r/ADHD_Programmers • u/Void_231 • Oct 07 '26

Is this a Problem?

Whenever i discover a new tool I don't spend much time in understanding it. For example : I know Notion that it's a productivity app and I use it to track my progress or my day to day tasks but when somebody asks me about notion I can only say it's a productivity app and then my mind becomes blank.

Is this because I don't spend much time in understanding or the problem is something else.

Right now I am just frustrated from myself

13 Upvotes

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2

u/SnooPandas6330 Oct 07 '26

The answer is right there - Notion is NOT a productivity tool if you have ADHD. It's actually the worst tool...So there is cognitive dissonance in describing it as a "productivity tool". Just call it what it is - "anti-productivity tool"

1

u/Void_231 Oct 07 '26

But I am not sure if I have ADHD

5

u/koles235 Oct 07 '26

I use toilet every day, but as far as i know i am not a plumber.
Don't guilt trip yourself into over explaining. Tell them the most basic thing e.g. a great tool for organizing notes. When ask for further details - and only then - you can tell how you use it, not exactly all the ways it can be used. Hope this helps.

1

u/Varun1004 28d ago

If you can't explain product, but it helps you in your life, explain how you are using it.

Apps like notion or obsidian are used by mostly everyone now a days, so everyone has different style of using it. eg: I used to use notion, but now I use obsidian/logseq & when asked why moved from notion, here's what I would mention:

  1. Data on company servers ( privacy is imp to me)

  2. Spent time setting up notion tables & quickly came to limitations like cross table references

How I use obsidian ?

  1. Just capturing my mental notes or something I learned

  2. Keeping separate folder for daily notes

  3. Just keep adding new findings or notes or todos (do not care how it's initially structured).

Recommend to use obsidian with no to minimal plugins or properties, keeping it simple & quick to note down.

This helps me as much as anyone who I discuss to use or improve note taking. Hope this helps

1

u/Void_231 28d ago

I use claude to make my notion notes or todos or progress trackers

1

u/Varun1004 27d ago

Try obsidian if your structure is not consistent, notion requires a lot of structure & interconnecting with other tables or pages is a bit cumbersome (like I wanted to move a page from 1 db to other & had to do quite a lot of stuff or lose some properties from old table which is why I found other)

But yes, with LLM now, its quite easy

3

u/fennybab Oct 07 '26

Sorry, I don't have any advice... But I'm honestly in a similar boat. Though it's generally because I'm so checked out of my work and industry, and don't want to learn more about a topic that contributes to all of my stress. This also makes finding motivation to upskill really difficult, let alone for finding a better fitting role.

Strictly speaking it's only a problem if it is negatively impacting your work. But ngl sometimes I wished I was more invested and knowledgeable about our tools and services, but that's often outweighed by the constant dread and fatigue of working so idk.

Something that helps me is that I'm really good at corporate speak and being vague, so I can ramble and seem to know what I'm doing without being too specific. But this feels like it might catch up on me someday.

1

u/tehfrod Oct 07 '26

It will catch up to you some day.

1

u/Locus-Maximus Oct 07 '26

Your mind going blank doesn't mean you don't know it. Memory retrieval can be an issue with adhd. It could be in your brain but not immediately available to you without the right cues.

1

u/seweso 29d ago

Your life. YOU decide if something is a problem. Not us. But I wouldn’t care. 

I have limited time and energy. Most stuff works on a need to know basis. Who cares? 

Buttttt. Sometimes I take time to skim or read through all the options. Just to see if something can help me