Subtitled 'Strategies for a World gone ADD', psychiatrist Ned Hallowell's book considers the hectic levels of busyness of today's world as a form of Attention Deficit Disorder. The difference between clinical ADD and the trait this book addresses is that the former persists in all settings whereas the form referred to here is specifically work-related.
You may recognise the symptoms, either in your own experience or in colleagues: feeling overwhelmed, unable to prioritise, working longer hours yet achieving less, anxiety about dropping the ball and consequent feelings of guilt and inadequacy... According to Dr Hallowell, this phenomenon is now 'rampant'.
The high cost of interruptions
Research for a Basex study 'Interrupted by Interruptions' of 1000 knowledge workers found that an average of 2.1 hours (or 28% of the workday) is lost through interruptions. This was equated to a loss of $588 million per year to the US economy. And of course the emotional and health costs are immeasurable and arguably more serious.
What's striking about the report is how few people take even elementary steps to reduce interruptions, especially from digital devices such as email and mobile phones. There is a compulsive quality in our response to them, bordering on addiction.
A generational difference?
We can all recognise that the so-called NetGeneration for whom social networking is an integral part of their experience, indeed of their psyche, are somehow wired differently. Their brains do have different neural pathways reflecting the plasticity of how they have learned to use technology since birth. They have an ability to multi-task using various digital devices in a way that their older colleagues simply cannot emulate. Yet even they cannot produce certain rigorous types of work without the concentration that requires an interruption-free thinking space.
Taking charge for ourselves
If you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, Hallowell says, it will try to jump out. But if you put it into cold water and then start to heat it up, you end up with a boiled frog! He argues that we need to take charge for ourselves of the pernicious yet pervasive turning up of the heat that is happening inexorably around us.
Pressures that turn up the heat to unacceptable levels cause all sorts of problems:
- toxic stress
- health issues
- accidents and errors
- rudeness in normally considerate people
- general unhappiness
- keeping us from what really matters
3 things we can do to take more control
- 'Prioritise ruthlessly!' says Hallowell, 'cultivate the lilies or the things that fulfl you' and 'cut the leeches, those that deplete you'
- Build in 'live time' with other people - in person, not via phone or messaging. Human beings need to interact with other people to stay productive and creative
- Allocate 30 minutes a day to thinking time - time where you can really focus and think and plan intelligently
"A lot of our 'busy-ness' is a way for us to avoid thinking about what is most important. There's a difference between being busy and being productive."Kristen Lippincott