If you have ADHD, everything you've ever accomplished was
done this way even if you don't realize it. How functional
you are with ADHD depends on its severity but also on
whether you learned, by chance, how to trick yourself. Some
people pick it up on their own but others need help. If they
don't get it, they just get left behind.
I'm one of the lucky ones who stumbled upon a compensatory behavior. Even as an adolescent I would consciously find some hook to latch onto in order to maintain interest in a subject or task; if I didn't _actively_ nurture an interest I had no hope of staying focused. Usually that involves going down the rabbit hole of some esoteric detail of a subject, or adding an "experimental" aspect to some task. The follow through is almost incidental to the compensatory device, but to others it looks like the polar opposite to ADHD--like I can maintain interest in _anything_. Well, I _can_ maintain an interest in anything, but I've spent a lifetime developing that skill because without interest I cannot focus.
This is probably also why I have a terrible time working in groups. When I'm working on a task I _have_ to be free to go down the rabbit hole on some esoteric detail. If I don't I may lose interest and then it's a lost cause. In a group you have to follow the direction of the group, which means I have to very consciously and deliberately maintain a keen interest in both the subject material and the group dynamic. That's 3x times the work--concentrating on the primary subject material, thinking about fascinating details of the subject material, and thinking about fascinating details of the group dynamic--and just incredibly exhausting.
Sometimes I wonder if so-called adult ADHD is simply what happens when someone who compensated well as a kid reaches the limits of those compensation behaviors. As responsibilities accumulate you have less time to nurture and pursue constructive, topical diversions.
This is probably also why I have a terrible time working in groups. When I'm working on a task I _have_ to be free to go down the rabbit hole on some esoteric detail. If I don't I may lose interest and then it's a lost cause. In a group you have to follow the direction of the group, which means I have to very consciously and deliberately maintain a keen interest in both the subject material and the group dynamic. That's 3x times the work--concentrating on the primary subject material, thinking about fascinating details of the subject material, and thinking about fascinating details of the group dynamic--and just incredibly exhausting.
Sometimes I wonder if so-called adult ADHD is simply what happens when someone who compensated well as a kid reaches the limits of those compensation behaviors. As responsibilities accumulate you have less time to nurture and pursue constructive, topical diversions.