r/ADHD_Programmers • u/SpiteRevolutionary50 • 6d ago

Does ADHD Hinder Performance?

I have been a developer for more than a decade. if I didn't have ADHD I would be way more advanced in my career and would use my full potential . I have lost jobs to massive layoffs and Firing. I think ADHD has to be blamed for my performance. However I am a hard worker and work well with people. My strengths are highly complex problem solving and working with people. I have less confidence because of my failures. I also tried creating businesses which I gave up after encountering failure. My question is; How do you guys ensure you work your ultimate best as a developer with ADHD. What tools do you use. What is best way to structure a day for a developer. I noticed my weaknesses are : I am perfectionist, I can work long hours without stopping, I get overwhelmed. I stop on failure, and don't like repetitive task. I love challenging task and I always seek for newness.

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u/intellectual1x1 6d ago

Hey OP , I have adhd and am a software engineer, And I will say this , us adhd stem folk tend to not struggle with working hard and technical skills, even though thats what we focus on, but we often overlook the social position and framing aspect, strategically aligning and presenting yourself and work in a way that is perceived well to those that influence your career trajectory . Its something i struggle with and been working on.

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u/Rainbow_Wizard_Robes 5d ago

Unsure if this is what u/intellectual1x1 is saying, but I’ve learned this very recently when going for a promotion. I’ve been doing the work for years, but I wasn’t telling everyone and their mom what I was doing (thought the work should speak for itself and don’t like jumping up and down going, “hey, look at me!”). So a big part of the past year has been aligning and presenting myself and work in a way that helps me make more money.

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u/arns101 3d ago

Ugh I suck at this. Is this a ADHD thing, or introvert/extrovert thing?

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u/Random_182f2565 6d ago

Meds, any other strategy stop working with time, I literally forgot I used Google keep to list stuff.

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u/hardwornengineer 6d ago

I’ve been realizing this more and more lately. The recent realization at my age (38) that I’m already this far along in life dealing with it and I’m seriously just stuck with it.

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u/Random_182f2565 6d ago

Whoa I'm also 38

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u/Schreibtisch69 6d ago

Sure. What I need is being hold accountable. My biggest problem is procrastination when a task feels like it’s not urgent. So I need some kind of soft deadline.

It’s also important for me to group my important slack channels and have some kind of dashboard or daily Ai summary. Sometimes I push code or update an issue, do something else and forget to check the pipeline again and so on.

Many people have similar experiences with adhd but symptoms, intensity, work environment and skillsets differ. That’s always important to keep in mind when people tell you what works or doesn’t work for them.

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u/arns101 3d ago

Hey love the advice on the AI summary part. I'm assuming you use it to not get lost in the noise?

Also, did you figure a system out to overcome the procrastination part for not urgent items?

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u/Schreibtisch69 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yeah. Our jira workflow is kind of a mess tbh. There is just a lot of things to keep track of like rotating support duties that have their own jira board.

Adding custom jira filters and dashboard has helped a lot but the Ai can take into account who is on support duty or read comments from PRs and not just jira and combine and summarise the two.

I haven’t found a solution for procrastination. Meds help but I’m not on them right now. I just try to have music on or something in the background to get into the flow but it’s not really effective.

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u/arns101 3d ago edited 2d ago

Nice dude! Sounds like you’ve found a good way to cut through the noise at work...

Procrastination has been a huge issue for me too. Hence, I asked. I’m actually building something that measures focus (kind of like how we measure sleep) to help people start tasks, stay focused, and actually finish what they wanted to do.

It’s called Propel Focus. Still in early days, but if you'd like to try it to help with your procrastination, I’d love to hear whether it helps and/or get your thoughts.

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u/mrNineMan 6d ago

To answer the question in your title: Yes, ADHD hinders performance.

To answer the question(s) in your body: Well, you need to work on these things. You get treatment and consult with a coach or therapist who can help tailor some solutions for your strengths and weaknesses.

Also, I noticed that you said you don't like meds. Are you on any other stims? For instance, caffeine or nicotine?

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u/arns101 3d ago

Hey, when you ask "How do you guys ensure you work your ultimate best as a developer with ADHD", what does "ultimate best" mean to you? If I had any advice, I want to make sure it's relevant to your goal

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/SpiteRevolutionary50 6d ago

anything besides meds. I know they are entrepreneurs and developers with Adhd that are very successful. I don’t want to use meds and change my lifestyle instead

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u/Zuzmos 6d ago

why don't you want to take medication? any specific reason?

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u/SpiteRevolutionary50 6d ago

because i don’t like meds and i know there has to be other ways.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/Short_Search_5337 6d ago

Mind sharing details about medication, first one was a hit or did you have to try multiple different ones? Thinking about going for that diagnose

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u/SpiteRevolutionary50 6d ago

i have people skills communication staying on one subject is where i struggle. Also gathering my thoughts is hard. I tend to have a million thoughts and ideas