Heh. That's my dad. And to a lesser extent, myself. And a couple former bosses.
Honestly, I think it's genetic. A bunch of my dad's relatives are also like this, and from stories I've heard of him, I think my grandfather was too. If you're working with someone like this, it's best just to find some way to use his talents while keeping his weaknesses from being too disruptive (eg. send him off prototyping this pie-in-the-sky idea while everyone else handles the day-to-day minutiae of getting stuff done). If you are this person, find a profession where the strengths matter and the weaknesses don't. Like research, or tech startups.
It's possible to overcome these personality traits with enough effort, but the good goes away with the bad. I found my concentration plummeted as I became more socially adept, as did my ability to come up with crazy-off-the-wall solutions that nobody else thought of. And I notice a big, big performance penalty from multitasking, moreso than most people.
"It's possible to overcome these personality traits with enough effort, but the good goes away with the bad. I found my concentration plummeted as I became more socially adept, as did my ability to come up with crazy-off-the-wall solutions that nobody else thought of. And I notice a big, big performance penalty from multitasking, moreso than most people."
Exactly... I can work normally but it tires me a lot, after enough time. It's like needing a lot of continuous stimulation for my creative side, and if I ignore that for a while, I end paying that.
I hate to pipe up with a me too, but it's uncanny how I related to what you said.
I use to have my own office and pretty much just worked alone. While it's hard to slip into the zone, it's great when it happens for those magical 2 or 3 hours, and you do lots of work.
Now, I'm in a room with other people, and having to pay attention to everything else makes the zone slipping hard to do. Anyone know if self-hypnosis works here?
Headphones work in two ways: as a signal to others that you don't want to be disturbed and the audio signal should drown out environmental noise and prevent you from becoming distracted.
And practicing meditation can't hurt, it'll help with focusing.
I have to second the headphones idea. And if you don't think you like techno or trance music, you might change your mind after you code while listening to it (which is about the only time I listen to it).
Stuff with a white-noisy background and a steady, brisk rhythm tends to block out the din of the workplace and helps me stay focused for longer periods of time. Was the only way I could cope with the loud, obnoxious sales staff sitting nearby. Oh, and avoid music with lyrics.
Similarly, jazz and classical work beautifully as working music. I code most often to Gould, and my favorite music for mental jams is to put my Thelonious Monk collection on shuffle.
Honestly, I think it's genetic. A bunch of my dad's relatives are also like this, and from stories I've heard of him, I think my grandfather was too. If you're working with someone like this, it's best just to find some way to use his talents while keeping his weaknesses from being too disruptive (eg. send him off prototyping this pie-in-the-sky idea while everyone else handles the day-to-day minutiae of getting stuff done). If you are this person, find a profession where the strengths matter and the weaknesses don't. Like research, or tech startups.
It's possible to overcome these personality traits with enough effort, but the good goes away with the bad. I found my concentration plummeted as I became more socially adept, as did my ability to come up with crazy-off-the-wall solutions that nobody else thought of. And I notice a big, big performance penalty from multitasking, moreso than most people.