
Ask HN: Help, How to deal with severe ADHD as a programmer? - throwaway_anon
I can only do things which are extremely interesting or challenging or if it happens to be of personal interest. I get easily distracted when dealing with mundane tasks. I procrastinate a lot. I am forgetful and not detail oriented. I tried medication but it gives me insomnia and a racing heart. Mindfulness meditation helps a lot but I cannot bring myself to do it everyday. The only good thing about ADHD is the creativity&#x2F;out of the box&#x2F; non-linear thinking, which I seem to have. Created a few products on the side which seem to show commercial potential. I want to know if it is possible to hold on to a job without being anxious&#x2F;stressed out. Is it possible to become a great and successful programmer despite ADHD?
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nyan_sandwich
I have real bad ADHD, and everything you say rings true.

There are (only) two things that seem to help me: (social) commitment that
would be unthinkable to back out of, and random fluctuations in
neurochemistry.

I have a job, and find that I have very little trouble maintaining a good work
ethic at work. Especially when the boss tells me to do something differently.
The social and commitment aspects really motivate me. Beeminder
([https://www.beeminder.com/](https://www.beeminder.com/)) is really awesome
as well, until your brain figures out that you can cheat. For doing work
outside of work, I have a few friends that I just meet up with and mutually
enforce work-time, which is really helpful and always productive.

On top of that, I notice major shifts in ability to do work that seem to have
nothing to do with anything. Some days I'm randomly on top of the world and
able to do huge amounts of highly productive and creative work, other days I
can't even focus on what's in front of me (sometimes literally). I can only
explain this in terms of random neurochemistry quirks. Unfortunately I can't
control it. One thing that seems to help is standing in a dominant victory
pose and counting to 300 as fast as possible, which raises testosterone and
lowers cortisol. It seems to help a lot if you can remember to do it.

(Solving neurochemistry would be extremely lucrative; there are thousands of
people who are separated from large wealth only by this factor.)

So I'd say you are fine on holding a job, but the jury is still out on
becoming great.

~~~
dreeves
Ooh, hey, thanks for pointing out Beeminder! We often have users tell us it's
great for people with ADHD, and we have some thoughts on the cheating problem
you mention:
[http://blog.beeminder.com/cheating](http://blog.beeminder.com/cheating)

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danneu

        > I tried medication but it gives me insomnia
        > and a racing heart.
    

Try a lower dose. In particular, start at the minimum dose.

If you are prescribed 20mg Adderall XR or 50mg Vyvanse (or equivalent), then
that's an insane first-timer dose.

Pills have risks and side-effects for sure. But so does making zero progress
on your ambitions in life.

Maybe you can find something less harsh:
[http://www.gwern.net/Nootropics](http://www.gwern.net/Nootropics)

~~~
pasbesoin
Mom's in the medical field. She attended a seminar led by a
psychologist/psychiatrist husband/wife team. The husband found, as an adult,
that he did benefit from the medication (Adderall), but at a much lower dose
than is considered typical. 2.5 mg, IIRC.

Apparently, some people are more sensitive -- or, whatever term you want to
use -- to the medication; for them, a "standard" dose is too much.

If you still have some tablets left and are unsure how your doctor might
receive such a notion, you could use a pill cutter to create your own lower
dose. If/As you've already been prescribed a higher dose, and given that the
medication is not essential to life function and you've already safely been
able to discontinue that higher dose, I don't see how trying a lower dose
would present any additional risk.

However, I'm not a doctor, you should talk to your doctor, etc. Just... some
of them seem to be pretty narrow-minded including about the possible efficacy
of lower doses.

~~~
pasbesoin
P.S. It really would be best to discuss it with your doctor. And as for my
scenario with the pill cutter (again, preferably _with_ the doctor's
knowledge): That will only work with "instant release" forms, where there is
no delayed release mechanism. Cutting a delayed release tablet can partially
or totally defeat the delayed release design/mechanism, resulting in a spike
in absorption that is undesigned and that may present a health risk.

------
pedalpete
I don't know if I have ADHD, but am similar in many ways to your description.

I've recently tried meditating to attempt to be more focused, though I don't
think it is really helping.

What has helped (during work anyway) is using the Pomodoro Technique. I have
the clock in front of me all the time, and you'd be amazed at how quickly 25
minutes counts down. I treat each Pomodoro like a mini-sprint. I am only
allowed to work on one feature during a Pomodoro. I am only allowed to write
in one language in a Pomodoro. That forces me to write my tests, and my
feature and run the tests etc. etc. I'd much rather be doing that than sitting
there staring at the screen because I won't allow myself to surf HN or FB.

As far as being forgetful and being more detail oriented, I haven't found a
solution for that yet. I am trying herbal supplements like St. John's Wort,
and I think it calms me down a bit (I definitely sleep better and don't grind
my teeth as much), but sorry, don't have a good answer for you on that part.

~~~
phaus
I have an ASD, and many of the same problems focusing. The only cure for being
forgetful is a pen and a piece of paper. Keep a small notebook that you carry
at all times. Don't write anything in it other than the things that you are
supposed to remember to do.

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AnEro
I have adhd and I suffer the same problems! I am currently in university (IT-
Networking security), I do use medication and meditation. I find that
motivation is the hardest part of everything even with the medication!

This helps with my motivation: [http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-
productivity-se...](http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-
secret)

Become a Morning Person: [https://medium.com/life-
tips/621b93619b30](https://medium.com/life-tips/621b93619b30)

Quick tips(things that help me):

\- 43 folders method of organization

\- Actively tell your self when you forget or procrastinate, its normal just
get back on track and smile

\- Make habits through repetition (spend that time regardless if you are able
to do it or not)

\- Your will power is finite make sure have small meals and a snack half way
through each to keep energy up

\- Making decisions is very tiring, so be forgiving

\- Make everything smaller- if you can reduce the information the easier it is
for you in the future

\- Always tell yourself: it is easy, it will take no time, get a little done,
you don't have to finish it just start it

\- Have a beer or do something else like watching tv while trying to start a
new habit or task, even though you won't get much done you have done more that
you would have with out it!

Sorry if my grammar is terrible, or if this wasn't what you where looking for!
It really helped me out to list it all :D

~~~
runjake

      > This helps with my motivation: http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se...
    

As an aside, Seinfeld himself recently dispelled the rumor that he was the
creator of, or ever even used this method, in a Reddit AMA [1] -- even calling
it dumb:

1\.
[http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ujvrg/jerry_seinfeld_...](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ujvrg/jerry_seinfeld_here_i_will_give_you_an_answer/ceiugt5)

~~~
BWStearns
Well that said it does kinda seem like the github commit history calendar.

------
jacobquick
Well if you feel like you're bored with mundane stuff you could do what I do
and take contract work. Most people think it's terrible and occasionally you
get some bad companies but most of the time I am hired for a specific project
and it's only 3-6 months so I can get everything in place, if I like them
maybe clean up a bit of their technical debt, and then find another contract
before the boredom sets in.

Other than that I take a ton of wellbutrin instead of adderall. It's
ostensibly for depression but the side effect of the extended release tabs is
it acts like a mild upper for about 12 hours.

I've never been able to get past the part where I feel like meditation is
wasting my time. Other people I know who have this issue mostly beat
themselves up at the gym 4-5 times a week. I've spent some time trying that in
the past and it helped a little if I took care of it in the morning before
work.

------
malandrew
Try the pomodoro technique[0]. It may seem cheesy, but it's a good way to flex
your discipline muscle. You basically choose a task and focus on it for 20
uninterrupted minutes at a time.

Once you've mastered going through 20 uninterrupted minutes and can do it
easily every time you have small definable task that fits in a 20 minute slot,
go ahead and start working on controlling the procrastination time that might
occupy the spaces between your 20 minutes of productivity. I've heard a lot of
good things about rescue time[1]

[0]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique)
[1] [https://www.rescuetime.com/](https://www.rescuetime.com/)

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edabobojr
A to-do list for everything. If it isn't on a list then it isn't getting done.
In addition to timers, I try to have to things I'm working on. That way I can
switch back and forth. Work in bursts and then take a break for 5 minutes. Try
to get some daily physical activity. I find that exercise is one of the few
times I can reliably get my brain to shut off. I personally think caffeine
helps me, but try to identify if any food makes it better or worse.

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shitgoose
Sounds familiar. I was trying 'three things per day' technique, but found it
overwhelming so I simplified it down to 'one thing'. Each day I am setting
_one_ goal, which can be anything, and I have to _accomplish_ it. Helps to
establish the routine and some sort of discipline.

Edit: it is also important to understand that out of the box nonlinear
creativity etc in our case serves just one purpose - to find excuses not to do
what we are supposed to do.

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csbrooks
Exercise!

[http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adult-adhd-and-
exercise](http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adult-adhd-and-exercise)

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somethingcoolio
Wow, I'm currently in the same boat and relate to all that you've said.
Monitoring this thread.

That said, currently I'm looking into DIY soylent, though I have a pretty
decent diet anyway and nootropics. Nootropics seem to have potential but I've
yet to gain first hand experience.

I'm also looking for a way to make mindfulness meditation a habit as I cannot
bring myself to do it daily either, it does help though.

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deadfall
There was this talk by a programmer with bipolar and I think ADHD. He couldn't
hold a job for more than a year. I can't find it, but very inspiring and
helpful to understanding both.

[http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/116730/progra...](http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/116730/programming-
with-add-adhd)

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phantom_oracle
You should just attempt forcing yourself to do the "dirty" work. We'd all like
to be coding the matrix, but most people just need wordpress websites, so just
force yourself.

I can't give you any magic secret or formula beyond that, because none exist
(as far as I know).

Being a coder though, isn't it all fun to you? I find typing like a maniac
fun.

~~~
nyan_sandwich
>so just force yourself.

>just

ADHD doesn't work like that. "just" supposes willpower, ADHDers have low
willpower. The _whole problem_ is how to "just" do something, so reiterating
that is a non-solution.

~~~
phantom_oracle
ADHD isn't really a _problem_. AIDS is a problem. Malaria is a problem. TB is
a problem. First-world emotional issues aren't a problem. If that were the
case, I would think 95% of Iraqis would need psychiatric and psychological
assistance.

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gesman
So essentially you need to learn to convert "boring" things to "extremely
interesting" things.

This may include an ability to stop putting "boring!" label on stuff.

So use your powerful creativity to create methodology to accomplish above and
the problem is solved!

PS: Bonus:

once you accomplish above - sell your solution to 10,000,000 of other ADHD
people at $10 each.

You do the math.

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kattenkorven
I've found that it can help to set a timer, because then the task isn't "work
until it's done", but instead "work for 5/10/XX minutes". When my brain just
isn't cooperating at all , I try to find simpler things to work on, which
still contribute to the whole.

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rajacombinator
I think it would be pretty difficult being a successful programmer if you
struggle with mental focus and attention to detail. Are you sure it's the
right field for you?

------
ScottWhigham
It would be useful to know how old you are. Most of us grow less ADHD
throughout our 20s as our brains develop.

~~~
throwaway_anon
28\. Have 2 years of programming experience.

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joeldidit
Brainwave entrainment while you are working. Piracetam. Acetyl L-Carnitine.

------
adultSwim
Strattera

