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The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

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Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#51

Post by ErigmolCt »

lemming wrote: post #6

An online application of this principle is Focusmate, where you schedule calls with essentially random strangers and just work together. There's very little chit chat and it's not some weird front for a hookup scheme. I've been amazed at how well it works for me. I can't really explain why, after all the other person can't see my screen so I could just be doom scrolling YouTube the whole time, but for some reason I d…

I've used it for writing sessions and just knocking out random life admin stuff I've been avoiding forever. Definitely not something I use every day, but when I'm stuck, it helps way more than I expected

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#52

Post by ErigmolCt »

rpgwaiter wrote: post #21

I’m sure this works for some people. Personally I loathe social interaction of any kind, and mixing that with engineering gets me to my mental/emotional limits much faster. On my own I can work about 2 hours on and 10 mins off, sometimes for 10+ hours total. If I have a 2 hour collab coding call, that’s about all I’ll do that’s productive that day. I’l literally have to spend the rest of that day mentally recovering…

Honestly, your solo workflow sounds super efficient. If you've found a rhythm that lets you focus and stay productive without burning out, that's gold.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#54

Post by zeristor »

N2yhWNXQN3k9 wrote: post #5
zeristor wrote: post #2

Strangely I’ve found myself to be something like 400% more productive when pair programming. I’ve not heard anyone mention this aspect of paired programming for people with ADHD, although as a colleague once mentioned I jump from one thing to another, but in the end I’ve done the loop.

There is very little evidence for this. IMO, it is feel good advice that sounds right. Try background noise of any sort, until you find a fit. I can't pay attention to anything anymore without noise. A little rumble in thy ears does wonders. I severely question anecdotes that pair programming does anything other than motivate you to not look like a moron wasting time in front of someone else (in the context of ADHD -…

Good points.

Meds. They never quite worked for me, others have noticed a change, but not me; and the side effects became too intrusive.

Working under pressure, I guess this is an issue for me. As mentioned it can be a load on the person you’re pairing with, but so often I can unlock skills pairing with someone that neither of us can ordinarily access.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#56

Post by pydry »

lurkshark wrote: post #28
rpgwaiter wrote: post #21

I’m sure this works for some people. Personally I loathe social interaction of any kind, and mixing that with engineering gets me to my mental/emotional limits much faster. On my own I can work about 2 hours on and 10 mins off, sometimes for 10+ hours total. If I have a 2 hour collab coding call, that’s about all I’ll do that’s productive that day. I’l literally have to spend the rest of that day mentally recovering…

Whenever I read about pair programming as a standard technique (like XP) it sounds so great in theory but in practice I find it extremely draining whenever I’ve dabbled.

If you have psychological safety and develop a bond of trust with the person it is far less draining. Those things need to be developed and the working environment needs to make them possible, though.

I find that the fact that I rarely get stuck for long and the mistakes I make tend to get caught more quickly makes pairing vastly more productive in practice.

The productivity isnt directly in the speed of code output but the compounded effect over time of it being higher quality - meaning vastly less time doing post hoc debugging, bugfixing, reworking code, etc. It is invisible over the space of one or two tickets, visible over weeks and overwhelming over months.

At one company my pairing team routinely (and quietly) worked 9-3:30pm or 4pm while the surrounding nonpairing teams worked overtime and still delivered way less. If you can nail it it really is almost unreasonably effective.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#57

Post by phito »

zeristor wrote: post #2

Strangely I’ve found myself to be something like 400% more productive when pair programming. I’ve not heard anyone mention this aspect of paired programming for people with ADHD, although as a colleague once mentioned I jump from one thing to another, but in the end I’ve done the loop.

I’ve never really understood the hype around pair programming. In practice, it’s usually just sitting with a coworker who wants to chat and crack jokes while working. That’s fine socially, but I don’t see any productivity gains.

What I find actually useful is a short, focused meeting with the relevant people before coding. That way, we align on what’s being built, resolve confusion, and then I can just go write the code.

Once I'm typing, I don’t see how having someone else there helps. It mostly just gets in the way — we keep having to stop and explain what we're thinking, which slows things down. And usually the other person gets confused at some point, so I have to stop and explain things again to get them back on track.

Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done

#59

Post by Tabular-Iceberg »

This is where remote work goes off the rails, but then it’s wild how intentionally isolating the implementation of RTO that many large corporations are doing now.

They line people up in rows, put headphones on their heads and wire them up to Teams and Jira to spend the whole day in isolation. Because taking a walk to another floor of building to talk to someone like a normal human being is too wasteful, but somehow forcing everyone to spend hours commuting isn’t.

It’s the worst of both worlds.

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