Essentials: ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) isn’t a diagnosis that’s restricted to childhood. Many adults with ADHD struggle with schedules, fulfilling commitments, and maintaining enough focus to achieve their goals. If you’re an adult with ADHD, you may fear that you’ll continually disappoint yourself and others by not living up to society’s expectations.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In Taking Charge of Adult ADHD, neuropsychologist Russell A. Barkley draws on nearly 50 years of experience researching and treating ADHD to explain what it is, how it affects adults, and how to effectively manage it through medication and lifestyle strategies. This guide explores how ADHD might affect you personally and describes the various treatment options that can help you curb its symptoms. In addition, we’ll expand on each of Barkley’s key ideas with research, advice, and actionable ideas from other health care practitioners and psychologists.

Do you often feel distracted, tired, or bored—or do you know someone who does? If so, you or that person may be struggling with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In ADHD 2.0, psychiatrist Edward Hallowell and professor of psychiatry John Ratey explain what causes this condition and what it’s like to live with it. They argue that people can succeed and thrive because of—not in spite of—having ADHD.

In this guide, we’ll begin by describing ADHD’s biological causes and its most prominent symptoms. From there, we’ll explore ways to minimize ADHD’s downsides and maximize its benefits, such as finding the right kind of challenge to stay engaged and building a strong support network. Our commentary will provide further insight into what causes ADHD as well as what it’s like to live with the condition.

For people with ADHD, managing daily life at work and at home may feel like a constant struggle. In Thriving With Adult ADHD, therapist Phil Boissiere explains why ADHD makes it harder to navigate tasks such as organizing a schedule, maintaining focus, switching between tasks, and controlling emotional responses—and he offers strategies that can help.

In this guide, we’ll examine what ADHD looks like in the brain and how it contributes to difficulties with executive functioning (a set of skills that helps with the sorts of complex cognitive tasks listed above). We’ll also debunk some common misconceptions about ADHD. Finally, we’ll explore the main five challenges of ADHD—such as emotion regulation and impulse control—and discuss strategies for managing each one. In our commentary, we’ll further explore tools for managing ADHD and look at different perspectives on treating the condition.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) isn’t a diagnosis that’s restricted to childhood. Many adults with ADHD struggle with schedules, fulfilling commitments, and maintaining enough focus to achieve their goals. If you’re an adult with ADHD, you may fear that you’ll continually disappoint yourself and others by not living up to society’s expectations.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In Taking Charge of Adult ADHD, neuropsychologist Russell A. Barkley draws on nearly 50 years of experience researching and treating ADHD to explain what it is, how it affects adults, and how to effectively manage it through medication and lifestyle strategies. This guide explores how ADHD might affect you personally and describes the various treatment options that can help you curb its symptoms. In addition, we’ll expand on each of Barkley’s key ideas with research, advice, and actionable ideas from other health care practitioners and psychologists.

If you or someone you love has ADD, you know what a severe impact it can have on your quality of life—and you probably also know that it can be a huge strength. In Driven to Distraction, Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey explore what we know about attention deficit disorder through the lens of real people who have it. Hallowell, a psychiatrist, and Ratey, a professor of psychology, both specialize in and have ADD.

In our guide, we’ll discuss what ADD is and its symptoms, theories on the possible causes of ADD, and potential treatments. We’ll also examine how our knowledge of ADD has changed since the book’s republication in 2011, as well as tips for how to minimize your negative symptoms and make the most of your strengths.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) isn’t a diagnosis that’s restricted to childhood. Many adults with ADHD struggle with schedules, fulfilling commitments, and maintaining enough focus to achieve their goals. If you’re an adult with ADHD, you may fear that you’ll continually disappoint yourself and others by not living up to society’s expectations.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In Taking Charge of Adult ADHD, neuropsychologist Russell A. Barkley draws on nearly 50 years of experience researching and treating ADHD to explain what it is, how it affects adults, and how to effectively manage it through medication and lifestyle strategies. This guide explores how ADHD might affect you personally and describes the various treatment options that can help you curb its symptoms. In addition, we’ll expand on each of Barkley’s key ideas with research, advice, and actionable ideas from other health care practitioners and psychologists.

Do you often feel distracted, tired, or bored—or do you know someone who does? If so, you or that person may be struggling with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In ADHD 2.0, psychiatrist Edward Hallowell and professor of psychiatry John Ratey explain what causes this condition and what it’s like to live with it. They argue that people can succeed and thrive because of—not in spite of—having ADHD.

In this guide, we’ll begin by describing ADHD’s biological causes and its most prominent symptoms. From there, we’ll explore ways to minimize ADHD’s downsides and maximize its benefits, such as finding the right kind of challenge to stay engaged and building a strong support network. Our commentary will provide further insight into what causes ADHD as well as what it’s like to live with the condition.

If you’ve been struggling to concentrate, journalist Johann Hari wants you to know that you’re not alone—and the struggle isn’t your fault. In Stolen Focus, Hari makes the case that we have a societal attention crisis: We’re all losing our ability to concentrate, which means we can't progress on our individual goals, and we can’t collectively confront the major challenges humanity faces.

Hari argues that our attention crisis is the result of outside forces stealing our focus, not the fact that we’re not trying hard enough to concentrate. He examines these forces, including everything from our food to the economy, and unlike other authors writing about distraction, he proposes societal solutions rather than individual tips.

In this guide, we’ll explore Hari’s evidence of an attention crisis, the seven factors causing this crisis, and his three-part solution. We’ll also share suggestions for action based on Hari’s insights, as well as explore perspectives from other authors that complement his ideas.

Daniel Goleman argues that attention is a complex and underappreciated cognitive resource in our modern society overrun with distractions. In Focus, he explores how you can understand, strengthen, and effectively use your attention to lead a more fulfilling and productive life, as well as to connect better with others and have a positive impact on the world.

A renowned psychologist and New York Times science writer, Goleman is the author of international bestsellers on emotional intelligence and leadership. In this guide, we’ll explore his theories on how harnessing the power of inner, other, and outer focus can help you excel in everything you do. We’ll look at actionables he recommends to help, including mindfulness meditation and digital attention training games as tools to improve habits, skills, and overall success. We’ll also provide additional context to help you better understand the book’s concepts, and we’ll compare the author's insights to those of other psychology and neuroscience experts.