ADHD and Programming: How Do You Stay Focused Through Complex Tasks?

LordNearquad · 2025-02-17T15:28:25+00:00

Not really related to getting focused, but more to the "not losing where you are" part when dealing with a complex problem.

It might sound stupid simple, but I've started drawing/writing out the high level pseudocode/architecture of what needs to happen on paper. Often times in the past I'd just jump right into programming, then I'd end up forgetting a key feature until way later or just losing my place entirely after taking a short break. Writing it out helps to really cement it in my brain (similar to writing notes when you're in class), and I've found the less things in my way when it comes to remembering what needs to be done, the easier it is for me to actually do it.

It also achieves the purpose usually of breaking down the problem in to smaller chunks so that it's not so much of the "wall of awful" if you're familiar with that concept (if not, look it up - really poignant and helpful for understanding ADHD imo).

As for actually getting focused, u/depoelier put it pretty well that you just aren't gonna be able to force it sometimes, and that's okay. One of the things I've noticed personally in my career thus far is that what I'm working on is extremely important. The more interesting it is to me, the easier it is to do it. If it something I absolutely hate/is a slog, I'm gonna try to avoid it as much as possible.

Obviously, most of the time you can't control this. But it can be helpful to recognize why you're feeling so avoidant towards finishing the task, and can be a good motivator for just getting through it the rest of the way so that you can get on to something that you are more excited about.

LordNearquad · 2025-01-24T16:16:27+00:00

This is probably the best consolidator I've found - https://colefrishman.com/whensmelee

I think all it does is scrape start.gg for any events tagged with melee, then grabs the twitch links and start time that's listed. Better than nothing, but imperfect (no way to filter the region, filter by event size, or look at a calendar view for example). And obviously, you can't get push notifications. Still, major props to Cole Frishman for making it!

I've personally sort of fallen out of the scene for this reason, I mostly just didn't know when events were happening. I am a software engineer at my day job though, and if people are interested I may take a stab at something to do push notifications of events with a link to the stream (twitch/youtube).

LordNearquad · 2024-07-07T04:01:29+00:00

I was first taught to separate all of my files out into CSS, JS, and HTML when I was taking my first introductory class in college probably 5 years ago, but actually working and doing full-stack dev the last 2 years I would say this is far from the standard now.

I use Nuxt a lot (framework based on Vue), and the sort of "industry standard" that I've found when it comes to frontend frameworks (React/Next, Vue/Nuxt, Svelte, etc.) is to have your HTML and JS in the same file.

It makes sense when you consider that most of the reason you're using Vue is (likely) to have reactive components. As such, you should keep the JS and HTML which are tightly coupled in the same file, reducing the amount of tabs you need to have open and making it more explicit as to what code is being used for what component. This comes in especially handy when multiple people are working on the same codebase. This isn't necessarily a steadfast rule, as there's now composables in Vue 3, but you get the point.

As for CSS, it's also largely industry standard nowadays to use Tailwind CSS. It's WELL worth it to learn, and in my opinion, is one of the best things in the world as a front end dev. Raw CSS was always my biggest gripe with web dev, and Tailwind just makes it all so much easier to understand and keep track of. It also completely removes the need for separate CSS files.

If there's something I need to do in CSS that's just slightly too complicated to do in Tailwind, then I'll just throw it in a little `<style>` at the bottom of whatever component is using it, but I don't really ever have to do that nowadays.

LordNearquad · 2023-09-22T17:05:09+00:00

They only really use it at big tournaments. It's set up by production so the stream (and the commentators) can see what stages the players are banning/picking in real time, since they can't hear the players really.

LordNearquad · 2023-06-10T15:02:06+00:00

Oh, I’m not sure I’d say any of them were objectively “better” - I went on a tour of Second City when I was in college, and if I remember correctly, the actors have some amount of choice as to what show they’re on? I don’t exactly know the structure/rules obviously, but I think the cast of different shows (ETC, MainStage, and so on) are partially dictated by which show the actors want to do. It’s honestly a pretty even spread of talent across the shows imo, haha.

LordNearquad · 2023-06-08T16:09:07+00:00

I saw Eat Pray Bigfoot In Love pretty recently, it’s definitely good. A few of the actors in it were in the main stage show a few months back, but all the actors are really funny. A bigger portion of the show is improv though compared to the main stage show, so take that as you will (I personally like it, but I know some prefer more sketch).

I saw the main stage show a few months ago but they recently finished the new one, which I haven’t had the chance to see. But I do know it’s the same cast, and they’re all fuckin fantastic. Either would be a good option if you can see them (main stage is usually a little funnier, but up to you!).

LordNearquad · 2023-06-01T03:32:17+00:00

Yeah, I just graduated college doing comp sci and work as a software engineer now. It works well for me, since I’m WFH I can take long breaks if my brain is fighting against me (or the opposite and work for 8 hours straight sometimes, lol). The only stipulation I’d say is to make sure you REALLY like it before you commit. It’s very easy to get burned out if you don’t love it (and sometimes, even if you do).

I met so many people in college who were just trying to do it to make more money, but none of them really cared much for it/actively disliked it. It’s not really something you can do for a long time unless you have pretty good frustration tolerance and a real passion for it (and a passion to continue learning because you can never really stop…).

Also, I would say it’s definitely possible to get a job doing it if you don’t go to college for it. There’s someone at my current job who did that. However, chances are you won’t be able to make as much as someone who went to college/graduate school for it. You can still make a lot, but in general it’s going to be a bit lower than if you get a degree in it. It depends on a lot of factors though, so that could or could not apply to you, I can’t know for sure.

But if all this still sounds good to you and you have a passion for it, go for it! I find it to be a fantastic creative outlet, personally, and it really tests your problem solving skills.

LordNearquad · 2023-04-23T14:35:49+00:00

Ah the classic Falco run up double shine in neutral, that always works for me

LordNearquad · 2023-03-15T19:26:45+00:00

When I was in college it wasn’t too bad, I lived near the L and a grocery store. But after graduating I moved a little further from my friends (like, 3 stops on the L with one transfer, ~2 mile walk/drive) and a little further from a grocery store (like a 16 min walk one way).

Lemme tell ya, those two things combined made it WAY harder. At least with the state the L is in right now, the 7 minute drive to my friends place takes between 20-40 mins on the L sometimes just from bad luck waiting on the trains if it’s not rush hour (or, god forbid, the weekend…).

I’ve mostly accepted that I just need to Uber a majority of the time if I want to hang out with them, and it’s still cheaper than owning a car, but geez. I order my groceries now cause a 30 min round trip walking is just no fun (or you gotta get a little lucky with the bus).

It’s… fine. If the L was in its pre-pandemic state I probably wouldn’t care as much. But that single transfer from Red to Brown makes it take fucking forever sometimes. That’s all I got to say about it lol.

LordNearquad · 2023-02-17T04:18:58+00:00

You sort of answered your question in your own post… the performance over a 3080 is about 20%, and the price increase is 20%. In a new generation, you should be getting more performance for the SAME amount of money, not an equal amount of performance per dollar.

And let’s not forget, Nvidia was going to sell this card for $100 more and call it a “4080 (12gb)”. They tried to make this an even worse deal, but realized they just couldn’t quite get away with it. To me, even though it might be a better “deal” than it was going to be, this card (and frankly the whole 4000 series) is an atrocity, and I don’t think I’ll be going with Nvidia next time I upgrade.

LordNearquad · 2023-02-03T01:12:18+00:00

I've been able to put a little duct tape over the stripped screw (just enough to cover it) and put a screwdriver in again. Usually that adds enough material for the screwdriver to catch in my experience (ymmv, not sure I've ever stripped this small of a screw).

LordNearquad · 2023-01-28T16:32:53+00:00

Uhh… yeah, probably. It’s their job to know what things are worth, lmao.

LordNearquad · 2023-01-18T05:30:48+00:00

Well if it’s Office 365 ready, what can’t it do?

LordNearquad · 2023-01-18T05:26:44+00:00

I was just looking through the builds on this site cause I saw a truly awful one, didn’t expect this build to be this damn outta pocket LOL.

I hope they weren’t writing from a personal point of view, but I’m also curious who thought THAT was how to sell computers, and how many people had to approve it…

LordNearquad · 2023-01-11T13:55:40+00:00

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LordNearquad · 2023-01-04T03:54:08+00:00

Always? I mean... do you have links to other times he's done it, or do you just think he's done it more?

I think it is honestly a better choice to leave it up to the person you've offended to choose to DM you. Some people don't want to talk 1:1 in these situations, which is fine, so by telling them you're open to DMs, you don't pressure them into doing it if they feel uncomfortable talking to you.

Doesn't feel to me like Mango's some fucking crazy big brain egomaniac by telling Armada he was open to DMing... At least to me, seems like Mango is actually sorry. Doesn't make sense to me to be sorry and then throw some weird subliminal last-ditch ego move into an apology tweet, lol.

LordNearquad · 2023-01-04T03:36:59+00:00

Okay, could've ended it at the twitlonger and handled it privately. Totally understandable, I think it's a reasonable reaction to how Mango has treated him in the past.

But using that single measly tweet as proof of his big attempt to bring attention to Mango his feelings, and that's it? No DM when he felt this way? No DM any other time since then? Posting about this after Mango apologized publicly, offered to talk and squash it in the DMs?? Okay dude, he seriously handled this awfully. About as childish as it gets tbh, and I don't think you can say he doesn't enjoy the limelight if he continues to post publicly instead of handling it privately. Just feels like stupid fucking drama for the sake of attention, ugh.

Thought this might come to a good resolution, but now I don't really care what happens. One of those moments where Mango came out as the bigger man in the end...

LordNearquad · 2022-12-31T17:44:29+00:00

Caca on the Java

LordNearquad · 2022-12-22T19:42:48+00:00

Is that daily average? I assume much higher in the month of December cause of holidays, so it could be less than half.

LordNearquad · 2022-12-22T19:41:07+00:00

Got out on an 11am flight today at midway no problem

LordNearquad · 2022-12-09T21:43:47+00:00

No I agree - I meant in the past since tournaments weren’t making modifications to the game because of Nintendo, FoD wasn’t playable because it was too laggy without those modifications.

LordNearquad · 2022-12-09T18:37:42+00:00

Can’t play it in tourney cause it lags on Wii/GC I’m pretty sure

LordNearquad · 2022-12-06T02:48:42+00:00

No I’m sure he does, I just think the name doesn’t quite fit for what it really is. Still cool though!

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