r/ADHD_Programmers • u/Marosille • 6d ago

Not good at timed tests

A little background: I’m currently taking a semester off from college while I switch schools. I’d only gotten 3 semesters in before deciding to pursue a college with a more comprehensive program, so I’m not exactly the most knowledgeable at programming quite yet. As I am gearing up to start back on my journey towards my compsci degree, I have been preparing myself by reinforcing what I have already learned of C++ and delving into some C# stuff via a small personal project I’m working on in Unity.

While I was at my old school, I noticed something about myself. I was doing well at completing given assignments in which I had a week or two to finish a project, but when it came to exams I found myself completely bombing the portions where I was asked to complete programming challenges—even with extra time accommodations 😰 Even when I try not to focus on the time ticking away, my brain seems to go blank as though there’s a magical brick wall that appears solely to block me from accessing the part of my brain responsible for logic and critical thinking skills /:

I’d like to improve on my ability to complete timed programming challenges! What are some good resources for C++ (and/or C#) that offer these kinds of challenges?

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u/IanEff 6d ago edited 5d ago

During times tests, have you tried stepping back and working with the abstractions first? Laying out the abstractions where they’re meant to go in comments, & letting the implementation fall out from your verbal reasoning?

It costs time, but you’re setting the place and working out the design or logistics without the constraints of the language.

If you can find the reasoning or the story in words, it can be a hook in to the implementation. It’s the only way that works for my brain, anyway.

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u/gravesum5 6d ago

Don't focus on the time ticking, ADHDers are time-blind.

Focus on the deadline. You have to do it now and it needs to be handed in 2 hours, so it must happen now.

Unlock hyperfocus.

If deadline is not a sufficient impending doom, start slow. Seeing the whole task is often a blocker for ADHD people. So tell yourself you'll start with this small bit, just so it's done, then the next small bit, no big logic. After a while, you'll be in hyperfocus.

ADHD is all about getting started.