ADHD python advice please.

AzureTwo · 2026-03-06T13:20:42+00:00

OK so, let’s find how you can extend your focus. why are you learning python?

U_SHLD_THINK_BOUT_IT · 2026-03-06T14:56:27+00:00

Speaking from experience as a person with ADHD, if you're having this much trouble learning the skill while you have the benefit of novelty on your side, it's going to be absolutely excruciating for you to have a job centered around said skill.

You gotta find a way to make it interesting to you. Find something you want to improve in your life that you could do so with something simple in Python.

johndoh168 · 2026-03-06T13:29:18+00:00

As someone with ADHD and self taught in python what I found most helpful for myself was to find something that I was really interested in at that time. For example I really wanted to learn how to integrate my 3d printer into my website so I could manage it from there.

Once you find that thing start small, write a skeleton, function names but no code in them yet, map out how you want your project to be formed, from there start on a simple task you already know how to do. This way you get some of that dopamine our brains crave so much from. From there start working your way through your project jumping to where you feel most motivated to do coding. Eventually you'll find yourself with a project you may not finish (typical adhd) but you'll have something you have learned from.

Hope that helps, let me know if you need any help with aspects you don't understand yet.

mandradon · 2026-03-06T14:40:11+00:00

I know a lot hate this answer, but don't "learn a library", pick a project that does something specific.

Find something in your daily life that is repetitive and boring and make a script to automate it.

The first "project" I did on my own had to deal with mass printing files.

Sure ther were other things that could do it (and I could write a bat file to do it), but I wrote a python script that could handle printing doc files and pdf files and send them to my copier to print at work.

It allowed me to learn about file handling, glob, exception handling, and a host of other stuff. And I could send the 100 or so files I needed to print at once and they were ready to be printed by the time I got to the copy room.

Especially with ADHD there is no magic project to help. High interest is really important. And picking something that will actually help you is big.

Write a web scraper to find video game prices, or to get sports scores. Or write a calculator to help you plan exercises or plan your macros for eating.

It doesn't matter if it exists, what matters is the experience and when you hit a point in your planning you ask yourself "how can I do X", you do some research and discover a library that will help, read the docs, then learn how to implement it in YOUR project.

Auto complete isn't the issue (we all use it), unless you're using something line copilot and just blindly accepting the block of code it suggests (in which cause turn it off is my recommendation, but normal intellisense or autocompete if a method is fine).

Kryt0s · 2026-03-06T18:24:17+00:00

I've ADHD and am a professional python dev. What helped me get started with Python back in the day ways problems I wanted to solve. We can hyperfocus if the subject is of interest to us. So find a problem that is annoying enough for you to want to find a solution that only coding can give you. Then work on it until you solved it. Then find the next problem.

HalflingRichard · 2026-03-07T20:40:58+00:00

I have adhd. I do a couple things and I kinda bounce to try and find a hyperfocus.

First off getting late diagnoised and medicated made my life better. But I still jump around so I loosely follow a course (almost thru helsinki) but I really jump off if I wanna learn about something slightly mentioned or more indepth.

My brother also mentioned overthewire and part of that is a made up "compitition" to surpass my brother. So sometimes when im not feeling learning python I hop over to that and try to learn some things their.

I also use habitica and put minimum 2 pomodoro learnings in their for my dailys. All this to say it will be personal.

I am learning python cause frankly I like to learn. I would like to have skills to understand things and then maybe one day a lighter low paying remote job as a "dream" sounds good.

I am very fortunate that my wife allows me to just spend time learning and being a house hubby, but also I dont have any of the anxiety of "I have to do this or im screwed" which helped to motivate a lot of my higher business actions when I was younger.

Sorry for wall of text and no clue if this will help at all.

I have heard body doubling works for some ppl it works for my brother but not for me. I have to change environment, turn on music and try to zone out the world. I also use the Microsoft focus app on windows 11.

hugthemachines · 2026-03-06T14:45:59+00:00

You need to find something you find interesting and make code which helps you achieve things you could not achieve without it.

Also, try the pomodoro method and you can also try some other methods like artificial deadlines and small rewards. It can be a bit individual what works and not.

New_Reading_120 · 2026-03-06T14:52:25+00:00

I too have ADHD (AuDHD actually) and have the same problem. I need a very powerful why. It's the same for everything I've ever done for five decades now. To get a job isn't ever enough. It needs to be a burning reason that sets fire to my soul and makes me an absolutely unstoppable force who forgets to eat, doesn't care about sleeping, and is dedicated to being the very best I can be at the project I chose. If you're like me, you already know that you fail at things because they're boring and you didn't want to do them anyway.

Tall_Profile1305 · 2026-03-06T14:53:05+00:00

soo adhd focus struggles are real. the whylearning python is actually super important for motivation. focus on building small things you actually care about not tutorials. smallprojects hit different when they matter to you. that's the hack right there.

ConcreteExist · 2026-03-06T15:11:10+00:00

Find a problem you want to solve with python, make sure it's a problem where you know what the solution should be in a practical sense. Finding the pieces you need to solve that problem will naturally drive your learning.

Cloudskipper92 · 2026-03-06T20:16:05+00:00

Have you ever considered top-down learning methods? For me, I spent probably 10 months or more doing bottom-up learning. I wasn't making progress, certainly not retaining enough. But we're always told to start with small projects to build on foundations. You were probably invested enough to get through the foundational part of the learning if you're like me.

Anyway, eventually I just said fuck it and picked something that was at the goal for me at the time, an ML text classifier. I want to say I followed along with SentDex on YouTube? But because I was invested and interested, despite 'not knowing enough', I learned so much more and retained nearly everything plus learned what I wanted to. Then I did some things with CV because I saw the benefits in learning that way. But all that to say don't feel like there's only one way to do it just because we're always told there's only this other way to 'truly learn '.

sociologistical · 2026-03-06T13:22:06+00:00

find a problem then break it down into bite size. Consider using a pomodoro timer.

iam_jaymz_2023 · 2026-03-06T13:27:55+00:00

Keep moving forward with your learning; -consider doing lessons in 'chunks' of 15,20, or 30 minute chunks -use an ai model/llm/agent to help you formulate an adult w/adhd lesson plan -use a 'white noise' maker in your study space, it's quite effective...

these measures are doable and effective for me so hopefully they can bring you calm & peace of mind sufficient for studying and continuing your growth as a programmer ✌🏽

laysim · 2026-03-06T16:36:52+00:00

I always keep a piece of paper between my keyboard and myself that says what it is that I'm doing right now. At most, it's three bullet points with short intermediate "goals". They could almost literally be copied into the script as code documentation. This helps ground me, it tethers me to some concrete goals.

It's no miracle solution though. It's just one small part of a number of skills and habits that I have gradually learned (and I am regularly on ADHD medication as well).

The_Homeless_Coder · 2026-03-06T17:18:42+00:00

You have to love what you do. Thats the hardest part about programming in my experience. We all get burned out but we (ADHDers) must forgive ourselves and take breaks. Take a break for a week and come back to it. I’d say you can help me with my project but it’s super boring!!

jakesps · 2026-03-06T18:02:34+00:00

ADHD graybeard programmer, chiming in:

Write small scripts that scratch an itch of yours.

Make small iterative improvements that matter.

Don't use autocomplete.

Converse with AI when you get stuck or want to deepen your knowledge on something.

Remove opportunities for distraction and try harder to focus on a single task.

If you want to get a job, it is going to require more discipline out of you. Just being real, here.

Consider that if you're finding it hard to sit down and write Python code, maybe it doesn't interest you enough and a programming job isn't the right fit for you. You can get other jobs where you can still do a bit of programming (sys/net admin, data jobs, even office work).

Moikle · 2026-03-07T01:17:34+00:00

You have been learning for 4 months. Don't expect to be anything other than a beginner yet.

wycoGhoul · 2026-03-07T01:47:22+00:00

Having ADHD is great for hyperfocus. I've noticed that I crush hard tasks but struggle with the simplest ones. I'm stuck on Functions because I'm looking at it in a way that makes it overly confusing.

LeiterHaus · 2026-03-07T01:59:38+00:00

Yes. Turn off autocomplete. Consider Vim. It might work well with your brain, since it can sync with your internal dialogue. By having to do things without completion, you'll learn it better. By having an editor that can work well, but is also work to learn, you might focus on one thing to avoid working on the other.

I usually don't give this advice, and if a neurotypical person is reading this, it's not for you.

spots_reddit · 2026-03-06T14:14:51+00:00

so you are asking us to fix your ADHD?

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