r/ADHD_Programmers

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 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?

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?

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

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.

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?

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!

college student here I just wanna know how do you guys or say how did you guys learn how to code or program

I took on programming sometime a go and man did I trip over so I want to go for a second time in and lock in this summer

What tools , or strategies did you utilize

i am a dev with over 3 years of experiance. i am currently jobless, and i am trying to grow my programming skills. my ADHD is one of the worst, it does not let me sit properly and focus on one thing, i start new projects basically every week. 80+ github repos, but none of them are useful or technically hard to build.

we the surge in AI tools, being fast is kind of useless now. AI can do what you can do in minutes. it just needs the right context and goal. this is the reality of building tiny, weekend projects.

so, how does this relate to adhd? so much! if you can not focus on one thing, where AI can suffer, your project probably end up in the dumpster. i learned the hard way. 1 year ago, one of my project, out of those, took 6 months, and i saw it grow upto 300 users and 2 paying customers. i suffered while building it, but it thought me focusing on one, single goal project has a much more traction chance. but ofcourse, i couldnt continue that project, cause of my ADHD, and eventually the project become use less and abandoned.

so, how you guys handle focus and adaption to new tools in this light speed industry? i am tired of all AI shit and started learning again, of the fundamentals.

I graduated in 2021 and started full-time work right after. For the first couple years of my career, I didn’t feel the sort of existential anxieties related to work that I feel now. Maybe because of Dunning-Kruger, or maybe because of being more junior, I wasn’t under much pressure from either my team or myself. I took it as a time to learn and be a cog in the wheel, something I was satisfied with after so much schooling and other life things.

As time pushed on, I was still a cog. I had horrible habits and possibly have an attention deficit issue which makes open-ended time and remote work an extraordinarily difficult environment for me to succeed in. I genuinely feel ashamed of how much time I spent at, and outside of, work throwing time away by distracting myself with Reddit, YouTube, and other crap. Partly it’s procrastination, partly it’s bad habits, and partly I didn’t take work as seriously as I should have.

Fast-forward to today, where I’m ~5 years into my career and pretty much all of my peers have grown so much more than I have. I don’t mean this just by title but also my expertise and product impact. When I look at the product my company builds, there’s no conclusion but that I’ve had barely any effect. For my sake of growing and feeling fulfilment as an engineer, I’ve seldom achieved that in the last 5 years and can’t stop mourning how much potential I’ve wasted.

I’ve been at the same company since I started working full-time and have switched teams/tech-stacks three times so far because of decisions not made by me, and decisions I simply went with as riding the wave. While it’s kind of cool that I have some knowledge across multiple stacks, looking back I wish I honed-in on one stack instead.

Where am I now? I had to take some time off work for medical reasons, and on a positive note I’m incredibly proud to say I was able to clean up a lot of my habits during that time, and I have much better, structured days now. But I think this has opened me up to the reflection stage of this where I look back on my past and need to accept that I under-performed. I’ve done some initial hiring manager interviews for other roles and feel like such a fraud talking about projects I contributed to since I believe I was not a critical part of any of them (or if I was, they were tiny, fairly inconsequential projects). I yearn to feel important and contribute something effective. I want to feel fulfilled by knowing I put in honest effort for the sake of myself and my meaning. I think I’m at a turning point now where I have this opportunity to accept the past and move forwards as a better engineer.

I’m wondering if anyone has any advice to share. I realize a lot of this is imposter syndrome and anxiety speaking, but I do know I’ve slacked off and missed out on a lot of growth. I think it’d be helpful to hear from folks who have turned themselves around, either in terms of how they view themselves in a more positive light or just by making pivotal changes and moving on. Maybe I also need to hear that I’m okay and things will be okay. Thank you.

Hi people.

How do you balance the need to learn parts of code/concepts in programming with the need to simply produce in either work or school? I've been leaning heavily on Claude recently, but I have a desire to understand every single part of the code.

I also have this problem where I really struggle with reading. I might have reading comprehension issues. Even with history books I like it's very taxing on my attention to read all of it

I know I’m just another random to you, but I need help please.

Hi everyone, a little background about me: I’m 31 years old, I have about 6 hours a day available for studying after taking care of my children. I have no formal education, but I have good intellectual ability (124 IQ), I have ADHD, and I have exactly 29 months to be earning a salary from my PC (due to family circumstances). All my knowledge can be summed up in a short phase of studying programming with Python for 2 months where I learned the very basics of the language (writing calculators, shopping lists...) and another short phase of studying cybersecurity about basic networking and some distro hopping in Linux where, within the span of a week, I started with Ubuntu, moved to Pop_OS, then to Kali (as a daily driver lol), then to Debian, and finally installed Arch without the graphical installer, but with help from AI. After that I learned about Linux: users, permissions, and not much more. I almost only talk to AI, I’m not very social anymore, in fact this is my first interaction on Reddit. I could give a whole book of context about myself, but I’m trying to summarize in case someone can help me.

I have an INTP profile within the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: systemic thinking, logical-deductive reasoning, detection of inconsistencies, and orientation toward optimization/improvement of systems (in case it helps to recommend an area, my brain literally works like that).

Honestly, from the extreme ignorance I’m in, I like code, I like everything I’ve learned (only theory), “all” sectors appeal to me, and with the rise and development of AI lately I feel devastated... why study something that even a senior with experience can’t get job interviews in? why bother learning a language when an AI can already write the code with a simple prompt?.. between the progress of AI and the downturn in the job market I no longer even know what to aim for...

If I’ve managed to identify one clear problem, it’s that I create wonderful and super efficient study roadmaps, but when monotony sets in I quit. I learn much better by doing things on the go, like those people who say “when I started my job I didn’t even know a single Linux command,” but of course things don’t work like that anymore, unfortunately for me... I could create a project, I don’t know which one, but I know I would learn a lot while doing it, yet I don’t know what to do or why I should do project “x” and not another one... I feel very lost.

What draws me the most is cybersecurity, AI, data, and almost any option that AI suggests to me; the problem comes when I literally don’t understand the terminology or the jobs and what they involve (even if I dig deeper, it feels like starting to learn from the leaves of a tree, when I should be reaching the root to understand it).

I’ve practically stopped playing everything, I’m only focused on studying this (what exactly?) and I can’t find my path... I feel that if I found “that” thing that hooks me, I would become a master, but how do I find it? where do I head? why there?

I just want to find my path, be sure that it is mine, and work my head off on it, I’m not lazy at all. I guess ADHD makes everything harder...

I’m not some sales guy who tells AI in a prompt to create a website for a local business and then sells it... I want to be good in my area of knowledge and be able to contribute to the community over time and help others.

Feel free to roast me if thats what you feel like but ill be grateful if you can give me some advice or direction.

Thanks for reading all of this! 😃

Here are some strategies that I have used through out my life. Some are everyday ADHD tips others if you are struggling with getting out of bed. I hope these help?

Sleep speaker insert- I find I need to listen to something to fall asleep or go back to sleep. Since I have a partner, the TV is not an option. I bought a small flat speaker that goes into your pillow and connects to your phone or tablet and allows you to listen as you lay on your pillow.

Weighted blanket- I get hot easily, so I have a cooling one. I use this blanket and my partner uses his own comforter.

A bed kit- keep these items in a drawer or basket beside your bed. Facial wipes, waterless toothpaste, floss picks, moisturizer , sugar free mints for dry mouth and bodyspray, a small trash can.

Mouthwash-keep it on the bathroom counter and when you wash your hands just use it.

Keep lights of or night lights- when you need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, keeping the lights off prevents you from interrupting your sleep cycle.

Breathable/non-restricting clothes- I have moved on to an era where I prize comfort over trying to dress in certain styles. PJ's that are soft and made out of bamboo, wireless bras-they make some great ones that are comfortable. I love long airy dresses and easy to slip on shoes.

Groceries- I have always hated grocery shopping. I signed up for Wal-Mart plus IN HOME delivery. This is slightly more than Wal-Mart plus. You choose a day of the week for your groceries to be delivered. So mine had become a habit, like every Thursday night I order groceries. Wal-Mart stores the items you buy regularly. So every week you just reorder the items off your list. They deliver the groceries in a temperatured controlled van and they will either bring into your house and put them in the fridge or just leave them at your door, whatever you choose and there is no tip. They are also like Amazon with all the products you can buy. Some items you can get the same day. Also, you can have items delivered immediately, if you forget something. This service has drivers you tip. They also have a premium food line called Better Goods and everything is excellent. Like mushroom truffle pizza.

Food- just pay the extra money and get pre-cut fruit, salads, etc. It is better than wasting food. I try to have a food type for each day of the week to help me plan. Like Sundays is pizza, Monday soup and salad. This prevents you from over thinking and just finding something you like.

Routine-One "baseline task" per day. Make bed, wash 1 dish, read 1 page. These are my Anchor Activities things I do daily no matter what. But anchors alone get boring fast, especially for a low-dopamine brain. So I pair them with Novelty Activities that rotate daily something small and different each day like a 5 min walk, journaling, or a cold splash on my face. The novelty is what keeps your dopamine just high enough to stay engaged without overstimulating it. I use Soothfy for this, it builds both anchors and novelty into a personalized daily routine based on your energy level and schedule.

Designated spot for shoes, keys and anything I need to take with me when I leave. Shoes go in a basket right by the door and I take them off as soon as I walk in. Keys are by the door on a hook with my purse.

These are things that come to mind immediately. Let's help each other be successful this year. Feel free to state anything you are struggling with and let's see if we can help each other by sharing tips or strategies that can help you. My biggest challenge right now is making doctors appointments.

I just quit my last job to become a solopreneur.My brain is always full of ideas to begin with. I turn on my laptop wanting to get things done for the day, only to get sidetracked by random stuff, clicking around and looking at different things. In the end, I get absolutely nothing done. Just like that, the day is gone—actually, the whole week is gone. Is freelancing simply not suitable for people with ADHD?

My

TL:DR; AI is a double edged Katana and I am toddler trying to learn how to use it. For the better or worse need to learn how to yield it (and for the good) without destroying myself in the process.

I am going through an existential crisis, combined with multiple crises at once. Back in 2023/2024, a friend said I should give ChatGPT a try (he is not a SWE but does sys admin). He was telling me how it generates code. I'd seen the odd post about it too. I was very sceptical. It was primitive but it generated code which I didn’t think was possible. Even then At that point I assumed we were a very long time away from it being able to take jobs.

2+ years later, I am completely wrong. I tried to stay away. I tried telling myself it's not good enough. But each iteration of the foundational model, I am left dumbfounded by how advanced it gets. I should add... I work in Data Science and have an MSc in Data Science. Even then, I didn't quite anticipate how rapid the progression would be.

Even as recently as 2-3 months ago, I was sceptical. Mind you, I hadn't fully tried Claude at the time. I kept turning a blind eye to it. I had been using AI quite extensively, primarily for documentation. In the meantime, I'd seen people produce AI slop that made me want to pull my hair out. Then my company upgraded the models we could access. The moment of realisation came when it provided a plan to a solution I'd been stuck on. It gave four solutions. 3 out of 4 were things I'd already considered architecturally. The fourth I hadn't really given much thought. That was the moment I entered a new crisis point.

I realised that the seeing AI advances from 2024 to 2026 are (anecdotally speaking) means that I may be witnessing death of Moore's Law.

As a millennial who's been through dial-up, the WWW, and years of programming, I have begrudgingly given way to native JS -> jQuery/YUI -> Angular -> React, CSS -> SCSS, static JS -> NPM, and from static deployments to IaaS, automation, CI/CD. There was a time I actually built whole native frameworks and libraries to address specific requirements for a company.

Then, 2-3 weeks later, new foundational model versions dropped. I also need to add that my mental health took an even deeper dive. Being AuDHD doesn't help either. I've been getting such a dopamine rush because I can now quite confidently multitask. Let one agent debug a piece of code, while another plans documentation, another plans test cases, another does initial code reviews, and another does research into a topic. So these foundational models are probably one of the worst things to happen to me. I have been losing sleep over it. I am still grappling with it.

I'm also having this realisation that it'll probably get a lot worse before it gets better.

I am self-reflecting…
The point of all this is that the world is changing, the way electricity changed it, or the steam engine, or the printing press before all of that.

I guess, as software engineers, we have to make a choice about what kind of engineer we want to be. Ultimately, you are responsible for what it does. Think of it this way, you can choose to use an NPM package or write something yourself. You can delegate that responsibility to some obscure package. But if it ends up having a critical vulnerability, that is your responsibility. I'm not saying you should write your own library. Quite often you don't want to reinvent the wheel. However, there is a difference between blindly using a package and doing due diligence, making sure the package has enough long-term support. That is your responsibility.

I bought a typewriter from 60s and bought an analog camera and started reading books. To keep myself going crazy and stupid.  It's kind of easier to blame AI. FYU I am still blaming AI. I haven't gone through the full process of grieving what is happening to me.

The hard truth I am confronted with is… who do I want to be? How do I want to work? What is my purpose in all this? Should I continue in tech, or should I give up and start a farm somewhere?

Equally, I can see the benefit. I can do tasks and engage in things that would have taken me far too long before. I am able to translate what's in my head into something more tangible. There were many days and weeks I spent scouring obscure documentation or configs for WebPack or K8s specs, trying a million different things to fix something. With my ADHD, I hated every second of it. On the flip side, with AuDHD, I now have a co-worker who never gets tired of my questions, who can vibe with me any time of the day without ever getting frustrated. It has so much power for good.

So honestly, I don't have any answers right now. I feel like, with everything else I'm going through, it'll probably get worse (inversely correlation between mental health and LLM benchmarks) before it gets better for me

For now, I probably try and do all the Leet codes / Euler challenges by hand on paper just so that I can convince myself that I am able to code. I bought a typewriter from 60s and bought an analog camera and started reading books. To keep myself going crazy and stupid. 

It's kind of easier to blame AI. FYI, I am still blaming AI. I haven't gone through the full process of grieving what is happening to me.

Typing a reflection feels like writing a report.

So I don't do it.

Voice, though? I can ramble while pacing, driving, doing dishes. No screen, no "sit still and format your feelings."

But here's what I don't know: does the novelty of voice wear off as fast as everything else?

If you've tried voice journaling (voice memos, an app, whatever), did it last longer than text for you? Or did you eventually stop talking to yourself too?

Not looking for a miracle habit. Just wondering if the lower friction actually helps or if I'm just chasing another shiny thing.

Thanks.

The book helped me a lot. - ADHD 2.0: New Strategies for Successful Living for People with Attention Deficit Disorder.

i’ve been going through a rough few months(years) and was feeling very lost for a while. recently started an IOP program, got diagnosed, and realized it’s part of why i’ve been struggling in college so much

things have been looking up, though, and i’ve finally made my first open source contribution! i’ve shared the news with my friends and partner, but i feel like you guys would understand me best haha…

thank you all for inspiring me! (and PS, check out late.sh i promise we’re chill :p)