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Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

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Re: Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

#31

Post by sitkack »

dadoomer wrote: post #26
sph wrote: post #12

You don't need more tools, you need fewer. And get rid of notifications, sounds, distractions, bouncy icons in the Dock. Mute #general on Slack or Discord. Go minimalist, in work and in life. I use Todoist. I try to add almost everything I have to do in a day in it, because I enjoy the small release of dopamine when I cross things out, however small they are. I hate the modern trend of rainbow vomit colour themes in…

> You don't need more tools, you need fewer. Fully agree with this. For me, it has also been important to keep the workflow and tools that I do use as streamlined as possible (KISS), so as to stay "in the zone" as long as possible. For instance, if I will write some code, I don't need bells and whistles, I only need LSP support, split screen and the ability to change files in a split second with a few keypresses. Lik…

REPL, hot code reloading, test code that gets me into the debugging state. Really to dev well, u need to spend considerable effort getting everything setup to maximize flow. Having and not having flow can be 20:1

Re: Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

#32

Post by dotdashdashdash »

Not ADHD but ASD with pretty poor executive function.

The only thing I've found that helps is having a list of things somewhere I can see it. We have a list of tasks next to the fridge on a whiteboard, and it's the only way things get done.

As a side note, I'd suggest looking up ways to improve executive function, as this tends to be the area where this sort of problem falls into. There are tonnes of books out there, as well as ADHD coaches now, which can be pretty helpful.

Re: Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

#33

Post by colanderman »

Use Trello (or something like it) to track your TODOs, in small manageable chunks as others have said.

Have one column just to track what you are actively working on at the moment. (Put only one or maybe two items in it. No more!) When you get distracted, now you can immediately remember what you were (supposed to be) working on.

Have a few other columns to sort items by priority. Now you don't need to remember what other things need doing.

Have one column to track stuff that you're waiting on something external.

And importantly, don't delete stuff that's done. Put all those things in their own column. It feels good to move things there, and see the progress you've made.

Re: Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

#34

Post by skittleson »

Get OSD on your environment then optimize for workflow with the least amount of distractions and immediate feedback. Unit/integration tests help to keep me in one place as well. Auto testing on file changes as well as autohotkey automations. Text to speech for reading emails and docs

Re: Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

#35

Post by [deleted] »

dadoomer wrote: post #26
sph wrote: post #12

You don't need more tools, you need fewer. And get rid of notifications, sounds, distractions, bouncy icons in the Dock. Mute #general on Slack or Discord. Go minimalist, in work and in life. I use Todoist. I try to add almost everything I have to do in a day in it, because I enjoy the small release of dopamine when I cross things out, however small they are. I hate the modern trend of rainbow vomit colour themes in…

> You don't need more tools, you need fewer. Fully agree with this. For me, it has also been important to keep the workflow and tools that I do use as streamlined as possible (KISS), so as to stay "in the zone" as long as possible. For instance, if I will write some code, I don't need bells and whistles, I only need LSP support, split screen and the ability to change files in a split second with a few keypresses. Lik…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

#36

Post by llamaLord »

jbirer wrote: post #17

My stack is: TomatoTimer Dual monitors with one monitor playing YouTube Travel/ASMR/whatever is interesting radio.garden (playing radio with vocals seems to keep me focused for some reason) Rewarding myself with foods, drinks, spoiling myself And lastly, something I recently discovered, edging. When I edge to porn without release I feel much more energetic and focused. Something to do with dopamine apparently. I imag…

Alright boys, pack it up. That’s enough Internet for today…

Re: Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

#38

Post by sph »

sitkack wrote: post #31
dadoomer wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You don't need more tools, you need fewer. Fully agree with this. For me, it has also been important to keep the workflow and tools that I do use as streamlined as possible (KISS), so as to stay "in the zone" as long as possible. For instance, if I will write some code, I don't need bells and whistles, I only need LSP support, split screen and the ability to change files in a split second with a few keypresses. Lik…

REPL, hot code reloading, test code that gets me into the debugging state. Really to dev well, u need to spend considerable effort getting everything setup to maximize flow. Having and not having flow can be 20:1

I agree with you both. This is why I decided to switch and master Emacs, and I've been diving deep into Lisp and other languages with a REPL like Erlang and Elixir. The quick iteration cycle requires little upfront investment in focus, and it's immediately rewarding to keep you in focus and enter a state of flow.

Our concentration is fickle, so streamlining is key.

Re: Ask HN: Devs with ADHD do you use specialized tooling?

#40

Post by jereees »

max182 wrote: post #6

Medication. I dropped out of high school because I couldn't focus. I didn't really have the outward symptoms of ADHD but my mind was always racing. I ended up eventually getting diagnosed, even doctors who don't usually prescribe stimulants prescribe them to me. I went from being unemployed and extremely depressed and doing small odd jobs living out of a cheap hotel room, to working at a FAANG like company without ev…

Are you me? :)
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