

Ask HN: Any programmers with ADD? Share your experiences. - tomlin

<i>A little about myself:</i> For the first 5 years of my professional life, I was a web designer but then found myself intrigued by coding. I didn't immediately know I had ADD. I knew something was <i>different</i>, just couldn't put my finger on what it was <i>specifically</i>. I started to suspect at around 21 years old that I had some ADD tenancies but I didn't pursue the diagnosis right away.  I could never hold my concentration on projects that became tedious or too complex. To me, it felt like I was coming off as lazy to others. The truth was, I <i>wanted</i> to do a good job. I <i>wanted</i> to love every part of my project. I just couldn't. So I started to investigate...<p>A year ago I was <i>officially</i> diagnosed with ADD (inattentive sub-type) by my doctor and have been taking Concerta (methylphenidate derivative) - which has made such a big difference. My ambition now has a target. And for the first time in years, I have the motivation to work on a few ideas I have longed to work on.<p>Do you have ADD? Think you might? Do you program or work in the tech industry? Share your experiences! I would love to hear them.
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Rust
Holy crap, I had no idea that the way I work might actually be a medical
condition.

In any case, I tend to work on 3 or 4 things at a time, and take a few days
off a project when I need to. As long as I have the ability to switch-hit
between at least three things, I generally keep up.

The down side is that I tend towards forgetfulness and disorganization - I
have forgotten entire projects before (not for long, but long enough to be a
problem).

I've quit jobs where I was working on something awesome, just because I
couldn't work on something different.

Damn...

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gulbrandr
ADD = Attention Deficit Disorder

