How I Run a Company with ADHD • Hacker News Board

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#441

Post by TeMPOraL » Mon, May 13, 2019, 4:51 PM UTC

jedimastert wrote: post #335

nnq wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> must beware of anyone who is stupid and diligent -- he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always cause only mischief Well, hard-working but not clever people will do useless work and create extra work overloading everyone else. BUT, this happens when they don't have good management and leadership above them, to prioritize and handle them bite-sized pieces, and to set their frame of mind t…

> Well, hard-working but not clever people will do useless work and create extra work overloading everyone else. BUT, this happens when they don't have good management and leadership above them, to prioritize and handle them bite-sized pieces, and to set their frame of mind to focus on "results in the bigger picture". I've always thought of "stupid" as different from "not smart". I can't fault people for not having t…

I have this tab open from a procrastination session some days ago:

http://harmful.cat-v.org/people/basic-laws-of-human-stupidit...

I like the definition of stupid vs. intelligent from there - intelligent person consistently makes win-win decisions. Stupid person consistently makes lose-lose decisions, inflicting loss on other people for no gain for themselves.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#442

Post by TeMPOraL » Mon, May 13, 2019, 4:55 PM UTC

draugadrotten wrote: post #193

empressplay wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Logistics. Finding the simplest and least resource-intensive way of accomplishing something. The laziest (and cheapest) and most clever person will come up with a solution that satisfies both requirements.

Additionally, a lazy person will take any chance at delegating even important tasks to subordinates. This is a good thing, because without delegation, the leader is the bottleneck. If someone else can do it, delegate. "Clever and diligent" people will try to complete the most important tasks themselves to ensure they get done right, thus creating a bottleneck.

I guess I constantly flip between diligent and lazy. That is, I consider myself lazy and love finding tricks to get the job done much faster or automate it away, but I have extreme problems with delegation. For some reason I'm pretty much incapable of asking other people to do something for me. I think it may have come from a mix of empathy and being extremely overprotective of my tinkering/thinking time as a kid. Whenever I consider asking someone for help, I feel like asking them to take the extra workload is infringing on their personal time, which is sacred.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#443

Post by ScottFree » Mon, May 13, 2019, 4:55 PM UTC

cowpewter wrote: post #415

ScottFree wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went the other direction. I had no problem with being called lazy or calling myself lazy. It was a familiar and comforting crutch, like slipping into an old pair of sneakers. I only got B+ on the test? No worries. I could have gotten an A had I actually tried and wasn't so lazy. But, I couldn't be bothered, because I'm lazy. The fact I may have an incurable mental illness (and that I could be branded as such) terri…

Don't consider it an incurable mental illness. It's not a sickness, it's just a genetic variation in how the brain is wired. Having a certain percentage of the population with ADHD was probably an advantage in our evolutionary past. There are a lot of good things that come alongside it, like hyperfocus, greater creative thinking, and an increased ability to multitask. It's only really a big problem in our modern soci…

I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's not about what I think. It's about what the rest of society thinks, especially the legal system and people hiring programmers for jobs. I don't imagine judges look kindly on someone who is officially diagnosed with a mental illness deciding not to take any medication for said mental illness.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#444

Post by TeMPOraL » Mon, May 13, 2019, 4:58 PM UTC

firecall wrote: post #57

ScottFree wrote: post #36

My reaction to this article has been... complex. ----- Bah! Another article about ADHD. ADHD's over diagnosed and not not as big a problem as people make it out to be. But, I'm curious all of a sudden, so I might as well read it. > For the first 19 years of my life I knew I was lazy. Yeah, I'm pretty lazy too. That's just who I am, though. I don't have ADHD... > So what, you can't stop bouncing your leg at the restau…

I have ADHD. There are other serious neurological issues connected to ADHD. It's a very misunderstood disorder with a broad spectrum of identifiable symptoms that could indicate ADHD. If you are heavily medicating with caffeine, then that can be a signal. I was using Pseudoephedrine and caffeine to self medicate and stabilise my moods and behaviours. That was before I got prescribed Ritalin. But as the article says,…

> If you are heavily medicating with caffeine, then that can be a signal. I was using Pseudoephedrine and caffeine to self medicate and stabilise my moods and behaviours. That was before I got prescribed Ritalin.

Does tea count? I dislike coffee; I only drink some when I absolutely need to stay awake (caffeine in energy drinks is another thing, this I like). But ever since I was a kid, I've been drinking ridiculous amounts of black teas every day, on the order of 10-15 cups. I ask because I keep hearing that the stuff in tea is pretty much the same thing as caffeine...

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#445

Post by scruple » Mon, May 13, 2019, 5:00 PM UTC

jordanbeiber wrote: post #168

It’s interesting to see how hard if is to separate ADD from ADHD by a description of traits or behaviors. I have ADD and pretty much recognize myself in a lot of this. It’s almost impossible to focus on anything that is not interesting “right now” and what is “interesting” changes in cycles spanning a few weeks. During a cycle I become completely absorbed, you know, not eat, not sleep and not being communicative, abs…

I see a lot of myself and my own behavior in this comment and I'd love to hear about your experiences on running your family!

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#446

Post by simonebrunozzi » Mon, May 13, 2019, 5:08 PM UTC

jordanbeiber wrote: post #168

It’s interesting to see how hard if is to separate ADD from ADHD by a description of traits or behaviors. I have ADD and pretty much recognize myself in a lot of this. It’s almost impossible to focus on anything that is not interesting “right now” and what is “interesting” changes in cycles spanning a few weeks. During a cycle I become completely absorbed, you know, not eat, not sleep and not being communicative, abs…

> Perhaps I should write about how I run(?) a family with ADD? It would make for a lot of laughs and a some sad stuff.

I would really like to read that - and I hope this doesn't come out as cynical or heartless, I can understand that having ADD comes with challenges. I am simply intellectually curious to hear how someone lives with such a condition.

I also feel/think - but I might be 100% wrong - that many of us have "some" light form of ADD, perhaps driven by our use of mobile devices. Curious to hear if you have any thought about it.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#447

Post by TeMPOraL » Mon, May 13, 2019, 5:11 PM UTC

raducu wrote: post #225

ScottFree wrote: post #36

My reaction to this article has been... complex. ----- Bah! Another article about ADHD. ADHD's over diagnosed and not not as big a problem as people make it out to be. But, I'm curious all of a sudden, so I might as well read it. > For the first 19 years of my life I knew I was lazy. Yeah, I'm pretty lazy too. That's just who I am, though. I don't have ADHD... > So what, you can't stop bouncing your leg at the restau…

It's not that you realize halfway through a meeting you haven't heard anything -- everybody does that from time to time -- it's when you CONSTANTLY struggle to follow what others are saying in a meeting, even when it's an important meeting; most of your peers have no trouble doing that; sure, some will also phase out, but they normally don't. It's on the level of the pot head in your team telling you "Dude, you're my…

I wonder how to judge answers to these questions if you take into account coping mechanisms.

I've boarded a wrong tram a few times. I never did book an airplane ticket wrong because it's a high-stakes thing that I check 20 times (and then few more times next day) just to be sure I didn't screw up. Whenever I feel there's a chance to make a mistake that would be inconvenient, I'm fixating on it and doing it really extra careful - therefore not making the mistake. Same with invoices; I wrote myself software to calculate and I still check everything with a calculator before sending the PDF off.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#448

Post by cowpewter » Mon, May 13, 2019, 5:15 PM UTC

ScottFree wrote: post #443

cowpewter wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't consider it an incurable mental illness. It's not a sickness, it's just a genetic variation in how the brain is wired. Having a certain percentage of the population with ADHD was probably an advantage in our evolutionary past. There are a lot of good things that come alongside it, like hyperfocus, greater creative thinking, and an increased ability to multitask. It's only really a big problem in our modern soci…

I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's not about what I think. It's about what the rest of society thinks, especially the legal system and people hiring programmers for jobs. I don't imagine judges look kindly on someone who is officially diagnosed with a mental illness deciding not to take any medication for said mental illness.

Well, true. I have not disclosed to my job that I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I don't particularly plan to (I wouldn't deny it if it came up, but I'm not going to volunteer the information either). There are more downsides than upsides to disclosure. It's generally recommended to not disclose, especially during the hiring process, unless you truly cannot cope in your job without some sort of ADA accommodation, in which case you must disclose for the ADA to kick in.

Plenty of people with ADHD choose not to take medication though, and I'm having trouble coming up with a situation in which a judge would order you to take it. As long as you're not blaming your ADHD as a reason you broke the law (which you shouldn't, ADHDers may have poor impulse control and bad executive function, but we still need to hold ourselves accountable for our actions), I don't see where it's the law's business if you have it or don't, or medicate it or don't. There are plenty of non-medication coping strategies, including therapy and coaching.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#449

Post by meathouse » Mon, May 13, 2019, 5:24 PM UTC

awesome. great stuff. with all the negative stigma around the ADHD umbrella it was refreshing to read this. in particular the parts showing how little tasks can seem overwhelming to someone with the condition. i struggle with this endlessly. it is by far the worst part for me, and often the hardest for people w/o the condition to understand.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#450

Post by jordanbeiber » Mon, May 13, 2019, 5:29 PM UTC

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #446

jordanbeiber wrote: post #168

It’s interesting to see how hard if is to separate ADD from ADHD by a description of traits or behaviors. I have ADD and pretty much recognize myself in a lot of this. It’s almost impossible to focus on anything that is not interesting “right now” and what is “interesting” changes in cycles spanning a few weeks. During a cycle I become completely absorbed, you know, not eat, not sleep and not being communicative, abs…

> Perhaps I should write about how I run(?) a family with ADD? It would make for a lot of laughs and a some sad stuff. I would really like to read that - and I hope this doesn't come out as cynical or heartless, I can understand that having ADD comes with challenges. I am simply intellectually curious to hear how someone lives with such a condition. I also feel/think - but I might be 100% wrong - that many of us have…

> many of us

Well, it’s a spectrum, isn’t it!

I’ve said it a couple of times already in this thread, all is well as long as daily suffering is at a minimal, for anyone that happens to be involved.

Mobile device (constant access to information specifically) is a big problem for me, that is for sure.

I remember playing computer games competitively impacted me in a really negative way when I was younger as well, much in the same way.

The “feeling” in my brain and mind is pretty similar (phone vs gaming) and it seems to create a really bad disconnect emotionally.

This “disconnect” leads to a kind of apathy and when in that state pretty much nothing of value can happen.

I’m currently making a routine of handing my phone to my partner when at home, as I’m unable to handle it.

There’s just so much interesting stuff all over and “interesting” trumps pretty much everything else, often at the expense of relationships.

For a concrete example I described a typical grocery store situation in another post.