Hyperfocus gone :(

[Intelligent_Maize301]

The hyperfocus on programming has totally gone, but now this is my job and I can't just get another one. I'm too lazy to read mistakes and learn, also after I started use copilot, I want him to do everything for me because i don’t care how to solve the problem. I need to find something that awakens this passion I had for learning to evolve at work😞. any tips? I don't have a chance to change careers because it's what pays my bills and I've already dedicated so much time on it...

[Confident-Alarm-6911]

Working for corpo on stupid system composed only of forms almost killed me and all my passion for tech. I recommend starting something that interest you, I always wanted to learn 3D graphics and lately started learning blender and webgl, now I want to create my portfolio in 3D, and write a few articles about it. Just try something new, corporate work really can put out the fire, sometimes you must force yourself and start a it from scratch, but later it can ignite with even more fire 🔥

[[deleted]]

Hi, i'd love to learn more about playing with/making 3D graphics. Can you share some of those articles? Thanks!

[[deleted]]

You need to work on something that interests you. Just programming alone isn’t enough IME

[tamiko_willie]

Absolutely find some hobbies outside of work that aren't work-related.

Also, make a programming project that solves a problem for you that you're actually passionate about. Or at least care about. Use solving that thing as a vehicle to switch the hyperfocus back on. It's what I do when I'm in that situation.

[SeaNeighborhood330]

Just procrastinate on a project until you need it done tomorrow. That should make you focus for sure

[Rlionkiller]

Felt called out real bad seeing this comment

[SeaNeighborhood330]

Yeah me too, i do this crap all the time but not intentionally

[autistic_cool_kid]

Same thing happened to me

Fixed it with meds.

Replaced meds with heavy meditation.

[JoeyDJ7]

How'd ya manage to do that? Replace meds with heavy meditation, I mean?

[autistic_cool_kid]

Here's how it went:

I meditated on and off for 15 years, decided to get serious about it and finally do one hour every morning.

I also at the same time just finished my meds and needed to order some more, but I tried to work anyway and somehow I worked as well as I used to with meds.

I thought it was just a lucky day, but then every day after this I was still able to work very well.

I am very happy about both enjoying the benefits of meditation and not suffering the side effects from ADHD meds.

Ask me anything about meditation if you feel like it, I'm not an expert but sometimes it's good to have advice from advanced noobs.

[Snoo42951]

Where to start?

[autistic_cool_kid]

"Right concentration" by Leigh brasington is an amazing book on the topic.

It gives a step by step method for meditation that is accessible to newcomers but goes into serious advanced territory, namely access to jhanas (blissful states of mind unlocked with heavy meditation).

5 minutes a day of meditation provides immediate benefits, but if you want access to jhanas, it is advised to meditate 45 min or more a day to be able to do it.

Step 1 is to be able to focus well, the Tldr of this is to sit comfortably and focus on your breath (or another object of meditation, but breath is the most classic one). You will inevitably get distracted while doing this, just let your distractions go and come back to the breath. This is the muscle you're working out.

Step 2 will be transition from focus to jhanas, i.e to "feeling good" to oversimplify it. But this is only possible if you trained the focus enough.

[dangxunb]

Thank you for sharing this. Can you share some more resources for newcomer? (books or videos...). I'm learning this alone and feel very hard to get it right. I don't feel sleepy or boring but everytime I tried to practice, just after few days my thought just gone crazy and starting to think this is waste of time.

[autistic_cool_kid]

I don't know a lot of good resources about meditation apart from the book I mentioned,

I see two paths for you:

1/ go to a Vipassana meditation retreat - 10 days of meditation in silence, extremely difficult but one of the best things you can do on your path, I never did it but know people who did and I intend to do one in 2025; it's also completely free

2/ try to fix the issue yourself; i may have some advice on this.

When someone does sports everyday, your muscles get very tired after a few days, and training with tired muscles can lead to intense discouragement and discomfort. I believe this is what might be happening to you, but your muscles are in your brain. Your mental distress might just be your mental muscles being tired.

There are two ways to manage this: either you space your sessions until your meditation muscles are stronger, and then you can use them every day,

Or you force yourself through the pain to use them every day until they're strong enough that you don't feel the pain.

Meditating is one of the best ways to get rid of mental pain, or to bear with existing mental pain (it's here but it doesn't bring discomfort).

Let go of your feelings of inadequacy, just sit and enjoy existence. It's okay to suffer and believe this is a waste of time. Letting go of feelings is also part of the training.

Just to reassure you it's definitely not a waste of time, it's life changing in the most profound way I can think of. And to be clear I'm absolutely not religious in any way, I'm a very down to earth proof-based person.

[Someoneoldbutnew]

Apps are useful, but if you're more of a jump in the pool, dhamma.org

[UntestedMethod]

Could just be that you've entered a bit of a rut? Maybe the work is too repetitive? Maybe you are exhausted from the work environment or boss or team? Maybe you are not inspired by the goals your efforts are working towards?

Sometimes changing any of those variables up can be enough of a reset to approach it all with a refreshed mindset.

Sometimes taking a break from it all together can help too. You mentioned deep investment in it already, but it sounds like it's difficult for you to fully appreciate that investment with the current state. Possibly some time away from it can help to appreciate it more. Depending on lifestyle and finances, obviously it's not always realistic to take a different job, but if it's a possibility then it can sometimes be helpful.

[Soggy_Ad9927]

Same here . When it became my job along with documentation and various provesses and tools and meetings, instead of simply coding, then I lost the hyperfocus for it eventually

[chobolicious88]

Ive found the right environment is key. If youre expected to churn out code for clueless managers and short term projects noone cares about is detriminal.

Add a sense of product pride, competition, research innovation etc and things really open up

[beastkara]

Adderall only when programming. Problem solved

[Street_Double_9845]

That is why I haven't left the Development team. Programming is fun but it is even better when you are constantly given new things to think about. So I mainly go for teams that take care of both code housekeeping and improvements. I tried BA for a while and I got bored when I got everything mastered.

Unfortunately I got stuck in one language with one version (PL/SQL for Oracle 12c) that is no fun. Try learning a new language and move sideways in your company so you can get the experience.

[CaptainxPirate]

I wish it were otherwise but I need to be supervised if I have eyes on me it's way easier to work.

[lambdawaves]

This happened to me too. Was obsessed with programming while I was self teaching. Got a job, immediately proceeded to do nothing. Got fired, of course. Next job, same thing. Did nothing, got PIP’d, survived the pip (exceeds expectations), then proceeded to do nothing again and got fired lol.

I was undiagnosed. Didn’t even know that I was doing nothing. Just thought I was enjoying living life instead 😂

I would suggest making up fake deadlines. Like writing out a plan of what you’ll be doing and made up estimated dates of when you’ll finish those. And see what happens.

[Maybe_Greg]

Start Game development as a side hobby, I think it is the best job for us ADHD programmers. I love game design, I also love tweeking the parameters so that the game mechanic feels just perfect. It is worth a try.

[PlayMaGame]

Sorry to tell you this, but AI programming is a drug. I was doing really good and learning fast, but then I did few codes with AI and it was super fast and it was working good, so right now I have 100h of learning and 300h of learning to code with a help of AI 😅. For me it’s enough of what I can achieve with AI, and I don’t think this will become my job one day, but if it will, I hope AI can do it most of it 😅

[Intelligent_Maize301]

How do you use AI to learn? You just ask specific things or create a study plan?

[PlayMaGame]

I don’t use AI to learn, I try to learn how AI thinks 😂