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sfriedrich

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55yo progammer here - ADHD on Dexedrine as a kid.

There are lots of ADHD type folks in programming. Even though you are more distractible, you can also learn to hyper-concentrate. As you age you have to take care of your concentration and explicitly protect it.

Things to checkout: 1. Coffee or other caffeine sources. ADHD brains are usually calmed by stimulants (up to a point).

2. Keto (http://reddit.com/r/keto). Brains run much better on ketones, often ADHD symptoms decrease. Also, many programmers are fat from poor eating habits.

3. Foam earplugs or a set of shooter's earphones - while music can block out distractions; it can also keep you from obviating problems instead reducing you to merely solving them. Silence is your friend. (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3D...)

4. Study or work environment free from visual distraction.

5. Learn about flow. Your hyper-concentrating ADHD brain will achieve it. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology))

best of luck, steve

In addition to the distractibility for which it is most known; ADHD folks are often capable of super-concentration for periods of time. This is why you often find them in occupations that benefit from this capability... programming being chief among them.

Self medication with mild stimulants like caffeine is also common.

Is anyone else tired of pcworld acting as an astroturfing proxy for M$? I've noticed over and over in their sequences of (multiple) stories that they ALL start out slightly positive and then follow-on stories turn negative... as if they only wanted to appear thoughtful and neutral but actually purposefully lead to sour conclusions.