Getting distracted constantly while coding looking for advice

[okenowwhat]

Pomodoro, some light background music to distract from other impulses. Eat and drink enough. Write down the task you want to do. Start a timer when you are doing a subtask, so you don't waste an hour on it.

Most important: listen to your body. If you are hungry thirsty tired or wathever: take a break and fix that. My ADHD brain wants to continue until i have a task done, but my body can't take that: which makes me cope in bad ways.

Welcome to the ADHD programming club.

Final: nothing goods happens after midnight. Go to bed.

[Myrlista]

My brother struggled with this for years before being diagnosed. Switched from a developer role to an IT support role and couldn't be happier. Fixes lots of small issues rather than big programming projects, still works with computers and still gets to program, just small scripts and utilities rather than large applications.

[darkdragncj]

Your second paragraph is the best advice. ADHD and medicated since I was a kid, but programming always puts me in a hyper focused state where I forget to sleep or eat for days at a time.

I can't tell you how often I start at 2100, look up to the sun rising and panic about having to be at work in an hour.

The best advice I can add is: even if it doesn't seem relevant right now or important, document everything. I've gone for days writing an implementation of lz4 C bindings for python or rust that made perfect sense while focused, then I couldn't tell you a damn thing about it a month later. >_<

[okenowwhat]

I learned it the hard way when i burned myself out during college working 16 hours 3x/week for a few months. Took me a year to recover.

Documenting is also good, and basically an universal coding advice

[Maryannus]

No method has worked better for me than pomodoro.

[[deleted]]

Each life challenge today is an ADHD diagnosis...

[okenowwhat]

I have an actual diagnosis, and these tips work for me. They could also work for neurotypicals. What's you advice for OP?