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Comment by psion | Hacker News Reader

While I don't seem to have all the information here, what I do have is enough to make a really good suggestion. I have some of the same issues with goofing off and such like that. So with this, a couple of questions.

1. Do you find yourself avoiding work you don't want to do outside of the job? 2. Was this a problem in school? 3. Have you talked to a doctor about this?

Number three is the most important. I have ADHD, and it sounds like you might too. Go see your doctor as soon as you can. Once you know what's going on, you can make yourself a plan to improve yourself.

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I'm not saying this is what you're suggesting, but I also feel like medicating people with amphetamines so they can be 120% productive 40+ hours of week is also not the solution to everything

We're humans and especially those of us with curious brains, we get bored easily doing the same unstimulating tasks over and over again

Maybe it's fine if he does what he needs to do in 3 hours and slacks off for the rest of the day, if it's enjoyable to work with him, and does what he is paid for, I only feel like this 'work yourself to the bone to make someone else rich' culture has created all this pent up guilt

I agree that you shouldn't work yourself to the bone for someone else's profit, but ADHD can be insidiously crippling, at least for me.

Seeing a doctor and getting medication (I don't take amphetamines) has been super helpful for everything from feeling better about my work and being more productive, to handling day-to-day life. The biggest improvement is just in conversation/meetings/engaging with people, where I don't find myself wondering about bizarre hypotheticals instead of paying attention to the topic at hand.

Might be TMI but your "bizarre hypotheticals" triggered me.

What often occurs in conversations in my life is... We chat, we disagree on a random point and the second we start arguing it, my brain brute forces every single path possible. What if they say this? Then what if I say that, or this, or even that? And it keeps on branching out.

Eventually I come back to the chat, after what seemed like an eternity but was in fact a couple of seconds, and I am bored and dismissive because I know where the arguements will lead, and they do go one of these paths 99% of the time.

> my brain brute forces every single path possible. What if they say this? Then what if I say that, or this, or even that? And it keeps on branching out.

To me this just sounds like intelligence. Not a disorder.

Yes I agree if it's impacting life so much then it's best to follow the doctor's recommendations, that's why I wanted to be a bit careful with my comment to not sound dismissive to those who genuinely need help

ADHD and WFH have basically been a death sentence for me in regards to my output and velocity. Some days are good, some days are horrible. As someone who received their ADHD diagnosis at 22 (well after I fumbled through a CS degree wondering if I was a moron, while also working part time at startups) it changed my life. Ignorant people will say "nobody needs stimmies" but 5mg Adderall has legitimately changed my life and given me another 3/4 of mental capacity back.

I've been extremely lucky with WFH actually significantly improving my productivity. My ADHD in an office environment was significantly worse. Coworkers coming to talk to me, overhearing conversations from the break room, unlimited free snacks, etc. I'm also fortunate to be able to have a dedicated space at my home to use for work so I can still have that "disconnect" at the end of the day.

Good thing you live in <current year>, I guess you would have been screwed if you lived in a society before Adderall and ADHD existed, eh?

They might have been perfectly okay in the Manhattan Project doing varied but unplanned fast-paced research, as a WWII fighter pilot, doing subsea welding for the oil industry, being a scout in any number of military forces, being a professional athlete on the bleeding edge of rock climbing and so on.

I think the rise of ADHD as a common impediment correlates very strongly with a society that has few good career options for people who have these neurological variations.

Yeah having the same device, software, and websites I use for work also able to connect to things I use for not work does not help my ADHD.

I'd likely be a chemist or a plumber in those days. Quite frankly, I'd likely be happier today if I was a plumber - however although I really liked chemistry, I'm glad that's not my occupation since a friend of mine has a PhD in chemistry from Stanford and has been unemployed since graduation.

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