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robmerkion Ask HN: Thoughts on Corporate Spyware on WFH Laptops?

I would look for a new job if my employer was pushing productivity surveillance software on any equipment I was using.

Generally if you think monitoring your employees' work habits is going to boost productivity, you have larger issues within your company.

robmerkion Ask HN: What weird or hard problems are you trying to solve?

I was very fortunate to meet some of the people I spoke to. Here's a few off the top of my head:

- Circus clown/performer

- Microsoft senior engineer (or whatever they call them these days)

- ADHD coach

- A few CEOs

- Product designer

- Habits coach

There are a few more who wanted to stay anonymous, but you get the idea. The most interesting part was how similar all of the success stories were. I think ADHDers have a lot more in common than we think.

robmerkion Ask HN: What weird or hard problems are you trying to solve?

It sounds like you're already on the right track. Meditation and mindfulness are the foundation of building the right strategy. I'm still so appalled how neither my therapist nor my ADHD specialist doctor ever told me to go beyond medication.

robmerkion Ask HN: What weird or hard problems are you trying to solve?

I'm writing a book about ADHD: https://adhdpro.xyz/

Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of infantilizing in and around the ADHD sphere. Either we're treated like helpless children or we are encouraged to lower our expectations/goals.

It's hard to explain unless you've been open about having ADHD, or have been part of the community. The zeitgeist revolves around accepting and maintaining a status quo. The problem I'm trying to solve is how to build a growth/thriving lifestyle despite an ADHD diagnosis.

robmerkion Ask HN: How's your quarantine side project going?

Thanks for the heads up!

robmerkion Ask HN: How's your quarantine side project going?

Yes they are, surprisingly so. The most surprising fact was interviewing many different people who all had similar ways of handling it.

I haven't had a single stressful or anxious day since I started, yet I've almost finished writing the entire book and it only took me 30 days.

robmerkion Ask HN: How's your quarantine side project going?

What's the project? Maybe some feedback can kickstart your interest.

robmerkion Ask HN: How's your quarantine side project going?

Is this based on Amazon's affiliate scheme, or someone else? Got a link?

robmerkion Ask HN: How's your quarantine side project going?

I've been steadily writing my book about ADHD: https://adhdpro.xyz/

I posted on my blog a few times about my struggles with ADHD, and the response was enormous. I had over a dozen DMs on LinkedIn asking me for advice. It turns out very few people talk about building ADHD specific productivity strategies. The market gap was there so I started writing.

I wrote an average of 1,000 words every day in June. It's the first project I've ever created totally solo and I'm almost done.

robmerkion Ask HN: How's your quarantine side project going?

This is really slick. Your share toolbar on the left does block the content a little

robmerkion Finishing a side project

I'm glad this person has found something that works for them, but I think there is something far more simple yet harder to track down. None of these "brain hacks" are going to fix the underlying problem of long term motivation. Many have said it's a discipline issue. I disagree. I'm very undisciplined with my gym habit yet I still show up 5-6 times per week. I go very often, but because I want to, not because I'm "forcing myself".

I've been studying how this affects people with ADHD for my book. Everyone I've interviewed concludes in some way or another that there needs to be a far deeper, compelling reason to do something for them top do it long term.

Discipline is just a routine way you develop to execute something. Some people (usually not those with ADHD, I've found) are able to continue riding the wave of discipline until the project is complete, but they are doing so despite wanting to do other things. Is the conclusion that you have to suffer through some unhappiness while "forcing yourself" to complete projects?

robmerkion CZI Engineer Tells Zuckerberg to Resign at a Company Town Hall

The slow but steady march of negative PR towards Zuck seems to have caused huge problems for their hiring efforts. I don't know a single engineer that would want to work for Facebook, despite them being bombarded with FB recruiters.

robmerkion Google is losing interest in Android

This seems like a larger overall malaise with Google. I'm an outsider, but it seems like everything they have done lately has been a dud. Stadia, their 10 different messaging apps, Zoom dominating Google Hangouts...

robmerkion My Simplicity Focused Website Tech Stack

I'm specifically enjoying Fathom and Netlify. Both tools seem to be created with superior UX in mind.

robmerkion Ask HN: What did you make during lockdown?

I'm half way done my book about ADHD: https://adhdpro.xyz/

I spent a tremendous amount of time researching and interviewing. It's bizarre how rare practical information is for dealing with ADHD despite the extensive research.

robmerkion Apple rejects appeal from email app Hey

Then they should enforce this policy across the board. There are many examples of other apps doing what Hey is doing, without this charade.

robmerkion I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

Is this a fair "tier list"?

Most helpful: Sleep

Somewhat helpful: Meditation

A little helpful: Low-carb diet, Hydration, Exercise

robmerkion I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

Other than meds, did you do anything else that was helpful?

robmerkion How I Started Reading 10 Hours Every Week

I respect this opinion, but I suspect you have an easier time getting started than I do. Whatever works.

robmerkion Reddit rolls out community currencies on Ethereum

You are absolutely right, which is why I was "hoping". I just had an awful experience with a power tripping moderator on a mental health related subreddit. I have no recourse, I just had to move on.

robmerkion Reddit rolls out community currencies on Ethereum

Hopefully this can incentivize for better moderation. Many subreddits have become the empires of power hungry "volunteers" who carefully prune wrongthink content.

robmerkion Ask HN: What's your quarantine side project?

https://adhdpro.xyz/

It's a book for adult professionals who suffer from ADHD & distractions. The literature for ADHD is mostly geared towards parents or is too scientific.

I'm writing down all of the strategies and tips that I have learned from countless therapists, doctors, specialists, friends, and articles.

robmerkion A first look at Unreal Engine 5

I love the Unity's efforts with ECS, but how many games would benefit from it?

robmerkion A first look at Unreal Engine 5

I am always skeptical of tech demos like this, but if Epic has truly created a way to show full quality assets at runtime without manual LOD / optimization, then this is going to be a huge process improvement for game development. Same goes for this lighting. Baking lights is such a burden, if they can simply do all of this at runtime then making beautiful games just became that much easier.

They also bought Quixel, which gives all of these photo realistic assets to any Unreal Engine developer (even if you're some kid building a game for free). Not sure how Unity can keep up with this.

robmerkion Tailwind: A Utility-First CSS Framework

Please give Tailwind a try before knocking it. The syntax seems strange, but after 15 minutes you'll be in love. It doesn't work for every project, but it's a great tool to have in your arsenal. I've been following Adam and Steve on Twitter for quite some time, and these guys are total pros.

robmerkion PickTrace (YC S15) Helps Farmers Manage Their Harvest

Can't believe this didn't already exist. Grats!