RSS Overload

I opened up my newsreader app this morning and I shut it down after ten seconds of feed overload. I use Newsfire for OS X. I bought and paid for the program about a year ago. At first, I added feeds like crazy ... NY Times, Engadget, iLounge, etc. Since then, I've barely checked it at all. I think the prospect of sorting through so many RSS feeds has just been unattractive.

As part of GTD regimen, I decided to see if I could use RSS in a responsible way to streamline my surfing as well as get USEFUL notifications from sites I use for organization (like Backpack).

We of the ADD persuasion have a bad habit of starting from square one on an unfinished project if it's not going our way. This scorched-earth thinking has proved disasterous for many of us. I've worked hard to overcome this. But I read some advice at 43folders today that made a lot of sense.

Merlin wrote:

Well, one of the reasons I ended up deleting all my RSS feeds last month was the fact that my collection had become a disorganized travesty consisting largely of things I’d stopped reading, packages that had been delivered weeks ago, and comment threads that hadn’t seen a new addition in months. Noise, noise, noise, and it’s all down to me to delete the junk one feed at the time. Screw that. Reset.

So that's just what I did. I'll let you know how it's worked out in a few days.

Carlo

Don't forget to eat: The thing about hyperfocus

There is a flip-side to more well known restlessness and distraction of ADD. It's what some call Hyperfocus. Not many know about it, but it's a powerful tool that has allowed many ADDers to achieve amazing things.
Adults with ADD have had to cope with the condition their entire lives. While this can prove debilitating to as a child in school, you learn to compensate as you grow. The result is the ability to slip into a heightened period of tunnel vision and energy (and sometime brilliance) aimed at a particular goal.

In science fiction movies, you sometimes hear dialogue like this:

"Damnit, Johnson! You're obsessed! This death ray of yours is making you crazy. You haven't left this lab in days, you haven't eaten and you haven't slept! Snap out of it!"

Well, I'm no screenwriter

Anyhow, this skill comes in handy when taking on a long and difficult project. I've done 15-hour slogs through projects overnight without sleep, eating and a break. The weird thing is that it's not a conscious decision. If you pay attention, you can feel yourself slipping into that state. It feels great.

However, it's difficult to shake. I've found it very hard to stop when I should. Stepping away from that state is hard, especially since it's such a departure from my normal behavior.

Still, once you step back and see what you've done ... you'll often astound yourself.
That confidence you get will last long after the world rushes back into your head and you're back "normal."

Anyone have any stories of extreme hyperfocus?

Pulling back from the keyboard until next time,

Carlo

Expensive ... I'd better use it this time!

Holy Cow ...

I just blew more than $150 on a Levenger Circa system notebook + holepunch.
This is the most I've spent on organization. I'm hoping the cost will be enough of an incentive to actually use the darn thing.

The 'paper' solution is the only untapped part of my organizational strategy.
When I was a kid my desk and bag were filled with loose leaf sheets and my notes were located wherever I had read them last.
As an adult, my desk and messenger bag aren't much better.

Maybe sticker shock will be enough this time.

We'll see in about a week.

-- Carlo

'ADDER' Reading List

Hey All,

I'm reading/listening to a few things right now. All of them are in the same vein discussing organizaiton, life habits and ADD.
When half your time is spent on organization and fighting distraction, you can never really have enough books to pore through for hints and lifehacks.

Just want to say audiobooks rule. If you haven't already, you may want to check out Audible.com.

Audiobooks on my iPod:
"Getting Things Done" by David Allen
This is absolutely indespensible. It may be intimidating at first blush (I actually bought this a year ago but I stopped listening once he started talking about dozens of collection tools and multi-level organization).
However, once you get past all that and make a real effort to distill his method into someting ADDish and manageable, it all clicks into place.
I will say it helps to look at how others are working GTD into their lives — anecdotes give you a real-world understanding of GTD. The wizard of de-mystifying GTD is Merlin Mann at www.43folders.com. Check him out if you're just starting with GTD and you'll be just fine.

"The Success Principles" by Jack Canfield
I'm mid-way through the book and I have to say I feel energized and educated everytime I listen to it. Allow me to go all informercial for a second — this book is changing my life.
If you've gone through most of your life feeling lost or inadequate because of ADD, this book will give you confidence to go for the gold and look for success. There are tons of great strategies for making your grand plans a reality. I'm doing a few right now and I'll write some more about it later.

Books in my bag:
"Making ADD Work : On-the-Job Strategies for Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder" by Blythe Grossberg.
This is my favorite book on Adult ADD. It's actually the only book I've ever respected about the subject.
Most books about the disorder are very clinical, have an outsider's point of view or are pushing an agenda (pro/anti ritalin rants).
This book respects adults with ADD and is filled with anecdotes and real life examples of ADD achievers.
Best of all it understands ADD habits and gives real-world advice about how to turn your natural traits into advantages.
I'm a big fan of this book and I'll give it a deeper write up once I finish it.

Anyone else out there have any reccomended reading? Anyone read these books ... share with the group.

See you next distraction,
Carlo

ADD break: Online again ...

Hi All,

It looks like I'm on-line once again ... maybe I can make my blessing/affliction of ADD into something productive for a change. Not to say that it hasn't helped my a great deal — it certainly has its advantages : ).

As most will attest, however, one is prone to spirals of distractedness and frustration that only a break will remedy. Luckily, I'm pretty productive in my job and I've allowed windows for myself to take mini-breaks. During this time, I mostly surf the web and look at ways to maximize my working/living style through different techniques.
This time however, I decided to see if I couldn't help some people through my experiences and by providing a window into things I'm trying now. Maybe some of you could offer some suggestions if you're experiencing the same things.

As disorders go, Adult ADHD is pretty tame. However, it's a world that's difficult to explain to outsiders.
One thing I've found amazing from reading stories of others is the commonality of what we go through.
I was diagnosed about two years ago and my life has changed radically since then. It let me realize that I had much more unrealized potential than I suspected. (I'll get into that later).

*Just noticed ...
At any given time, I have about 10 programs running and about about 6 browser windows open. *

Back on track:
So I hope I can help others with my ongoing self-improvement+ADHD odysseyy.

Writing helps me put my mind in back in order. SO I suspect I'll be posting pretty regularly.
I hope you enjoy ...


-- Carlo