Ask HN: With ADHD, how did you become an effective software developer?

Where is this place where they isolate and ignore coworkers? I would like to go there! When I was younger I always dreamed of a sysadmin-like job where I can do my own thing in the background without anyone bothering me! :D Now it seems like you need to be a social butterfly to become a software engineer or a sysadmin...

Schedule is critical for me but I do the oposite of you as much as I can. Try to get showered, ready, and sitting in my chair by 5-6AM. Then I spend about 30 minutes writing in a bullet journal what I plan to do today, reviewing the previous days notes. I always start the page the same way with the date, time I'm sitting down, day of the week, and how I'm feeling. Then I open my IDE and get to it.

I like the morning because no one is around ever. Slack is quiet, my phone likely wont ring. It's the highest probability that I'll get uninterrupted flow state. Then after lunch when people start asking questions I switch to a more social mode and it works. I tend to not be able to recover from moving into a social mode and going back to technical work.

A lot of people here have been talking about headphones/blocking out noise. To that end I HIGHLY suggest buying some good earmuffs (I use the X5A) and inside those using earbuds. It’ll look ridiculous (though there are smaller sizes) but for 30$ for earmuffs and 20$ earbuds you’ll have extremely effective noise cancelling if the earbuds are on low (the earmuffs don’t block well certain types of sounds but low noise from earbuds takes care of that).

I have to respectfully disagree with the user that suggested calming music (although it may be great advice for your case, it's terrible for mine).

I also disagree with advice that you should not be medicated. Ritalin provides a 200% productivity bump for me, allowing me to decide what I want to focus on, instead of my natural "most interesting thing wins". The organizational and focus adaptations you made to survive before you were medicated become extra advantages once you are medicated and don't require them.

I have a rule never to visit entertainment or social websites at work. Hackernews is the furthest I'll allow myself to stray in that direction. Entertainment sites will feed your distraction and we want that to starve.

This is the list I am listening to currently: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7wwb18SxFVP9XYqxL09dDw?si=...

I look for music that will keep my heart rate high and isn't created to evoke an emotional response. My aim is to be voracious in the office when it comes to completing tasks. I average 5 times the daily throughput of my coworkers. When I run out of new tasks, I set myself on building alternate versions of existing code to see if I can improve on core metrics or malleability until new work arrives. The best version goes to production. I never stop moving.

I am a software architect and lead dev, I field on average 4 "gotcha" technical questions an hour, while working on the high risk tasks within the application. ADHD (if yours is like mine) provides you the ability to context switch with much less of an issue than others (even when medicated). It also allows you to more rapidly switch between a micro and macro perspective than others; although this is a skill you'll have to train in. Also train in communicating well. Err on the side of over-communication if you're going to work on tasks you weren't assigned when you run out of work; with practice, this will keep you from stepping on other's toes.

I grew up playing multiplayer twitch arena FPS and FPSZ games (quake, tribes) and competitive fighting games (street fighter). Fast paced strategy, adaptation, execution precision, and rapid skill improvement are my comfort zone. You can approach professional programming the same way. You improve by doing; so do a lot and you'll improve rapidly.

I wind down in the evenings reading documentation and decompiling/poring over the code of programmers I admire and researching why they did what they did.

I have worked with a lot of programmers I can see ADHD symptoms in who try to mask them and fit in with the norm. They slow themselves down. I say you were born an outlier; make it work for you. Speed up until you're not distracted anymore. Push and refine what makes you special. Automate busywork (busywork is your worst enemy; but automating it is fun). Our industry is as ADHD friendly as it gets; your work time can be play time. Just make sure you never give a coworker an opportunity to say you are reckless (or God forbid, and opportunity to prove it).

This is an interesting perspective. I am in the complete opposite camp, but I will be thinking about this an questioning my position for the next few days. Thank you for sharing it.