Hyperfixation is a state of intense focus on a given activity. A hyperfixated state can last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours… and in extreme cases even days or months.
Being around someone who is hyperfixated on something can be crazy-making, but there are actually important advantages to being in a hyperfixated state.
When you look at the top of any field, whether it’s business, sports, hobbies or gaming, you’ll most likely find someone who spends a lot of their time hyperfixated on their chosen field.
Short course via Zoom: How to Understand and Support a Child with Hyperfixation Issues
Related article: Hyperfixation: What it is – And what it isn’t
In this article, we’ll review the key advantages of hyperfixation, and explain why they’re so important.
At the end of the article, we’ll also touch on the potential downsides of hyperfixation, and give advice on how to manage and focus it to turn it into a superpower.
Extraordinary Benefits of Hyperfixation
1. Intense Focus
By definition, hyperfixation is a state of intense focus on an activity.
Everything else in the environment gets ignored and the person doesn’t even notice distractions.
- Someone talking to them? They don’t even hear it.
- Hungry? They don’t notice their stomach grumbling.
- Need to pee? Nope. Not until their bladder is absolutely bursting.
- Eyes aching from staring at a computer screen for hours one end? They are not aware of it.
- Butt aching from sitting in a chair all day? Doesn’t matter.
- Body screaming in pain from intense exertion? They’ll just push through it.
All this means that the hyperfocused person has their attention on one thing, and one thing only.
They can get things done that no one else can do.
2. Untiring Energy
When someone is hyperfocused on something, they don’t notice if they get tired.
They never get bored.
They just keep going and going.
Sure, when they drop out of their hyperfocused state, they may realize that they’re completely fried and fall into a coma-like sleep to recover.
But while they’re hypefocused they have seemingly boundless energy for the task at hand.
3. High Productivity
All this leads to remarkable productivity.
With no distractions, intense focus, and boundless energy, they can get a lot done in a short period of time.
One of our hyperfocused friends told us that he just completed a one week project in two days.
When he was done, he was completely burned out and took a day off to rest. But even including the rest day, he got a week’s work done in three days.
4. Being ‘in the zone’
Time magazine summarized ‘flow‘ as “a happy state of mind, the feeling of complete engagement in a creative or playful activity.”
Yep. When someone is in a state of hyperfixation, they’re often experiencing being ‘in the zone’.
5. Being in a ‘flow state’
In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time.
‘Flow’ is a state that many people seek out as a state of optimum performance.
Sounds a lot like hyperfixation – and it is.
6. Mastery Through Practice
In his bestselling book, “Outliers: The Story of Success”, Malcolm Gladwell examined the factors that contribute to high levels of success.
Gladwell popularized the “10,000-Hour Rule”, saying that the key to achieving world-class expertise in any skill, is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing for a total of around 10,000 hours.
To dedicate that much time to mastering something requires sustained hyperfixation over several years.
In other words, if you look at people who are at the absolute top of their field, you’re going to find masters of hyperfixation.
It’s Not All Butterflies and Unicorns
In this article, we’ve focused on the positive side of hyperfixation. But there are downsides too.
When someone is obsessively hyperfixated, they can ignore their own health, neglect their friends and family, and fail to take care of other important areas of their lives. While they’re successful at one thing, the rest of their life can fall apart.
This can be especially frustrating for parents, which we cover in depth in 11 Challenges of Raising a Child with Hyperfixation.
But channeled and focused correctly, hyperfixation can be a skill that produces extraordinary success in life.
If you have a strong tendency to hyperfixation yourself, but it’s also causing problems in your life, here’s our advice on How to Turn Your Hyperfixation into a Superpower.
If you have a child who hyperfixates, here is our advice on How to Turn Your Child’s Hyperfixation into a Superpower.
Short course via Zoom: How to Understand and Support a Child with Hyperfixation Issues
Summary
Hyperfixation can be both a blessing and a curse.
When it’s not managed well, it can be negative for the person themself and for the people around them.
When managed and applied well, it can be an extraordinary superpower.
Indeed, the top performers in any field almost always spend most of their time hyperfixated on their one area of obsession.
If you would like to talk with one of our experts to discuss what would be the best approach to tutoring your hyperfixated child, book a free consultation today.
