I think I have serious ADD (ADHD) issue. I am 24 years old, and I have finally come to realize this fact, that I cannot properly concentrate reading something without it being close to deadline (or having serious pressure, which is rare to occur until last minute).

Knowing this, I found a way to keep me concentrating, the Pomodoro technique. Quoting from Wikipedia, The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down periods of work into 25-minute intervals called 'Pomodori' (from the Italian word for 'tomatoes') separated by breaks. The method is based on the idea that frequent breaks can improve mental agility.

I have start applying this method by forcing myself to do nothing but study until  the time (25 minutes) is up. Whether I decide to take a break or not depends on my current study momentum, but through this 25 minutes time frame, I manage to give myself some sort of short-term goal, which can keep my ass (and my mind) from being distracted by something else. Compared to having no goals and just tell myself to 'study as long as I can possibly do', this 25 minutes short-term study time frame has managed to pushed me further. Before this, despite my best (lazy) efforts, I think I only achieved less than 2 hours of study, with the 2 hours being quite inefficient as I probably stop-and-resume for more than 100 times (no shit).

I am probably not doing the Pomodoro thing the right way, trying to improve the mental agility or whatnot, so I think my way of doing it is more like a short-sprint method. Anyhow, it helped, and so I decided to write this experience given the fact that I keep abandoning my blog and written nothing good all this while.

Pomodoro is a productivity/time management technique, and there are several PC/Mac small-sized software that can help you with it. I have tried Pomodairo and Focus Booster, both are free and is available on PC and Mac. Focus Booster is even available on web.

Pomodairo

Focus Booster

I forgot to mention the fact that my particular ADD issue happens mainly when I am close to a gadget (such as my current dual-24"-LCD-PC, iPhone 4, ASUS N45J laptop or brandless-9"-Android-tablet). I am pretty sure if I have none of these around me and just a book, I will read it thoroughly even if it's in a language I don't entirely understand. That said, if you are having concentrating/focusing issue like me (in whichever situation, surrounded-by-tempting-gadget or not), try the Pomodoro technique or the short-sprint technique. Good luck!