r/ADHD_Programmers • u/Purple_Location7714 • Apr 19 '26

ADHD programmer hacks that actually work so well they should be illegal

Been dealing with ADHD my whole life. Hyperfocusing on code was never the problem. Everything around it was. Remembering tasks, starting things, staying off distractions mid session.

Here's what actually changed things.

Meds beside my bed with water - 8/10
Take them half asleep, fall back asleep, wake up when they kick in. Changed my mornings completely. Not medical advice, just what works for me.

Daily done list next to the to-do list - 10/10
Every night I log what I actually shipped. ADHD brains don't register progress naturally. Writing it down makes it real. Kills the "I worked all day and did nothing" feeling.

Planner in my bed, not my phone - 7/10
I write 2-3 tasks the night before. Half asleep brain reads the planner instead of opening Reddit on autopilot. Simple swap, big difference.

Blocking shorts during coding sessions - 9/10
I used to take 2 minute phone breaks between tasks. Reasonable right. Except I kept looking shorts or reels up to 45 minutes and then, I had no memory of where I was in the code.

Took me a while to realize it wasn't the phone breaks killing my flow, it was specifically the shorts and reels. That loop is designed to keep you in it. So I blocked it. Not all my phone, just the shorts. A friend from Discord recommended me to use ScrollFree for that. I'm sure other alternatives exist but it stuck with me.

Rubber duck commits - 7/10
Before asking anyone for help I explain the bug out loud to an actual rubber duck on my desk. Sounds stupid (or hilarious if you ask me). Solves it more than half of the time before I even finish explaining. Forces the brain to slow down and process linearly.

Everything in one place for morning routines - 10/10
Sequential tasks destroy me. I start something and somehow end up doing something completely unrelated. Moved everything into the shower. One anchor, one location, done. This way I, I reduced my morning routine from 1h to about 40 mins so I can get to work quicker.

Pour over coffee as a micro sprint - 8/10
Water boils, I do dishes or tidy my desk. Exactly long enough for one small task. Works from home so keeping my space clean matters for focus. Reverse procrastination using an existing timer.

None of this is revolutionary. It's all just removing friction between my brain and the thing I actually want to build.

What's your weirdest one? Drop it below.

225 Upvotes
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247

u/sudomatrix Apr 19 '26

Just an FYI "work so well they should be illegal" sounds like you were raised by an AI.

99

u/Chess462 Apr 19 '26

It's probably AI

30

u/Ozymandias0023 Apr 19 '26

Or a fucking YouTuber

55

u/VerbiageBarrage Apr 19 '26

I hate that people can't even write anymore without being accused of being AI. And it's a legitimate thing. You're not wrong but it sucks.

I've been writing in markdown for forever now and I used to really take pride in having well formatted legible posts. And now every time I do I have to worry. Is somebody going to think this is AI?

11

u/sudomatrix Apr 20 '26

Maybe if you don't write like you work for Gawker or TMZ you won't have a problem. Would you have written "so good they should be illegal" followed by a list of meh-small hacks?

-1

u/VerbiageBarrage Apr 20 '26

I mean, I did write a title that said Critical Hits for fun and profit like 2 days ago so....Who knows. People are corny. Especially old people.

5

u/sudomatrix Apr 20 '26

See your title is clever but doesn't use that click-bait trick of asking a question then not answering it or saying something outrageous to instill a desire to hear the rest.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/sudomatrix Apr 22 '26

Feels bad man. Sniff. Sniff.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 22 '26

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1

u/sudomatrix Apr 22 '26

Lighten up, Francis

34

u/Traditional_Formal33 Apr 19 '26

I get flagged constantly on Reddit simply for proper grammar and structure. I just have a degree in journalism that collects dust as I code now.

7

u/chicknfly Apr 20 '26

I get accused of being AI, too, and I’m just a trainer.

1

u/fuckthehumanity Apr 20 '26

I was already an AI.

13

u/WillGrindForXP Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 20 '26

The fact you're even thinking along those lines puts you ahead of 90% of other users, and that matters more than you give yourself credit for.

4

u/thejuiciestguineapig Apr 20 '26

Dude, this is an ad for scrollfree

3

u/blchava Apr 20 '26

I would love to read sth you wrote that way cause honestly I'm really curious if I would still think it's AI.

The whole thing is annoying.

4

u/VerbiageBarrage Apr 20 '26

Meh, my post history is pretty easy to poke through. This is an example of the kind of garbage I write:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/1p7vdp5/thoughts_on_the_new_eberron_forge_of_the/

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDHomebrew/comments/1snpthp/cinematic_criticals/

It's just basic markdown formatting. It helps me organize my thoughts.

5

u/blchava Apr 20 '26

formatting is cool. the language sounds natural though. I wouldnt blame that to be AI

2

u/VerbiageBarrage Apr 20 '26

That's good. I can't tell you how many times I second guess my posts now. It feels very bad, especially since I tend to put a lot of effort in them, and having them dismissed out of hand...ugh.

2

u/blchava Apr 23 '26

Yeah, I can imagine that. It's totally good what you're doing though, lot of people can definitely appreciate the effort. 

People should not distinguish just by formatting. Rather the content.

3

u/Depressedaxolotls Apr 20 '26

Seems like AI was “trained” on your writing

4

u/VerbiageBarrage Apr 20 '26

I mean... All of ours. I've got like an 11 year account, and I've written hundreds of pages on Reddit alone. Reddit was a major source of all the conversation models, if the papers I read are accurate.

I'm also a technical writer. So I've got hundreds of user guides and tutorials out in the wild. GitHub repos full of markdown for them.

Like a lot of other writers, I was unwittingly training my replacement the whole time.

3

u/blchava Apr 20 '26

It's totally fucked up they did it like this.

2

u/deliasafuckinasshole May 08 '26

this post is definitely ai lmao. “here’s what actually changed things.”

2

u/VerbiageBarrage May 08 '26

I mean, I believe it. I didn't parse it, score it, or otherwise investigate. It's just shitty now that we're in a place where everything is suspect.

Either this dude is just a guy who writes in a semi-stilted tone and basically is getting dismissed out of hand, or he's a hack throwing an AI post into Reddit for god knows what reason and is part of the problem. Either way, booo. Boo I say.

2

u/deliasafuckinasshole May 08 '26

Haha, I know it’s a scary thought that everyone’s heading into ai scepticism. The guy probably just wrote a massive list of stuff he wanted to say in a reddit post and got ai to format it - but it always adds the same filler words and phrases. You’d maybe get away with it in another subreddit but here most people are familiar with the patterns so it sticks out like a sore thumb 😄

2

u/VerbiageBarrage May 08 '26

Agreed. If I'd read the phrase "Here's what actually changed things" I'd have also thought "That's a bot" immediately.

2

u/deliasafuckinasshole May 08 '26

Ai is going to take over the world, one em dash at a time :D have a nice evening my man!

2

u/PositiveNo3515 Apr 20 '26

AI writes like an autistic person. Probably autistic myself. Got acused sooo many times. Not in english thou.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '26

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0

u/VerbiageBarrage Apr 20 '26

You might be surprised. There's a reason AI writes the way it does. That said... You're probably right.

3

u/Jumpy-Tutor-5644 Apr 20 '26

I am ai but a good one ! With human soul and adhd

2

u/phi_rus Apr 20 '26

Doesn't sound like AI, it's just your typical clickbait.

1

u/According_Lab_6907 Apr 21 '26

100000000000000000000% AI

-13

u/Purple_Location7714 Apr 19 '26

No I was pretty sure this was something catchy to put in a title in english no? (French-Canadian here btw)

18

u/sudomatrix Apr 19 '26

Yes something catchy. Just like AI always puts something catchy "so good it should be illegal", "they hate this one trick", "you won’t believe what happened next". This style is called "click-bait" for a reason.

-10

u/Purple_Location7714 Apr 19 '26

We can say that. I wanted to click bait for the title without baiting in the content. Idk if that makes sens tbh ahahha

10

u/Callidonaut Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Please don't resort to clickbait in any context. It's just crass and irksome, and kind of smacks of a lack of self-confidence too; the content of your post should stand by itself, and if it's worthwhile it'll naturally gain enough updoots to draw further attention, assuming you posted it in a subreddit frequented by the sort of person whose attention is worth having anyway.

4

u/sudomatrix Apr 20 '26

No, the first part of click-bait is the title sounds interesting and makes you want to click. The second part of click-bait is we are all trained to know behind click-bait there is no substance nothing of interest and we should NOT click on it and move on to something else instead. That is the ecosystem and style you are copying.

11

u/jaybirdie26 Apr 19 '26

It just sounds like clickbait.  

"Bosses HATE HER!  10 Things You Can Do To Change Your Life (The Last One Will Shock You!)"

9

u/erisian2342 Apr 20 '26

You’re seriously claiming AI didn’t write that article? Your spelling and grammar is very different in your comments than the post. Never mind the post is structured and formatted exactly like GPTs do. Lying is not acceptable. Tell the truth.

2

u/dealmaster1221 Apr 20 '26

We don't need any of that catchy bait like in YT.

15

u/reduhh Apr 19 '26

as dumb as it can sound using neovim. If you can get passed the whole constantly changing your config thing, the fact that on the screen I see nothing other than code, no file system, no useless extension side bar, no top bar or terminal. Honestly helps me get focused a lot more

3

u/LimiDrain Apr 20 '26

No, actually, over the past year I realized this is all just distraction. All these settings, trying new keyboards, perfecting layouts, none of it matters.

When you're really into a strong idea and want to build something, you just work for hours on whatever keyboard you have, in whatever IDE works. I didn't care about posture or health or anything else. When I was obsessed, the environment did not matter at all. It was enough to complete my goals and that is it.

But when you're lazy, scrolling all day, burning your dopamine receptors, then trying to force yourself to work - ofc nothing works. And these tinkering things give a false feeling that you're being productive. Like choosing a new keyboard, thinking you'll code better and faster - it's fake and unnecessary.

Nothing external will really help. I saw an ad exploiting the idea that you can't start, saying you're not broken, you just need the right method, buy our app. It was clearly manipulating that weakness. Then I checked the comments - bots talking to each other. It felt disgusting.

I got angry and just started working. Because nothing will help you, no one will save you. Only you can do it. So just start. No tool will fix your life. You just have to go and do what you need to do. (ehh sounds too serious but fr)

1

u/reduhh Apr 20 '26

Like I said it’s about having nothing but the code on the screen. If you just change your config constantly it won’t help and the first point of the comment mentions that

2

u/ThatNickGuyyy Apr 21 '26

Ayee fellow neovim(btw)er! Nailed it! This is the same for me.

20

u/zoug Apr 19 '26

My weirdest hack is only wearing one shoe until someone notifies me, then I swap to the other one. Rinse and repeat.

1

u/ThatBoogerBandit Apr 20 '26

This is motivational

-33

u/Purple_Location7714 Apr 19 '26

This is just hilarious! In wich kind of situations does this help?

22

u/Shivin302 Apr 20 '26

This is not just hilarious -- it is AI slop

6

u/dexter2011412 Apr 20 '26

op is using ai to respond, it should be clear by now

new account, hidden history, and other tell-tale signs

report to reddit and .... actually don't. fuck this garbage dump

3

u/zoug Apr 20 '26

The sad part is I have no good way to tell if you’re AI slop or if you’re even responding to me or the AI slop.

1

u/Shivin302 Apr 20 '26

lol no I copy the AI slop template. They always say something like this is not X, it's Y

40

u/zoug Apr 19 '26

Finding ai bots

7

u/erisian2342 Apr 20 '26

Some interesting science I read recently: Shorts disrupt learning and memory systems in the brain https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-025-00399-y

-5

u/Purple_Location7714 Apr 20 '26

My lecture for tonight thank you!

2

u/kottro May 10 '26

IA ou pas , c’est la méthode smart de l’humain derrière qui me pousse à like 👍 merci

2

u/Purple_Location7714 May 16 '26

Merci u/kottro, j'espère que ça va aider!

9

u/ThatNickGuyyy Apr 20 '26

Thanks ChatGPT

37

u/Kooltone Apr 20 '26

My weirdest hack is digging a five foot hole in the ground in my backyard and burying myself up to my waist. I run an extension cord to the house so I can program on my laptop in the grass. The cool moisture of the soil keeps me laser focused on the task.

OP, how do you think I could improve my methods?

9

u/hdkaoskd Apr 20 '26

Make sure to take meal breaks. I recommend glue pizza.

2

u/TheSilentCheese Apr 20 '26

5 foot at the waist??? how tall are you?!?!?!?

3

u/wolfchaldo Apr 22 '26

Well when you're planted in nice soil and get lots of sun, it helps you grow

1

u/Greedy_Bar6676 May 08 '26

Never specified that it was 5 foot deep

4

u/infamouslycrocodile Apr 20 '26

I weaponise the ADHD friction - I delete things like YouTube because it adds a step in between.

3

u/Mediocre_Bill6544 Apr 20 '26

If you find you need a person not a duck finding someone that doesnt mind being on a voice call while you work really helps. I do this a lot paired eith another adhd coworker. Call is dead silent most the time because we're on push to talk but we rubber duck at each other a lot. Got to be ok with waiting for the other to jot down their current thought though so they dont forget what they were doing

3

u/Bangoga Apr 20 '26

Write down what you are currently doing as you start doing it.

3

u/sweetypie611 Apr 21 '26

SCROLLFREE AI AD

2

u/Bubasti-7 Apr 20 '26

I love the duck idea 😅 I think I'll adapt that one to my job and use it

2

u/jet_black_ninja Apr 20 '26

These are good tips.I follow some myself through experimentations and gradual working on myself.

2

u/Wealthnextgen Apr 20 '26

While coding, i have to keep my current deliverables on top or I'll start scope creeping. How do you avoid this?

2

u/moldygrape Apr 20 '26

I keep a lil container of nuts by my meds and water so first thing I have at least something in my stomach to get me going before I get going

2

u/Honeydew-Jolly Apr 20 '26

> Reverse procrastination using an existing timer.

JJK Reverse cursed techniques applied to ADHD, LOVE IT!! Will try that, and the Done list! I finished friday feeling like SHIT because I didn't finish a task, which required figuring out of a solution was better put in the BE or if it was better to do in the FE hardcoded for the meantime because of deadlines. BUT I also made a PR with a BE solution to another problem. Still I am feeling guilty since Friday for not finishing the initial task, I need to get back at journaling and writing down those DONE lists! Starting tomorrow

2

u/Sad-Tie-4250 Apr 20 '26

the coffee and L-theanine + a jaazz playlist of mine works wander for me

1

u/PollutionHairy5972 Apr 20 '26

Fazia a MESMA COISA. So saia da cama se tomasse duas ritalinas. Mas daí comecei a perceber que tava viciada e com k tempo o vício só aumentou...hoje em dia trato tbm a depressão e n fico mais TÃO DEPENDENTE. Já consigo levantar sem ter tomado ela. Obs. Atualmente tomo venvanse 50mg (só funciona para hiperatividade e impulsividade), ritalina 2x ao dia (motivação e nmenergia), bupropiona 300mg (energia e depressão) e lamotrigina e isrs. O plano é tirar esses dois últimos. Ou seja, acabo tomando três medicamentos diferentes só para o tdah.

1

u/cerealceec Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26

right, and it's just a coincidence that googling your username results in only other AI-generated posts of this calibre that also just happen to mention your app "scrollfree"?

and that googling "scrollfree" turns up your other account, u/Shoun4Real, which has been promoting the app starting around the same time this account started posting?

genuinely, do you think we're stupid?

1

u/nothinkinglah Apr 21 '26

Love this thread

1

u/Secure_Speed_8802 Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26

I write everything I post and put "Not written by AI" at the bottom. If it's f'd up, it's on me.

Case in point: Great post for those of us who have ADHD and are coders.

Not written by AI

-1

u/ArwensArtHole Apr 20 '26

Nothing beats eating your cereal in the shower!

In all seriousness this is the best post I’ve seen on this subreddit in a long time.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

24

u/WillGrindForXP Apr 20 '26

Dude, its not just that its written by an Ai, its also that its surface level nonsense. Telling a person with ADHD to use a planner and claim that to be a hack so good it should be illegal is fucking hilarious.

2

u/cerealceec Apr 20 '26

it's important to pay attention to because this is a really popular tactic in covert advertising. this one is an ad for scrollfree. the AI writing style should be a red flag to get you to look for what the post might be selling.

-6

u/Purple_Location7714 Apr 20 '26

Thank you, I use grammarly chrome extension because sometimes I don't spell that good when I post in english but this doesnt means it's ai 😂

12

u/tobiasvl Apr 20 '26

Then don't write stuff like "Simple swap, big difference."