Reframe what you consider a project. Learning to do trades is a project. Picking up hobbies is a project. Volunteering is a project. Diversify your projects
Ask HN: I cannot stop pursuing ideas and it’s ruining my life
21–27 of 27 posts
Re: Ask HN: I cannot stop pursuing ideas and it’s ruining my life
#22I'm in a similar boat. My whole life I've been an idea factory . The trade-off for me has been that summoning the focus required to implement anything myself is like pulling teeth, let alone choosing which idea to implement in the first place. Despite this I'm just as capable as any other developer, but like you getting my priorities in order has proven difficult. In fact, I've spent the past six years of my life wor…
> After so many years I've come to realize that you can't do great work if you ain't happy. I don't think that's true. Many of the greatest creators were miserable through most of their life.
Good point. Some of my best work has been while miserable, though I wouldn't call it sustainable. It ultimately depends on the person.
Re: Ask HN: I cannot stop pursuing ideas and it’s ruining my life
#23If you're looking for a word to describe this frame of mind, you seem to be describing hyperfocus. People with ADHD deal with it pretty much constantly, but there are many other conditions with this exact symptom. OCD, which only superficially looks like the polar opposite of ADHD, is a major one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperfocus Yes, the wiki says OCD is not hyperfocus. But down to the grit, ADHD and OCD are…
Dani Donovan’s ADHD cartoons are a great read: https://twitter.com/danidonovan/status/1100414551932030984?s...
Also see “the sushi train metaphor” from Dr Russ Harris, a psychologist specialising in ACT https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tzUoXJVI0wo
Re: Ask HN: I cannot stop pursuing ideas and it’s ruining my life
#24it may be hypomania. Please seek professional help.
Re: Ask HN: I cannot stop pursuing ideas and it’s ruining my life
#25If you're looking for a word to describe this frame of mind, you seem to be describing hyperfocus. People with ADHD deal with it pretty much constantly, but there are many other conditions with this exact symptom. OCD, which only superficially looks like the polar opposite of ADHD, is a major one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperfocus Yes, the wiki says OCD is not hyperfocus. But down to the grit, ADHD and OCD are…
What he's describing doesn't sound like a symptom of OCD at all. Source: I have a diagnosed OCD so quite familiar with the common symptoms.
One of my pet hates is the old "I'm so OCD, I just _have_ to have a clean desk"
Re: Ask HN: I cannot stop pursuing ideas and it’s ruining my life
#26It depends which ideas. Gandhi, and Hitler, might've felt the same thing. Are the 'ideas' making the world a better place, or not? Are they attached to some worthwhile goal? A goal needn't be attainable to be worthwhile; the greatest ones aren't. (I wonder why you didn't mention actually what they are, at all.)
Re: Ask HN: I cannot stop pursuing ideas and it’s ruining my life
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
What he's describing doesn't sound like a symptom of OCD at all. Source: I have a diagnosed OCD so quite familiar with the common symptoms.
One of my pet hates is the old "I'm so OCD, I just _have_ to have a clean desk"
Same goes for ASD and Aspergers, or whatever other uninformed self-diagnosis is popular today.