Coding and ADHD - Can't Keep Going

This is all me. Its so stark! Classic music and good Jazz also helps, all the time.

Glad you are really coming out stronger with this 🥺

I wish you more strength to code better

I do

Hey Abbey! Thank you for sharing this. I see what you did making it into a series of articles.

I love this series Abbey Perini! I was diagnosed at 30, and this article (and the others in the series) does a great job of explaining what ADHD is and what it isn't.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for sharing! I find podcasts to help me tune out but somedays it doesn't work out still finding ways.

I am in a similar situation (I still have undiagnosed ADHD) with two parents in healthcare who still don't believe me that I have always had and still have serious attention issues simply because I more often than not always find a way to do a little more than "get by".

I'm glad people like you continue to remain vocal about the struggles, realizations, and potential solutions for myself and other people who face a similar situation daily.

Throughout my entire life, I've found slow and hard-won understanding by failing many many times when trying to appropriate typical neurotypical approaches (heh) whilst always seeking to continually understand how my internal disposition was different.

Everyday I just try to improve the quality and rate of my "little wins" while hoping to build them into larger and larger successes over time.

I've personally found some of my solutions to be:

• Body doubling (Discord partner calls)
• Relying on pre-planned visual/auditory cues to guide me to context-shift through the latter part of my workday (device alarms buzzing in different locations to shift me to differently scheduled blocks of time to do different tasks)
• Minimizing distractions when appropriate (system DND/Focus Modes used as needed)
• Changing environments from time to time (coffee shop, library, etc. instead of working at home
• Creating detailed To-Do lists of goals with time-tracking (Logseq), etc.

The information you laid out was easily identifiable, digestible and a fun read.

Thank you for sharing this quality post. :)

I love it, thank you Abbey!

I'm about to discuss the possibility of me being diagnosed with ADHD with my provider soon ^ And can I say, this article was the fresh air I've been craving. I am still trying to bust my way into tech, and this article gave me the confidence to keep moving forward. I always felt helpless and not good enough because I tend to lose focus ALOT, etc.! Thank you for your POVs and inner monolog support.

Thanks for sharing another post!

I've been coping with understanding my ADHD for a few weeks now. Being diagnosed after many many years of misdiagnoses 🥲

It warms my heart to see others are making an effort to understand themselves as well.

And even more to see that people are interested in understanding. Seeing that this post was featured!!!

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ADHD is surprisingly hard to understand. I'm saying that as someone that has lived with it all his life, and even went on to study psychology at university.

May I suggest you share a little bit about Attention Deficit Trait? I think many neurotypicals often suffer from a lot of the same problems as us. In many cases though, environmental interventions can help a lot!

Here's an article by Dr. Edward Hallowell: Overloaded Circuits: Why Smart People Underperform

Here's a small quote:

"Unlike ADD, a neurological disorder that has a genetic component and can be aggravated by environmental and physical factors, ADT springs entirely from the environment. Like the traffic jam, ADT is an artifact of modern life. It is brought on by the demands on our time and attention that have exploded over the past two decades. As our minds fill with noise—feckless synaptic events signifying nothing—the brain gradually loses its capacity to attend fully and thoroughly to anything."

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Hope this helps and adds a bit to the conversation :D

Great article Abbey! I myself don't suffer from ADHD but I still resonate with a lot of the points you mention.

I have my specific blocked times that work for me and anything outside of this is much more of a challenge. I also don't know where I'd be without my music, it helps keep me focused on the tasks at hand during those times. Habits are very important to me also and how I work, and I can only imagine how it would feel to struggle with this.

Thanks for sharing and I'm sure there are many others will appreciate it as well!

I don't have ADHD, but your point about not everyone being able to focus for four hours straight on command is spot on. This is why I need to get up and take short walks. This is why I make blunders in three hours long chess games. And this is why I write buggy code when I've been sitting on my chair for several hours, doing the same thing.

This was a really well written article Abbey Perini. Not sure if I suffer from ADHD but I can get distracted easily. So i'm using focus apps to stay on task as much as possible.

Also don't forget, speak with a therapist so you can possibly avoid some triggers, and because hearing from a professional will often be the push we need to avoid certain foods (if you have a sensitivity to artificial preservatives or gluten for instance) and to exercise.

Also, medication can really help! Even if you have been prescribed one in the past that didn't work for you, a medical professional can find one that may work better for you! There is no need to suffer if a medication could bridge the gap and help you!

My routine;

• Put on a noise cancelation headset and play a lo-fi playlist
• Start with a todo list
• Start time tracker ( in my case a Pomodre app )
  • Integrate your tracker with Apple DND so you won't get distracted
• Last but not least. Leave your phone behind

Bonus: If these don't work. Take 7-8 deep breaths or do a Guided Wim Hof Method Breathing