flow

I will use the word flow instead of hyperfocus.

Flow is a type of positive memory overload, with steel wool being the negative type.

So as someone with a short memory and spikes dopamine, I need to get on a track and I need to stay there. The dopamine will blip whenever I veer to either side even slightly, forcing me back true, and the small memory means I am unable to pause and switch tasks like most people would.

What this means is an all-or-nothing work and focus style. I am either latched onto an activity to the point where you can froth spittle in my face and I will not hear your or… nothing. It’s one or the other. 

I need to finish tasks then and there. It’s that simple.

Infodump type communication is also a form of hyper-focus. Especially with a complex emotional topic I might need to process things verbally in real-time. This is something I never even realised I was doing and might explain a fair few communication issues.

The short term memory means I need to go fast and can’t look up; the dopamine means I can’t go off topic. And it’s only when the process is finished that we - myself included - get the whole picture.

So hyper-focus or flow is when I am operating at peak efficacy. It’s also when you might struggle to be heard.

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