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
#2Strangely 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.
Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done
#3Strangely 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.
Absolutely same experience. It's quite draining but extremely effective.
Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done
#4Couldn't see anything but the menu
Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done
#5Strangely 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 -- there are other uses for it).
That isn't a viable strategy for growth, imo.
Also, if you are new to taking stimulants, you might be surprised how much worse it gets later in life, especially if you have been taking them since youth. There is a non-zero cost (I would say a sacrifice) to treating ADHD with amphetamines or other dopamine reuptake inhibitors / dopamingenics.
If you doubt this, there is very little mention of body doubling in literature outside of blogs:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%20%22Body%20Doubling%...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Body%20Double%22%20...
Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done
#6An 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 don't. I don't use it all the time, but when I need to get something unappealing done I still use it. I've also used it for exercise, and I've had partners use it for all sorts of weird things that they had been procrastinating. I highly recommend it, I thought it would be far weirder than it turned out to be, and it's really useful.
Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done
#7Yep, my sister makes fun of me that her mere presence makes me more productive. (when I shared an apartment with her in my early thirties) she'd sit in my room just chatting to me and I would tidy and clean without her doing anything, whereas I'd been meaning to do that for months.
I suggested the idea of a responsiblabuddy website today to my wife – if we're both in the same town I'd commit to coming to your house on Saturday and you'd commit to coming to mine on Sunday and I'd finally tidy my shed / weld those batteries / list those items on fb marketplace etc. Then I realised I'd need a responsabilabuddy to get me to start and finish the website!
There was a guy running a co-working space in Dublin (Ireland) who would open it up on the occasional Sunday for "Sideproject Sundays" which I found great for focus.
Edit: there are no search results for "responsiblabuddy", I know I didn't come up with that term
Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done
#8Strangely 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.
Pair programming flummoxes me because I find it significantly harder to concentrate when someone's watching. It's like having that execrable old Visual Basic feature where it flags up syntax errors if you cursor off a line, forcing you to correct the errors before moving to a different line. Except now implemented with a smelly human flagging up the errors!
I get it. XP, and Agile in general, is all about relying less on individual programmers' focus on the task and more on external checks (a shoulder surfer and automated tests). The revolution of software development in the 21st century is building more effective teams rather than relying on super-productive individuals (the fabled 10x engineers). But I don't have to like working that way, and I don't.
Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done
#9An 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 could have written this. I have ADHD and I've done 500+ FocusMate sessions in the last year. I've found it sticky and helpful like nothing else I've ever tried, and I can't even explain why. It just feels like some kind of brain hack.
Re: The ADHD body double: A unique tool for getting things done
#10Strangely 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.
Absolutely same experience. It's quite draining but extremely effective.
That kind of aligns with Guy Steele's experience pair programming... with Richard Stallman: "My first thought afterward was: it was a great experience, very intense, and that I never wanted to do it again in my life."