You’ve got management written all over you!
Relevant: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-...
can someone do EL15 of it
Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
341–350 of 415 posts
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#342Read up a bit on ADHD. That 'hyperfocus' that occurs either with deadlines or on a passion project is a symptom, as is the inability to get excited about projects you simply don't want to do - especially given your otherwise positive reviews and your ability to clear your mind and hyperfocus near a deadline, it's something to consider. I was diagnosed at 33, and it changed my life infinitely for the better. YMMV, and…
ADHD is interesting, but it's not really a superpower. It's a superpower in retrospect if you've already found a way to be successful with it, but it's not really something I've found that can be deliberately applied to succeed at things that other people have an easier time with. For me it also helps in areas that I've seen other people struggle in, but I think the key is in how intentionally you can apply yourself.…
After reading one of the parents' links, I wouldn't revise anything I said. Advice that amounts to "delegate the task to someone you hired at your startup" is pretty much only useful for exactly ppl who can do that. I'd rather hear about devastating and comical failures that a person realistically worked their way out of. As in someone losing their job that they needed to pay for their house because they lost interest in the subject matter, then couldn't get another job that paid the same because their burnout broke their ability to grind algorithms problems and it blew up their family and sent them into a depression spiral, and they couldn't pay for therapy obviously so they ended up on the street with less than zero to their name. After that, if they still have a successful startup, then great, maybe there's something constructive to work with. It ain't a fucking super power unless you're pretty lucky imo.
I don't mean to dismiss the GPs comment about their own ADD. No doubt, it's going to be life changing, hopefully for the better. I'm just sick of startup founders saying that actually all I need is to cut carbs and be a CEO.
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#343Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is impossible to work 7 hours a day.
That's a rather blanket statement. Depends on the work! I have certainly had paid employment where I frequently just sat down at 8am, programmed and programmed, realised about 3pm that I hadn't eaten yet, and stopped for a break. It would never happen in the office, but it happened quite regularly early on in the pandemic-induced WFH (thanks to me happening to be on the right project to allow it).
> Depends on the work! I have certainly had paid employment where I frequently just sat down at 8am, programmed and programmed, realised about 3pm that I hadn't eaten yet, and stopped for a break
Yup this happens to me as well, though some small breaks for fetching water/coffee might be included. Also in the office. I guess ensuring that employees know what to do and like what they do is a much better approach than staring over the back and making mean comments when slacking.
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#344Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem with ADHD is that it applies to everything in your life, not just work. You're equally unable to do chores, hobbies, have fun, or even finish watching a TV series. Actually, they're even harder to do than work because there's no pressure on you to keep up with it.
>You're equally unable to do chores, hobbies, have fun, or even finish watching a TV series. ADHD does affect everything in my life, but I don't relate to this part. For me, it primarily manifests as there being an immense amount of inertia required to do things I don't want to do. I have no issue doing things I intrinsically want to do. If it's a TV show, hobby, or fun-having activity that I really like, then I'm pe…
Your experience matches mine, apart from that I find that if I'm procrastinating on important/severe enough things, then my ability to do even things I enjoy diminishes too.
Personally I think the reason is that the cognitive dissonance gets in the way... I know that I absolutely should urgently do X (important thing I'm putting off) and all the time I don't, I cannot reconcile a deliberate decision to do Y (trivial thing I'd really enjoy). So with the inability to do either X or Y, I just end up being fully stuck and in total deadlock.
Most of the time this situation is preceded by many days, weeks or months of me DOING all those things I enjoy while blissfully neglecting the things I should be doing. It's the end result of this behaviour that eventually leads to the deadlock.
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#345Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're joking right? You move on from a fun activity when it stops being fun you so think you may have a disorder ? I don't want to seem insensitive to genuinely troubled individuals but there seems to be a pattern on HN where every single topic about productivity is now swamped with people claiming that "ADHD" is the cause of not caring about things that aren't worth caring about and not trying hard when you don't n…
ADHD is the new Aspergers Seriously though, is there a dx for not having any common sense? I feel like a lot of us here would be terminal cases
> ADHD is the new Aspergers
WTF does that even mean
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#346Are you guys hiring ?Where can I apply?
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#347Earlier quoted context omitted.
there's a site called focusmate that helps you find accountability buddies ( https://focusmate.com ). it's really helped me.
Do you use this primarily for professional life, personal tasks, general motivation? (Tried to word this non-exhaustive/non-xor but saying so explicitly in case that didn’t come across.)
Yes I'd be curious to hear more about this too. I've looked at Focusmate but haven't yet got myself over the line to signup.
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#348how do you find a company like this?
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#349Earlier quoted context omitted.
>You're equally unable to do chores, hobbies, have fun, or even finish watching a TV series. ADHD does affect everything in my life, but I don't relate to this part. For me, it primarily manifests as there being an immense amount of inertia required to do things I don't want to do. I have no issue doing things I intrinsically want to do. If it's a TV show, hobby, or fun-having activity that I really like, then I'm pe…
Your experience matches mine, apart from that I find that if I'm procrastinating on important/severe enough things, then my ability to do even things I enjoy diminishes too. Personally I think the reason is that the cognitive dissonance gets in the way... I know that I absolutely should urgently do X (important thing I'm putting off) and all the time I don't, I cannot reconcile a deliberate decision to do Y (trivial…
Actually, yeah, I relate to that 100%, too. (Even doing it right this second.) I just spend a lot more of my time in the neglect phase than the "caught up to me" phase.
Re: Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work
#350Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I'm pretty sure it's true. I had to spend a ton of time explaining what I did and its values to my managers, like writing "ELI5" docs and then suddenly when they "got it" they paid very close attention to my work, and formed a team around me and established scope and got headcount. This is the messaging I got every single quarter: """David, your work is very good. All the people you work with say you're great and…
> What I concluded was that I was better as an L6 than an L7 This generalizes: often people want a promotion because it's the "next thing", but in many cases once you are mid career a promotion can make you pretty unhappy. Having a clear idea of how the work & responsibility will differ, and whether it is what you actually want.
What no I want a promotion because the top tier of software engineers make salaries in the 2-300s while random marketing directors at midwestern insurance companies make that.