Why Generation-Y Is Becoming Known As Generation-ADD

For this article I am going to write about love… or maybe just sex… no, no, definitely love. Actually, I feel like a motivational article will cheer up my mood — ah, screw it; I’m just going to watch TV. Generation-ADD sounds like a more accurate name for what many call Generation-Y.

In an age where multitasking is becoming second nature, it’s somewhat surprising that when focusing on a single task is required of us, many can’t seem to manage. Surf Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn while gripping the TV remote control with your left hand and your dick with the right hand? No problem. Sit down and finish an entire task from start to finish and do so thoughtfully? What do I look like, f*cking Einstein?!

Our lives have been overrun by technology. We have cellphones, iPods, iPads and laptops — and soon we will all be wearing Google Glasses and iWatches. All of these so-called innovations will make us better multitaskers than any generation before us, but at a cost.

The more that you multi-task, the more you get comfortable multitasking — the more used to multitasking you become. Like has happened to most of us already, you eventually become dependent on splitting your focus between several tasks simultaneously.

I know this may sound silly to many of you, but I am sure that most of you already noticed how fidgety you get when you are asked to just sit still for 30 minutes. The simplest, slowest, most mundane tasks are quickly becoming impossible for us to do.

Splitting your focus between multiple tasks can be great for when you are working on trivial tasks such as updating your status, tweeting or shopping on Amazon. Taking in information from several sources at once is great as long as you have the mental capacity to do so. However, certain tasks — important ones — don’t only consist of taking in information but producing results.

Maybe I am alone on this, but I have come to notice that, personally, I get much better results when I put my time and effort into completing one item on the list at a time. For all of you Josh Nashes out there, this may not apply. But even so, I am sure that if you were to put all of your energy into one task, the results would be superior to those you would see were you to split your focus amongst several different activities.

Whatever your abilities may be, when you’re working on creating something — whatever it may be — you are much better off removing all other distractions and putting all of your mental energy into the task at hand. I am sure that the greatest artists, innovators, thinkers and musicians only worked on one project at any given instance; I very much doubt Picasso was getting a rim-job while working on “Guernica,” although it would be a nice thought.

I can say this without a doubt not because I have emailed a handful of them and asked them about their work habits — I am certain because these great creators, even if they were able to create multiple amazing works simultaneously, love what they do and become so entrenched in the one task in front of them that the rest of the world and all its chaos cease to exist.

This is what really gets lost when you spread your focus too thin: creativity. It is one thing to physically complete a handful of tasks that require minimal focus and another to create something that can only be created by intellect.

Creating art, in all its forms, I believe to be the most human activity. Whether it be painting, design, music, architecture, sculpting, photography, music, innovation or even writing, there is nothing in the world that speaks more to the human soul than art. With the level of ADD among Generation-Yers continuously on the rise, creativity and innovation is heading south.

I have to admit that I am an avid multitasker. But only when circumstances allow it. I can easily split my energy between several women and don’t mind occasionally popping a 5-hour energy for some orgy fun. However, when it comes to production — writing or music — I find it counterproductive and near impossible to split my focus.

Maybe it’s the drugs and alcohol, but I have brain cells to spare so I have to conclude that it is better to focus when focus is needed. Multitasking puts us in a surreal state of mind; we begin to feel as if we were in a race to finish and be done with it all. Taking on one task at a time and doing so thoughtfully brings us back to earth and brings us back to true, slow, quiet, natural reality. Don’t forget that ADD is a disorder; it’s not something to be proud of.

Paul Hudson | Elite. 

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