Hyperfocus: What is it and how to manage?

The term “hyperfocus” refers to a state of extreme concentration, in which a person becomes absorbed in an activity to the point of ignoring everything around them. 🕵️

This is a fascinating feature in people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(PHDA) and is also observed in the context of Autism Spectrum Disorder (PEA).

We will explore the causes, how it can be identified and how it can be used as an advantage for those who experience it!

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What is Hyperfocus?

As the name suggests, hyperfocus is an excess of focus and concentration on a specific task.

In other words, the outside world “disappears”, allowing complete immersionin what is being done.

Is it normal to have Hyperfocus?

Anyone can go into a state of hyperfocus, but some research suggests that individuals with PHDA may experience it more often, especially those with more pronounced symptoms. Hyperfocus can be both a challenge and an advantage for those living with PHDA — depending on how it's managed

Let's exemplify:

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Benefits of Hyperfocus

✅ Motivation and Involvement:PHDA may be associated with a lack of motivation for repetitive and boring tasks. However, in a state of hyperfocus, the brain feels highly motivated until the activity is completed.

✅ Produktivitet:In hyperfocus, the brain with PHDA ignores distractions and maintains intense attention on a task, increasing productivity and making it easier to meet deadlines.

✅ Learning Enhancement:hyperfocus can be a valuable resource for learning a new skill, language, sport or musical instrument, helping to consolidate knowledge.

✅ Creativity:hyperfocus stimulates persistence in problem solving, allowing innovative and creative solutions to be found.

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Hyperfocus Challenges

❌ Negligence of Tasks:Focusing only on the parts of a job that are interesting can mean that other important tasks, such as household responsibilities, paying bills and daily obligations, remain undone.

❌ Balance between work and personal life:hyperfocus can reduce the time available for relaxation activities, self-careand conviviality with family and friends.

❌ Difficulties in Relationships:this state of intense focus can cause tension, either from spending too much time on work and little on family or from showing excessive affection for the partner.

❌ Management and Impulsivity:the impulse to accept more work than can be managed, combined with the difficulty in prioritizing, can lead to missed deadlines and the loss of important meetings and commitments.

❌ Notion of Time and Frustration:during hyperfocus, it is common to lose track of time, which causes frustration when other tasks are left behind and commitments are forgotten.

Therefore, the great secret is in the control of this “superpower”, as we will see next... 👀

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How to manage Hyperfocus: Practical Tips

If you identify signs of hyperfocus in yourself (or your children), these tips can help balance this condition and make the most of its benefits:

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Set time limits

Use alarms or timers to remind you to pause. ⏰

Hyperfocus can make everything around you forget — hours go by like seconds, day suddenly turns into night, and even basic needs like eating or hydrating can be easily ignored.

Um audible alarm helps to monitor the time and remind you that it is time to change tasks!

We like it a lot Pomodoro Method, which divides the productivity period into structured blocks of time, facilitating the balance between focus and pauses.

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Set goals and priorities (every day!)

Start the day by creating a to-do list, dividing larger projects into small, concrete steps. ✔️

Use a visual system with different colors to distinguish what is urgent and important from what you can expect.

Put only the priority tasks on your plan for the day, leaving the rest for another occasion.

This practice helps to maintain the focus not that really matters, avoiding wasting time on less relevant tasks.

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Know your own interests

Notice what activities hold your attention for long periods, such as playing video games, read a captivating book or browse social networks.

These are forms of hyperfocus that, while pleasant, can divert attention from important day-to-day tasks.

Plan to book these activities for moments of leisure, such as after study/work or on weekends. 📆

Thus, it prevents them from interfering with important tasks during the week and keeps the focus on what really needs to be done.

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Seek professional support

If hyperfocus is negatively impacting your performance at work, your relationships, or your home management, consider seeking help.

🧑 ‍ ⚕️ A specialized professional can help you develop personalized self-regulation strategies, tailored to your lifestyle and the triggers of your hyperfocus.

A our teamspecialized in PHDA is available to help control hyperfocus and use it to your advantage!

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Final Considerations

Hyperfocus is a complex and often misunderstood phenomenon. In people with PHDA, it can become a powerful tool when well oriented.

It is not something to be “eliminated”, but understood and managed to avoid excessive isolation and neglect of other areas of life.

If hyperfocus is hindering your daily routine — such as compromising deadlines, creating conflict in relationships or causing stress at home — seek professional guidance to learn how to manage it.

🧠🌟 NeuroImprove is here to help! Schedule a consultationand find out how to turn hyperfocus into a positive force in your life.

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References

Ashinoff, B. K., & Abu-Akel, A. (2021). Hyperfocus: the forgotten frontier of attention. Psikolojska, 85 (1), 1—19. doi: 10.1007/s00426-019-01245-8

Groen, Y., Priegnitz, U., Fuermaier, A. B. M., Tucha, L., Tucha, O., Aschenbrenner, S., Weisbrod, M., & Garcia Pimenta, M. (2020). Testkirina têkiliya di navbera ADHD û ezmûnên hîperfocus de. Research in developmental disabilities, 107, 103789. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103789

Hupfeld, K. E., Abagis, T. R., & Shah, P. (2019). Living “in the zone”: hyperfocus in adult ADHD. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 11 (2), 191—208. doi: 10.1007/s12402-018-0272-y 

Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., Newcorn, J. H., Collins, S. H., Wigal, T. L., Telang, F., Fowler, J. S., Goldstein, R. Z., Klein, N., Logan, J., Wong, C., & Swanson, J. MR. (2011). Motivational deficit in ADHD is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway. Molecular psychiatry, 16 (11), 1147—1154. doi: 10.1038/mp.2010.97