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Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

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Re: Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

#111

Post by mxkopy »

jxidjhdhdhdhfhf wrote: post #67
Ballas wrote: post #12

That is a trait of ADHD. Hyperfocus until you find the next thing to hyperfocus on and then completely forget about the previous one. The best way to deal with it* IMHO is to have a long term goal - and a reason why you want to achieve it. The reason should be chosen so that it motivates you to continue with the project. If you cannot think of a good one that will meet that requirement, then consider switching to a p…

What is a really good reason that has motivated you? Can you give some examples? This is the place where I get stuck.

I'm in the same boat and also find that having a good goal can alleviate some of the pains of ADHD. In my case I like to set goals that I can easily visualize and associate with a tangible outcome. That way when I get off track, I can nudge myself in the right direction with reminders of what having the end product would be like.

An example is "implement XYZ paper" -> when you get off track, think about the algorithm running on your computer, how much faster it would be than the previous one, etc.

Re: Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

#112

Post by pengaru »

It's always attractive to create new problems in the face of resolving existing ones. This applies to everything in life.

From what I'm hearing, you're doing the easy familiar shiny new parts then distracting yourself with a replacement doing more of that part when the shine dulls and Real Work begins.

It's like you're breaking up with you girl/boy friend after the honeymoon phase is over, so you can go experience that part again, instead of actually doing the work of a long-term relationship.

This isn't to say it always makes sense to finish whatever you started. Knowing when to cut your losses is an important life skill to develop. But starting projects that are within scope for you to finish in the first place is also an important skill, unless it was just an academic exercise you deliberately started to never intending to finish.

My only advice here is to try improve self-discipline and actually introspect enough on these matters to make starting/cutting losses/finishing conscious choices made after weighing the costs vs. benefits etc. Maybe look into existing guides/literature for improving self-discipline, overcoming adversity, "sticking it through" etc.

Re: Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

#114

Post by xboxnolifes »

keyle wrote: post #39
Ballas wrote: post #12

That is a trait of ADHD. Hyperfocus until you find the next thing to hyperfocus on and then completely forget about the previous one. The best way to deal with it* IMHO is to have a long term goal - and a reason why you want to achieve it. The reason should be chosen so that it motivates you to continue with the project. If you cannot think of a good one that will meet that requirement, then consider switching to a p…

That's a very rash assumption. I'd go easy on diagnosing people with ADHD based on 4 paragraphs when it can be explained with either unrealistic expectations or lack of discipline. I'm not saying it's not ADHD, I'm saying it's a risky thing to imply it.

Does it matter if it is or isn't ADHD if the suggestion works?

Re: Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

#115

Post by junofan »

b800h wrote: post #107
rtp wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this behavior is due to ADHD, then the best way to deal with it is to get diagnosed and then medicated, as medication is a really effective treatment.

"ADD" is so prevalent that it's basically part of normal human variation, and has enormous advantages. The name ought to be changed. I find the knee-jerk suggestion of medication offensive tbh. It's like medicating introversion. The trick is to learn how to use these personality traits to succeed, not to use a chemical cosh to beat yourself into being just like everybody else.

Prevalence in adults is 0.5% to 1%. Around a half of the population is introverted. OP, please see a doctor.

Re: Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

#116

Post by rmholt »

My current approach is document ideas first, group similar ideas and execute them at the same time. For example, throughout the years I've had four or fives ideas for games, I'm writing all of them down in Google keep, thinking of interface, mechanics, etc. This way when I feel productive I can push multiple projects at the same time, (all using the same stack). I can have a doc trail for when I want to come back for a project.

Re: Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

#117

Post by Danjoe4 »

rtp wrote: post #34
Ballas wrote: post #12

That is a trait of ADHD. Hyperfocus until you find the next thing to hyperfocus on and then completely forget about the previous one. The best way to deal with it* IMHO is to have a long term goal - and a reason why you want to achieve it. The reason should be chosen so that it motivates you to continue with the project. If you cannot think of a good one that will meet that requirement, then consider switching to a p…

If this behavior is due to ADHD, then the best way to deal with it is to get diagnosed and then medicated, as medication is a really effective treatment.

After reading 4 paragraphs of text, your first suggestion to OP is to acquire dangerous drugs? This mentality defies common sense, medication should be a last resort.

Re: Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

#118

Post by gremlinsinc »

Ballas wrote: post #12

That is a trait of ADHD. Hyperfocus until you find the next thing to hyperfocus on and then completely forget about the previous one. The best way to deal with it* IMHO is to have a long term goal - and a reason why you want to achieve it. The reason should be chosen so that it motivates you to continue with the project. If you cannot think of a good one that will meet that requirement, then consider switching to a p…

this is me, gpt has sort of fixed me by making it easier and faster to churn out an app before I get bored, but I'm also working on an ai app that's sort of become a passion. I just wish I had another dev to team up with, one with better nextjs/UI skills than me would be nice.

I think finding a real passion to go after can help stay focused, but I've started my app over life 4 times, modeling bits off many open source GitHub repos. im finally close to launching something.

Re: Ask HN: I am overflowing with ideas but never finish anything

#119

Post by Danjoe4 »

Ballas wrote: post #12

That is a trait of ADHD. Hyperfocus until you find the next thing to hyperfocus on and then completely forget about the previous one. The best way to deal with it* IMHO is to have a long term goal - and a reason why you want to achieve it. The reason should be chosen so that it motivates you to continue with the project. If you cannot think of a good one that will meet that requirement, then consider switching to a p…

Hacker News has an obsession with ADHD. Why do you need to tell yourself you have a "mental illness"? Can't we be honest with ourselves and admit that amphetamines make programming easier?
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