r/ADHD_Programmers

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I'm talking about real-time visual effects in TUI games, demoscene programming, dashboards with cool animations, 3D graphics, and other feats, but these feel like they require a lot of prerequisite knowledge, mathematical intuition, and a deep understanding of efficient systems architecture or a megadose of high octane psychedelics to even write and debug the base framework. I'm wondering what the secret sauce is and how I can add back those IQ points to my brain because I feel I lost quite a handful of them due to being relentlessly bullied for being a nerd growing up.

i feel like cc is the most fun turn based strategy game with infinite outcomes.

i also see that i use cc / vibe code very different to neurotypicals, where they treat vibe coding same as coding, and feel they are approaching vibe coding with a very narrow mindset, often limiting the models to what they know. any neurodivergent/adhd people have similar experiences?

fyi, i was always bad at coding, as i'm dyslexic. not needing to write code and worry about getting the syntax right has been a blessing and allowed me to focus on system design which is something i have always been good at. that me, and would like to hear about other similar experience.

I wear earbuds most of the day for sensory management. Open offices, busy environments, anywhere there's too much input: earbuds plus ANC help a lot.

When an unexpected call comes in and I answer, I'm fine on my end. For the person calling, I apparently sound like I'm in the middle of whatever chaotic space I was blocking out.

Had a quick call with my manager while in an open office. On my end: tolerable, I was in my ANC bubble. On her end: she could hear the entire floor, the HVAC, a conversation two rows over.

Can earbuds actually eliminate background noise on both sides of a call, or does the ANC only fix what the wearer hears while doing nothing for the mic? I need something that works for both because I can't predict when calls come in and I can't always step away.

I've been tracking ADHD medication data for a small project and one thing keeps coming up: people feel like they go into appointments and can't remember what the last 4 weeks actually felt like. They end up guessing.

Like... you sit down with your psychiatrist and they ask "so how have things been going on the medication?" and your brain just goes blank. You try to think back but all you can pull up is maybe one bad day last week and one good moment from two weeks ago. So you piece together some vague answer like "I think it's been okay? Maybe a bit up and down?" — and that becomes the basis for whether your dose gets adjusted or not.

It honestly feels like such a broken loop. The whole point of these appointments is to calibrate something really personal and specific to you, but the data you're bringing in is basically vibes.

I've tried keeping notes in my phone but I forget. I've tried journaling but it feels like too much friction when I'm already struggling with the thing the meds are supposed to help with. I've seen some apps but they either feel too clinical or ask for way too much.

Has anyone actually found something that works — even just a simple habit or a low-effort system? Would love to know what's stuck for people.

Does anyone else completely lose their ability to focus after meetings?

Not during the meeting — AFTER.

I’ve noticed this weird pattern where a 45-minute Zoom call basically kills the next 30–60 minutes of my workday.

I’ll open my laptop to continue working and suddenly I’m:

- checking Slack

- reopening notes

- staring at tabs

- scrolling for no reason

- mentally replaying parts of the meeting

It feels like my brain stays stuck in “conversation mode” instead of switching back into deep work.

I started experimenting with a small post-meeting reset routine:

- quick brain dump

- deciding the next tiny task

- 5-minute focus reset

And honestly it helps more than I expected.

Now I’m wondering:

- Is this a real problem for other people too?

- How long does it usually take you to recover after meetings?

- Do certain types of meetings completely destroy your focus?

Curious whether this is just me or an actual remote-work problem.

I'm a graduate with no job. My hurdles have not being able to start the task and maintain focus to complete the task.. I struggle with executive dysfunction and task paralysis. I'm trying to study but I just can't. What motivated you to study programming? How did you maintain focus.

we were just chatting about uni and exams and we both complained about the same thing with my friend (both adhd). i am in masters and my friend in bachelors, so we hit the wall at different stages but thats not the point. i used to feel super inspired and smart during exams. i used always consider myself to be exam smart and perform really well even though i didnt study enough. and recently, i just lost that inspiration. like in a very recent exam, my mind was all empty. i though maybe this might be about stress but i am not stressed, at least on a conscious level. i know that maintaining success for some time and then hitting the wall is a common thing among this community. but this is more about inspiration (like being able to figure things out even though you didnt know it before, like a clear mind?) and losing it at some point. what do you think about this? do you have any tips on getting that inspiration back?

I currently have about 60 tabs open across three windows.

Every time I try to clean them up, I get this weird anxiety that if I close a tab, I’ll completely forget about that article I wanted to read, or that tutorial I needed for my coding project.

It's like I'm using Chrome as a giant, messy memory buffer. Everyone always says "just bookmark them," but let's be honest, bookmarks are where links go to die. I never look at them again.

How do you guys actually manage this digital clutter? Is there a system to clear your browser without feeling like you're losing important information?

2024 mechanical engineering grad at an aerospace prime. Recently diagnosed with autism and ADHD, and I’m looking for a career with less masking, less constant communication, and a better fit for how my brain works. IT keeps coming up in my research.

I don’t mind a pay cut if it means fewer accommodations and coping skills just to get through the day. Anyone neurodivergent in IT, does it live up to that reputation? Any roles or niches worth looking into?

I created a minimalist wear os watch face with calming colors and focus on the calendar event to help with focus.

Google requires eleven people to test it before I'm able to publish it publicly.

If you are interested in helping out please send me your email address.

When I started to learn programming as a teenager, I absolutely fell in love with it. And I still love it, it's my passion.

But I hate my job. The spaghetti codebases I work on are hot garbage. Our products are ugly and barely functional. Endlessly chasing bugs is genuinely soul crushing. Sometimes I spend more time having to manage and organize my work than actually doing it. And the more I learn about this industry, the more I despise it.

Some people say that software development is great for people with ADHD, but I'm starting to have my doubts. Recreational programming? Absolutely. But working in this industry is so draining.

Can anyone else relate? I'm not sure where to go from here. I spent years torturing myself through university only to end up like this. It would be silly to do something else at this point, but a part of me just wants to run and leave all of this behind.

i dont understand why every app in nowadays have written in electronjs or something like that instead of writing in native. For example if you are using postman, mongodb compass and vs code its already 3 browsers taking your resources. How we end up in a situation like this. Its bloated AF

Ive noticed at my company a trend of hiring a lot of juniors devs or ppl who don’t have dev backgrounds and having them exclusively churn out AI code. I see this as a way to undercut salaries, they hire junior or non-devs and pay a fraction of what they pay mid-senior. My questions are, is this a sustainable model? And how can I as someone with 5ish years experience stand out from this?

From a c-suite/management perspective they are all about cost savings, if they can hire a junior/non-dev using AI to build out their codebase why hire a mid-senior at 2-3x the price?

What is the selling point/secret sauce that warrants paying a mid-senior dev if a junior/non-dev can churn out code now with AI?

Hi, I'm a 16-year-old building a browser tool to make websites less overwhelming for people with ADHD/Autism/Dyslexia. I'm not selling anything — I just want to talk to 5-10 people for 20 minutes each to understand what actually makes browsing hard for you. Anyone open to a quick call or even just answering questions in DMs?

Hey everyone,
I’m writing this while currently trying to untangle myself from a two-hour Netflix loop, so please excuse the absolute lack of formatting, lol.
I don't have an official diagnosis, but the executive dysfunction is real over here. Lately, my biggest enemy is what I’ve been calling the "scroll phase." You know that window of time where you know you have things to do, you want to do them, but you’re just stuck on the couch, doomscrolling or staring at a screen, completely unable to scale the activation wall? It feels like your brain is idling in neutral and someone took the steering wheel.
I’m trying to design a super simple, daily planner worksheet for myself to see if I can trick my brain into actually starting the day. I want something that specifically targets that morning paralysis and helps skip the scrolling phase entirely.
But since my own brain is currently fried, I wanted to ask you guys for some input. If you were looking at a one-page daily worksheet meant strictly to help you break through that initial "stuck" feeling, what would actually help you function?
I’m thinking of things like:
• A tiny section for "The Absolute Bare Minimum" (just one thing to feel a win).
• A tracker for transition times (since moving from the couch to the desk is where I usually lose the battle).
What features or specific prompts would actually make you want to use a worksheet like this, rather than just letting it sit on your desk collecting dust? What helps you smash through the activation wall when you’re deeply stuck?
Would love to hear your thoughts and brainstorm some ideas together!