The Blog of Burgher Jon

I first received a diagnosis of mild ADD in the 5th grade.  By the time I was in the 5th grade, I was already most of the way to the analytical, introspective person I am today.  I took the diagnosis seriously, I studied the disorder, and I put in place a number of actions that allowed me to become effective with ADD.  In fact, as I have refined those practices, I have come to firmly believe that I would be significantly LESS effective in life if I didn’t have ADD.  All the same, earlier this year, I decided to take a close look at the way I approach my work with an eye towards better achieving my goals.  Part of this was jumping back in to researching new developments in dealing with ADD.  The logical choice was Delivered from Distraction by Doctors Hallowell and Ratey.  I, like many others, with ADD had been greatly helped by this pair’s first book Driven to Distraction, which has become the bible for dealing with youth ADD.

Though the book claims to be a useful resource for adults with ADD, I was thoroughly disappointed by the effort.  The book might be helpful for those who have a child with ADD or are a child with ADD (as the first book was).  But, the added sections about adults were not overly useful and were limited to 20% or so of the content.  I got a few helpful tips, but not nearly the quantity or quality of advice I would have hoped for.

I’m still in search of a good book on dealing with adult ADD.  When/If I find it, I’ll pass it along in this space.  So many of us in the startup space suffer from ADD, at least mildly that its probably worth it.