Joshua Herzig-Marx » ADHD

Ask the Readers: Say yes to mess? – Lifehacker

herzigma — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:20:18 +0000

I had a Persian boss once who repeated a saying from her grandfather: “A messy desk is the sign of a messy mind; an empty desk is the sign of an empty mind.” Guess which I had? Say yes to mess? – Lifehacker

Scary schoolwork for the boy with ADD

herzigma — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 21:53:27 +0000

So, first the good news. According to Fred Wilson, partner at VC firm Union Square Ventures, many successful entrepreneurs have ADD.

But if you look at most successful entrepreneurs, they exhibit many of these characteristics too. They can’t focus on anything for long periods of time, but they lunge into new stuff with a voracious appetite to figure it out.

I don’t know about the clinical side of this disorder. I am sure that there are many cases where the disorder is terribly disabling. But I really wonder if a moderate amount of ADD is a bad thing. I think it may in fact be a good thing. It’s certainly a trait I have come to know and love in entrepreneurs.

This is good news for me! I wouldn’t mind having to ask Fred for money one day, or a job, and if bringing along an official diagnosis can help, so much the better.

But the ADD has a dangerous and scary side. Our first term at Babson just ended and we had to write a short paper – 6 pages – reflecting on our experience and the process of learning. Or we could hand in something creative. I had five perfectly good pages typed out last night before bed. This morning I scrapped it all in favor of a slide show/presentation. Is it better now? More expressive? More passionate? Sure! Will it meet my professor’s expectations? We’ll see….

Gone Running

herzigma — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 01:29:52 +0000

We’ve been jogging together, off and on, for the past few years, but we’ve gotten serious this summer. One nice thing about running is how quickly you can see improvement. We’ve gone from struggling with 2 miles to running over three with no difficulty. You can see some of the routes we follow.

As school begins, maintaining the exercise routine will be critical. There’s considerable evidence that for people like myself with ADHD, learning and attention are improved with exercise, particularly vigorous exercise.

We learn more from taking tests than studying for them

herzigma — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 03:50:59 +0000

Hah! Vindication! Justification for years of not studying–I did all my learning taking my midterms. (Mom and Dad: I kid!) But this might explain why complicated classes only seemed to come together when I was staring at those blue booklets. Mmmmmm, micro theory. Repeated test-taking better for retention than repeated studying, research shows (via BoingBoing)

The ADD finally pays off?

herzigma — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 02:48:52 +0000

Popular blog Adult ADD Strengths published an interesting article identifying the Top 10 Advantages of ADD in a High Tech Career. Now, I have a high tech career, and I was diagnosed with ADD, so I was especially happy that Digg picked it up. Perhaps some future employer is reading and will be ready to help me excel, and not just overcome my weaknesses.

I wasn’t diagnosed until senior year in high school. Until then (well, even afterward) my report cards always read the same: “Joshua is extremely bright, but until he buckles down he won’t reach his full potential.” But then my mom read Hallowell‘s book Driven to Distraction and passed it along to me. It was the beginning of a revelation. I had ADD, and it meant I learned and worked differently, and the methods and techniques that motivated and encouraged others might not be as effective for me. It wasn’t until college and the chance addition of Thomas Hartmann‘s ADD: A Different Perception to a Psychology term paper bibliography that I really began to see ADD as anything other than an obstacle.

Articles like Top 10 Advantages of ADD in a High Tech Career and Mediocrity by “areas of improvement” are good reminders of the many forms that excellence can take. They also remind me that ultimately it’s my responsibility to ensure that my job choices and career choices match my strengths and my interests.

So what are my strengths?