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Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

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Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#551

Post by gnicholas »

gardnr wrote: post #546
gnicholas wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might check out BeeLine Reader (I am the creator). [1] It's fairly popular in the ADHD community because it enhances visual focus while you're reading. Some people are able to read for 2x-10x as long with BeeLine versus without. I'm always happy to help out HNers with a free code for our browser plugin, just shoot me an email (contact in profile). 1: http://www.beelinereader.com

If you run Lighthouse against that website it will provide actionable suggestions for improving it. More info: https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/overview/

Appreciate it — will take a look!

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#552

Post by 8ytecoder »

fasteo wrote: post #529
nathell wrote: post #348

I’m 39. I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD/AS about 11 months ago, after having seen a psychiatrist complaining about chronic fatigue (cf. my Ask HN from two years ago [0]). Methylphenidate has helped _immensely_. As has accepting the wiring of my brain, taking a two-months sabbatical, and practicing awareness about the ADHD habits. I’m having the year of my life. I can’t remember being productive this consistently basica…

>>> after having seen a psychiatrist complaining about chronic fatigue Is there a causal relation between ADHD and chronic fatigue ?

I have been trying to find information on this - but couldn’t find any real scientific literature. Anecdotally, it’s true for me and my current psychiatrist was the first one to recognise the link and start treating my ADHD instead of the depression and low energy and fatigue that I went to her for. Not there yet. But can confirm that the meds help a lot.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#553

Post by j_heffe »

nonethewiser wrote: post #91
TheRealHB wrote: post #54

The Blinking LED, A simple Hack that still works for me after years: 1. Place a tiny LED (red or yellow) by the side of your monitor or virtually on the screen corner. Basically anywhere almost bordering your field of view. 2. Make it blink like a fast heartbeat (120-150 bpm) and gradually slowdown to around 60 bpm (or your slow heartbeat base). Make the slope approx 20 to 60 minutes (you can adjust the best rate by…

Seems likely to be a placebo. You have a vested interest in it working, admit its not based on any sort of science, and one of the setup steps is to overcome distraction (which is the problem that’s trying to be solved).

I believe there is research into rapid eye blinking followed by slow blinking causing the brain to "calm", so perhaps an external source has a similar effect?

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#554

Post by comprev »

nathell wrote: post #348

I’m 39. I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD/AS about 11 months ago, after having seen a psychiatrist complaining about chronic fatigue (cf. my Ask HN from two years ago [0]). Methylphenidate has helped _immensely_. As has accepting the wiring of my brain, taking a two-months sabbatical, and practicing awareness about the ADHD habits. I’m having the year of my life. I can’t remember being productive this consistently basica…

I was diagnosed a few years back and use the same drug - the difference is night and day for me. Astonishing difference to my life!

When people ask if I'm frustrated/angry that it took until I was mid-30s to get diagnosed, I respond by saying how I'm proud of myself for achieving what I have so far unmedicated/undiagnosed - and excited about what the future might hold.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#555

Post by feydaykyn »

rlemaitre wrote: post #181
Podgajski wrote: post #59

I read that whole thing and didn’t read one word about nutrition? I’ve come along way to understanding the nutritional metabolic pathways that may increase the symptoms of ADHD. Pyridoxine, or B6, is the most studied nutritional factor when it comes to reducing ADHD symptoms. I’m not saying this is the only cause of ADHD, but if this works other things might work as well. Zinc is a good possibility on the list also.…

Hi, author here, Nutrition is very important indeed, but it has always been a problem for me. I wanted to focus on things I tried and worked on me. Of course, it's not perfect, but at least the points I listed made the things better for me. Everybody's different, so it's not a silver bullet, just my personal journey.

The topics you're struggling with would be a great addition to the article, if only so that you can reread it later and check whether it had changed.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#556

Post by rchaud »

smallerfish wrote: post #153

I think Slack is a silent killer of productivity, and terrible for an ADHD brain: You're either "engaged" and "available" (meaning you respond to messages in semi-real-time, pretty much nixing your ability to do deep work) or you feel like you're missing a lot of conversation that's going on behind your back, because you're heads down with Slack closed. Slack is good for (shitty) managers of remote teams, because you…

> There are better tools out there that encourage and support async workflows. Twist, Basecamp, Github discussions, even email with appropriate filters.

And devs will just set up a Slack bot to send an automated ping each time a task status changes in those tools.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#557

Post by rchaud »

LeafItAlone wrote: post #9
hyllos wrote: post #5

Pauses. I am experimenting with basic scheme of 25 mins focus and then 5 mins pause. It is mind blowing how it lowers frustration and sort of ensures that I start work only on a clear task which I often tend to loose to easily. The biggest surprise are the pauses (no, no email checking or web browsing; get up and move around). While formerly I experienced it that I don't have enough time to do what I want to do, I ex…

Sounds like the Pomodoro Technique [0] (also mentioned in the article). Glad it is working out for you! I tried that to help with my ADHD with very little and very fleeting success. 0. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

The classic Pomodoro is said to be 25minn + 5 mins break, which adds up to half an hour, which is a common measurement unit for time worked. I've discovered that for my needs, a 20 min pomodoro with 5 mins rest works better.

The problem is that Pomodoros are hard to count if you hit flow state and find it hard to stop when the timer rings.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#558

Post by m463 »

chownie wrote: post #38
m463 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a book once decades ago about ADHD, and it said lots of children are misdiagnosed with it. One of the very common causes is that kids who don't eat regularly (or eat sugar then crash) will encounter low blood sugar. The body reacts to this by dumping adrenaline in the bloodstream and ... voila ... an excitable kid with little focus.

Between decades ago and now we've recognized that sugar only causes excitableness in children who are prompted (Clever Hans style) by adults who expect such an outcome. The wisdom you're referencing is circa the 70's, it's been attempted many times since and has never replicated.

sigh, the book wasn't blaming sugar.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#559

Post by timsayshey »

TheRealHB wrote: post #54

The Blinking LED, A simple Hack that still works for me after years: 1. Place a tiny LED (red or yellow) by the side of your monitor or virtually on the screen corner. Basically anywhere almost bordering your field of view. 2. Make it blink like a fast heartbeat (120-150 bpm) and gradually slowdown to around 60 bpm (or your slow heartbeat base). Make the slope approx 20 to 60 minutes (you can adjust the best rate by…

Inspired by this post I threw together a new open source desktop app that has an annoying always on top window that has a flashing timer, this seems to accomplish the same thing. https://github.com/timsayshey/cringe-clock

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#560

Post by lostdog »

Aurornis wrote: post #301
Teridee wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At my company, we have daily standups and they throw off my whole morning. I only really work effectively when I am left to it and so have outlook/slack/messages turned off during periods where I am trying to focus - has got me in trouble with management a few times but I am not sure what else i can do. The piece was a good read but its so personal to me that it doesn't really help sadly.

This exact complaint is very common among juniors I’ve mentored: A single meeting can destroy their productivity for hours following the meeting. The most successful advice I’ve found is to find a way to reset after meetings without using your computer . For whatever reason, they’re emotionally drained after meetings. They get back to their computer and reach for Reddit or Twitter or something for a low effort snack,…

I suspect the juniors are taking the meetings too seriously, and getting stressed during the meeting to the point that it's difficult to transition away after.

I've had this problem too. But now that I have more meetings, it's become much easier to transition back to focused work. It's only the occasional more-stressful-than-usual meeting that eats up my attention for hours afterwards.

I don't know what the solution is for most people. I guess this is why some people who transition manager --> IC can be so effective.

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