The second time I dropped out of college. I wasn't sure why at the time, but I just couldn't manage to keep myself motivated and interested. Later on I was diagnosed with ADD and all my school problems made sense, but at the time, I thought that since I'd tried and failed twice to get a computer science degree, I wasn't qualified to be a developer.

And now I have a degree and a dev job and I know what's actually wrong with my brain and how to deal with it.

How do you deal with your ADD?

Would appreciate any explanation on what has worked for you

Adderall I guess.

.

@ihatecomputers @rusty-hacker

Therapy and medication (not Adderall; I also have anxiety so I can't take stimulants) were a good start. Helped me get an Associate's Degree. Aside from that, I also found the right kind of job. I'm a DevOps Engineer or SRE or whatever the current buzzword is, doing cloud infrastructure deployment rather than application development.

I'm typically working on multiple projects at once and my involvement usually lasts a few weeks instead of months. So I'm constantly working on something new.

I hate this looser syndrome. As someone with ADD I have to put double the amount of energy into something to make it happen. And i'm still 40% slower than others in completing a task. I've been more unemployed than i've been at work.
It's really tiring constantly fighting yourself to fit into. The only positive thing at ADD is, that i think of myself that i can come up with creative ideas from a different angle/view than the average.
I wish you more luck on your journey.
Good choice with devops!

@heyheni I was diagnosed as a kid with adhd and I’ve had friends (quite a bit) tell me that I can switch conversations abruptly and get distracted. I can zone in when I code tho or get fixated on a problem and can concentrate very well... but I feel like I do get distracted easily- especially in meeting. So eventually I decided to see a therapist to get diagnosed as an adult. She gave me one test when you click a shape when it pops up only if it’s a triangle other wise don’t click. The score says I did better than the average so the doc said I don’t have ADD. I’m skeptical that one test can determine whether someone has it or not... Having ADD do you feel like you can concentrate on something for a long time if you’re interested?

@dalastTomCruise yes i get into obsession mode if something interests me. Until i get very tired and in the end it doesn't matter anymore.
It's the reason i'm on devRant constantly something new to learn.

@heyheni I feel like that obsessive mentality is what got me where I am today tbh. It an be very rewarding if you can leverage it in a healthy way. But I can get mentally drained and depressed/upset if I don’t achieve what I was absorbed in- things like a math problem or a coding challenge.

@dalastTomCruise exactly!

@dalastTomCruise Yes. Hyperfocus is actually a common symptom of ADD/ADHD. It usually happens to me when I'm reading a good novel. People have had to actually poke me to get my attention while I'm reading. ADD isn't just a lack of focus, but rather an inability to regulate your focus, so you can be easily distracted from some tasks while others are completely absorbing.

@heyheni Have you considered pivoting into a Technical Product Manager, your ability to come up with creative ideas and your tech knowledge might take you quite far

@adegbengaagoro cool idea! I kind of do that as a Interaction designer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

will look into it 👍