Did you get ill between these two states? COVID perhaps?
Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
11–20 of 109 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#12Any prolonged pattern of distracted behavior will get you an ADHD diagnosis, provided you say it's (1) part of a pattern dating back to childhood and (2) affects multiple areas of your life. That in turn will get you a prescription for powerful stimulants, and it's up to you to decide whether the artificial focus those provide is a solution to your problem, or a cop-out from it. (I personally don't believe there's such a thing as 'ADHD', though I don't doubt the existence of the constellation of feelings and behaviors that cause people to seek out that label.)
Have you considered taking a vacation, maybe one without any use of computers or cell phones? It's not a cure-all, but stepping away like that will give you a fresh perspective once you get back to your day to day, and that in turn might bring insight into what has gone wrong. And if the real issue you're facing is burnout, then it will go a long way to fixing the problem.
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#13If you really want to get a diagnosis from a professional, you don’t need to wait two years. That’s absurd. I just had a call with a licensed professional in Portugal for a €90 fee out of pocket. It took one hour session over Zoom to get an answer. I’m not a Portuguese resident. Just a country I was in at the moment.
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#14Any prolonged pattern of distracted behavior will get you an ADHD diagnosis, provided you say it's (1) part of a pattern dating back to childhood and (2) affects multiple areas of your life. That in turn will get you a prescription for powerful stimulants, and it's up to you to decide whether the artificial focus those provide is a solution to your problem, or a cop-out from it. (I personally don't believe there's su…
I’m sort of aligned on your ADHD view and would love to hear more from your point of view. Any book rec’s? Blogs? Podcasts?
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#15@keikobadthebad already gave a good answer, but I'd like to expand upon it a bit. > Sounds like the work might not lead somewhere you really judge is useful, or judge will be painful. As someone with ADHD I have realized that my executive function goes to zero if I think doing something isn't worthwhile. Not if I consciously think it's worthwhile, but if I know deep down that it's pretty much pointless. Thankfully my…
>Not if I consciously think it's worthwhile, but if I know deep down that it's pretty much pointless.
This could be true, or it could be a self-serving bias. It's something to think about. Presumably, there was a point in time when you thought that the thing that you now think isn't worthwhile felt very much so.
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#16Just to mention if you're in the UK (I'm assuming so) you can exercise the Right To Choose to ask for a referral to an external organisation like Psychiatry UK. RTC is still "free at the point of use", you're just making the elective choice to be referred there.
https://psychiatry-uk.com/right-to-choose/
(It can be easy to misread because you can also approach PUK and pay for assessment. However, that doesn't affect where you'd end up in "the queue" - just how you enter it.)
Full disclosure: I used their service, but am otherwise unaffiliated.
Unfortunately it appears they've stopped accepting new ones for now, but the information is still valid.
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#17I used to get excited by side projects, but at this point I can't get motivated unless I'm 100% sure it'll have a payoff. That could mean scratching my own itch, or doing a proof of concept for a major change at work that already has buy-in, but side projects that are just to learn a tech stack, pad my Github or a "maybe" side hustle are non-starters.
Part of that is mild depression and part of it is early burnout, but the majority of it is recognizing that most side projects are a waste of time, and if I'm going to "waste" time I'd rather it be hanging out with my kid or playing video games.
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#18If procrastination is the problem, I suggest the book The Now Habit:
https://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-...
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#19I think it's worth asking at this point if you can't find the focus or motivation to do the side project to really meditate on whether or not there's something deep inside you telling you that you shouldn't be bothering? Like you need to have what actually motivates you to do it front and centre in mind as a sort of guiding light to see what it is you need to do next, if that's not on then where are you even going with it?
ADHD meds won't help you there. You'll just end up cleaning the house way harder. Think about what motivated you in the past to get those MVPs you did out the door and think about what you can modify in whatever it is you're doing now to get that back. If that motivation from days yore is forgotten or lost somehow then it's time to sort out what you can be excited about next.
Re: Ask HN: How to Focus Again?
#20@keikobadthebad already gave a good answer, but I'd like to expand upon it a bit. > Sounds like the work might not lead somewhere you really judge is useful, or judge will be painful. As someone with ADHD I have realized that my executive function goes to zero if I think doing something isn't worthwhile. Not if I consciously think it's worthwhile, but if I know deep down that it's pretty much pointless. Thankfully my…
> I have realized that my executive function goes to zero if I think doing something isn't worthwhile. Not if I consciously think it's worthwhile, but if I know deep down that it's pretty much pointless. Thankfully my brain is a pretty good judge of what is worthwhile.
Thank you for putting this in writing in the way that you did. As someone who went undiagnosed for the first 37 years of their life, this is almost the exact wording I used to use to explain my executive (dys)function to my family, teachers, colleagues and friends.
Most of my teachers disliked me throughout my academic life, because while they could see the 'potential', my overall academic achievements were only ever good enough to level up to where I needed to be. However, I would win competitions and had a very high ceiling for the things I was into. As an adult I've struggled with myself a lot, but in the last 10 years I have built and sold a software company and successfully helped raise a family.
The ADHD label really made me question a lot of things for a couple of years, but I've now come back round to trusting and really appreciating that ability to subconsciously, intrinsically 'know' what is worth investing my time into and what is not. Rather than the hyperfocus people often cite, I consider that ability to be my real, true ADHD superpower.