feat: adhd and software post

2026-06-15 19:53:58 -07:00
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+title: "ADHD and Software Engineering"
+date: "2026-06-15"
+summary: "How ADHD shapes programming work and what accommodations genuinely help vs what's noise."
+---
+
+i have always struggled with my productivity like i cannot focus on a task for *shit* and it shows. getting my adhd diagnosis the first time was enlightening (the second was bureaucratic and unnecessary but what can ya do) because it explained so much of the struggles i experienced in life!!! it turns out that while naomi is indeed lazy it is not as bad as one might think because half of it is just my adhd sending me to a different topic~
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+like i can hyperfocus and crank out work for sixteen hours straight one day and get distracted by every single slack message the next. it's not a lack of motivation or a problem with self-discipline. its adhd.
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+so lets talk about what adhd actually *does* to this software engineer. no stereotypes, no fluff. just one girl's honest account.
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+hyperfixation can certainly *seem* like a blessing and in many ways it is!!!! like i found my success because i hyperfixated on learning to code during a time when i had fuck all else to do!!!! but i also did not *choose* to hyperfixate - my brain chose for me~
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+and its a curse too. i can hyperfocus on a task for six hours, get it done, and then spend the next *four* working up the motivation to do another task. starting a task is a monumental endeavour. context switching is a nightmare.
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+and like a *lot* of the productivity hacks that a neurobland engineer might use are totally useless for me. pomodoro? more like interruption hell. get the hardest task done first? **starting a task is the hardest task** how am i supposed to do that hm???? constant slack and discord and email inputs? just more distractions, albeit important ones!
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+here's what actually helps! give me my music playlist, a quiet comfy corner, a mug of coffee or tea or cider, and 16 hours of uninterrupted time? i can change your entire company. let me wrap up a thing before moving on to the next - if i have walked away for too long i will never pick it back up and this is why i don't finish video games!!!! solid task and note software like omg asana and notion *are* my brain lately.
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+of course hikari helps too~
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+software engineering is in some ways *very good* for the adhd brain and in other ways it is a total nightmare. let me sink into a idea-test-refine loop and i can crank out some really cool shit. give me vague directionless assignments and you might get a lump of clay in return. code reviews??? nah fam if it is more than like 10 lines of code i simply will not read it. i cannot bring myself to do it. it does not satisfy the demons in my head.
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+medication helps a lot. provided your psychiatrist isnt withholding them. mine is, for safety reasons (apparently they make mood swings worse). now i am barely functioning. working in an environment that allows for fluctuations in productivity, when the net positive is high, is absolutely vital. like i can deliver anything you need me to!!!!!! you'll just get total silence for a week and then 50 updates in a day and then another week of silence and then here's an app~
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+remote work helps. a lot. i get my quiet office in my very expensive comfy chair and no one bothers me and i can vibe to my music and kick ass and take names. but with no one there to keep me on track, a rabbit hole can be the death of the workday.
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+none of this is medical advice. im not legally allowed to give you medical advice. if you take this blog post as medical advice, i am curious what about me gives you *any* idea that i am a credible source of information. i literally just rambled on for 4000 characters about how chaotic i am.
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+but this *is* real. this *is* my real experience. this *is* my every day. this *is* adhd. this *is* naomi~ 🩷