We might come up with things like:
A catapult
A musical instrument - think twanging the tines
Or maybe a drumstick
Dip it in paint and use it to create interesting designs with the tines
An elf javaline
A tool to carve designs in the sand
You get the idea - it's a fork, but we can use it for a multitude of other things. And this kind of thinking is really common with ADHD - we don't have the right tool at hand we just find something that will work instead. Sometimes to disastrous results - really by now I should have learned that a knife makes a terrible screwdriver.
And it through these processes that we make better connects to other ideas - because we can see how something works in a different way we can also see how differing ideas connect.
So it may be that our creative abilities and abilities to connect ideas comes from our brain's aberrant regulation within the default mode network. But to be clear here, I do want to remind everyone listening that this is speculation at this point and while to me it does feel like it explains a lot, there is still more science that needs to be done.
Now I want to jump on the other side of this wandering mind idea - so what we can think of here is hyperfocus. This is where we get so caught up in something that we kind of tune out the rest of the world. We may not hear other people talking. We might not notice that we have to the bathroom. We keyed in on one thing.
Now real quick here, I also want to mention that there isn't a ton of research into hyperfocus. And even in a lot of the research hyperfocus itself isn't well defined - it's often assumed that the reader knows what it is [4]. This has lead to a lot of confusion about what hyperfocus is and isn't. Additionally, there are plenty of neurotypical hacks to get into hyperfocus, although what they're usually talking about is flow. We'll get into that more in a bit.
Let's start off with that hyperfocus is often thought of as being antithetical to ADHD - we're supposed to have an attention deficit, right? But as we know, ADHD is fairly poorly named. It's isn't that we have no attention, it's that we have trouble with what our attention is focused on.
We can think of hyperfocus similarly to how we think about stimulant medication - when we're taking those meds we're supplying the brain with enough stimulation that we can focus on what we want to - we can only hyperfocus on things that we're really interested in and that's because those things are turning on our brains and giving us that same kind of stimulation.
And we see hyperfocus a lot on things that are highly stimulating - one of the most common ones is video games. I know I'm particularly guilty of letting myself get drawn into video games and kind of just letting the rest of the world fall away. Of course, our hyperfocus can also draw us into more productive endeavors.
One of the big questions about hyperfocus is if it's an ADHD superpower - and I've got to say I'm really not into the whole ADHD superpowers idea, it can be really detrimental to those who are struggling with their ADHD.
So to answer that question though, we're going to need to consider what we're hyperfocusing on and this is because often we're not in control of what we really tune into. If I'm hyperfocused on playing video games, well, that could be a problem. If I'm hyperfocused on writing that could be a good thing, but what if I missed a meeting because I didn't notice how much time had passed. Or what if I forgot to have lunch and now I'm really cranky and decide the best course of action is to eat an entire pizza. Well, now I'm cranky and greasy.
Hyperfocus can have real negative consequences to a lot of the other areas of our life. Our productivity doesn't exist in a vacuum - that is it doesn't just matter how we get things done, there are a lot of factors to consider.
Take that writing example - there have been plenty of times when a particular topic has me really engaged and I just start going with it... but that topic isn't always what I'm supposed to be working on that week. I mean that's fine some of the time, but if I'm getting close to my deadline that can be a real problem. It can also mean that I'm going over my allotted writing time and that means that I'm going to have to move things around later in the week. Again, this is fine sometimes, but other times it means cutting into the time I'm supposed to be spending with my family. And sure they'll understand, but if I do that too much that is going to be damaging to the relationship. I don't want my kids to grow up thinking that I think my work is more important than they are.
On the other hand, hyperfocus can let us really get into that deep work mentality and create some amazing stuff. It's very similar to the idea of flow - the idea of when you're working and feeling in the zone. The big difference between the two is that flow is more of an optional state. Certainly, they share characteristics of being a feeling of all-consuming focus and creativity... but with hyperfocus, we're no longer the ones driving the bus. Also, the brakes on the bus have been cut - there ain't no stopping. And that's super frustrating at times.
And I don't want to completely rain on the hyperfocus parade - there are people who can take great advantage of the state. As I've said it can be very rewarding when you get into hyperfocus and are able to create something in a few hours that might take others weeks to complete. Often it's associated with meeting deadlines - like when you've put off writing an essay until four hours before it's due. Getting into hyperfocus it what let's you complete that without getting distracted.
None the less we need to be mindful about letting ourselves slip into hyperfocus - for example, sometimes I like to play video games in the evening. It's not the best habit, but it is when I've got the best opportunity. But I also don't want to let my games to keep from getting to bed on time - and I'm sure a lot of people can relate to this idea, you're doing a fun activity in the evening and it's really the only time you've got to yourself so you try and stretch it out - some people call this revenge bed time procrastination. And with ADHD we can hit that hyperfocus train - even outside of video games I've hit it while putting together LEGOs. I used to use alarms on my phone for this, but those are easy to ignore when you're keyed in on something - easy enough to just click off. So I took a page from my automation episodes and set up my office lights to start dimming at 9 and then shut off completely at 9:15.
I'm going to be honest, I was sure that the dimming lights we're going to be enough of a cue for me, but half the time the lights shutting off catch me off guard and that's usually enough to shake me out of my fixation. And that's a key to the hyperfocus dilemma - since we're unable to internally make ourselves switch off when it's time to stop, we need external cues. Strong ones. These are often best as automated ones, but getting help from family and friends can also work. Just try not to bite their head off when they interrupt you - and remind them that it might take a couple of tries to get your attention.
On the outset, hyperfocus and the default mode network might seem like strange topics to bundle together, but they both very much deal with how our brains focus and to me, the two ideas seem very intertwined. In many ways, ADHD is a condition of extremes. Either we're all in or we're all out. We tend not to do things in half measures for better or for worse. And this applies to our ability to focus. The default mode network definitely plays a hand in this - our inability to turn off our mind wandering means that often we're stuck going from one idea to the next. On the other side of the spectrum, we have hyperfocus where we're unable to shake ourselves when we engage that same focus too much.
Part of the key of both issues of too little focus and having too much focus is that we're often pushing ourselves too hard. One of the pitfalls of hyperfocus is that we can overexert ourselves and completely drain ourselves of our valuable stores of executive function. We can come out of hyperfocus realizing that we haven't eaten or taken any breaks and we need some time to recover from this. And just take that example of using hyperfocus to finish up an essay right before it's done - after you finish the essay you feel drained and I know in those situations I usually can't get anything done the next day. Sure we get a lot done, but it's a double-edged sword.
What this means is that if we're planning on using our hyperfocus to complete a project we're interested in we also need to plan recovery time in appropriately. But that's also hard. We tend not to know when hyperfocus is really going to kick in - sure, there are times when I know I'm way more likely to get into that space but it can also be hit or miss and that's not great for being regularly productive.
Our other solution is that we want to be planning more breaks into our work sessions so that we know that we are breaking out of what we're doing. But as I mentioned earlier we need to make sure that we're not just skipping those breaks because, well I'm on a roll now, I can just keep going.
There are a few things that we can do here to really help our adherence to these breaks. One of the easiest is using pomodoros where you're working 20 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break. There are a ton of tools out there that can help you time out these work sessions, but a great way to get our ADHD brains to switch gears is to have a Pomodoro playlist. Many of us with ADHD work well with music and so what we can do is set up a playlist that goes for 20 minutes with one style of music and then switches to 5 minutes of something completely different. I tend to listen to a lot of synthwave while I'm working, so I can put together a few songs that run for about 20 minutes, and then I'll have 5 minutes of something with lyrics or maybe something classical. Music has a big effect on our mood and so switching that style of music really shifts us when we need that shift and it's a great way to grab our attention.
But pomodoros don't work for everything, the 20-minute sprints don't work well for how I write, so I actually write in larger chunks, usually about 90 minutes, and then take longer breaks after that. There is actually some science here about working with your ultradian rhythms so that you are slowing down at some more natural points in your energy cycles. But there are two keys here - first is that if I work for a 90-minute block, then it is imperative that I actually take my breaks, and secondly that I can't stack too many of those 90-minute blocks in a day, really just 2-3 at the most. The rest of my day tends to get carved up more naturally with activities with the kids. But if I'm not taking those breaks and I'm trying to overcommit on how much I'm doing, usually by 3 pm I'm completely shot and my tank is running on empty.
We also have to consider what we're doing on these breaks, because if I'm writing and then decide for my break that I'm just going to do some email, well that's not really a break. Okay, well I jump on Facebook - also not really a break. I'm still on the computer, I'm still staring at my screen. When we're taking breaks we want to give our brains some time to unfocus. And this is where we're purposely engaging the default mode network.
And specifically what we're looking for is Positive Constructive Daydreaming where we're letting our mind wander, but with a guide → we're simply trying to direct our wandering mind in a positive direction. When we do this we can improve our focus, creativity, and self-awareness. It will also help us envision our future and prepare for it. [5]
There are a few keys to help you along with your positive constructive daydreaming, the first of which is to kind of plan what you're going to be daydreaming about - I know, that doesn't sound fun. Planned daydreams. But really just think of it in the loosest terms. We're giving directions here not planning the destination. Think of it like choosing a new hike trail rather than just tromping into the forest.
And to add to this we've also got to understand that not all daydreaming is created equally. If I'm ruminating on time in 2nd grade when I stole some pogs out of some other kid's desk and wondering if that makes me a bad person - that's not helpful. When we're daydreaming at a meeting it isn't helpful and so that's what we gain when we're doing this planning - we're taking the reins and giving more direction to when these daydreams happen instead of just waiting for opportunities when we're bored.
When we engage our daydreams we want to turn our attention inward - this means that we're going to, again, want to remove all those external distractions. We're not trying to distract ourselves with music or podcasts, we're just letting our brain go. A lot of my day is going from one distraction to the next - I'm listening to music driving my car, I've got a podcast going while I'm out for a walk, I'm watching Netflix while eating my lunch. But in this instance, I'm choosing let my brain take me where it wants to go instead of trying to drown it out with other noise.
This process can be helped by doing something low-key that doesn't engage too much of our cognitive function. Think taking a walk, knitting, playing with LEGOs, doodling, or doing some coloring. One issue I always have with ADHD is that sitting still and doing nothing just doesn't work for me. My brain goes into overdrive trying to find stimulation. But if I have a light task to do it's much easier for me to relax into it and let my mind wander.
Does every one of our breaks need to be a mind-wandering session? Absolutely not, but when we give our brains a chance to explore on their own then we tend to have fewer intrusive thoughts throughout the day. A similar exercise to this is called Morning Pages - and this is basically a simple journal exercise where you write for 2-3 pages in the morning to clear your head of everything swirling around up there. By giving these thoughts voice and writing them down we can let go of them and move onto the things that we really want to pay attention to.
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The Default Mode Network is a collection of brain regions that are responsible for daydreaming, mind wandering and are primarily active in our wakeful resting state.
In neurotypical brains the Default Mode Network disengages when we start working on task-specific work - this relationship doesn't hold up in ADHD brains and is why we can drift off in thought while trying to do complex tasks.
Hyperfocus is when our concentration engages so much that we kind of just tune out the rest of the world. It can be a double-edged sword, however, because we can also miss cues to eat, use the bathroom and overuse our executive functions, and leave us completely drained when we come out of it.
We can help both our default mode network and our hyperfocus by taking breaks throughout the day. We can go further by using those breaks for positive constructive daydreaming where we let our minds wander with purpose.
