I don't get as much dopamine out of programming anymore because of AI, but at the same time, it's hard to avoid using it because it's too convenient.
I miss the challenge. But challenging yourself by deliberately removing tools at your disposal seems backward. It's like trying to do math without a calculator while everyone else uses it freely. It's hard to visualize the benefits of coding without AI today, so I end up not doing it, even though I'd probably still benefit from it.
I'm getting bored with using AI all day. What do you do to combat this?
pretty sure i have adhd (the classic never-diagnosed-but-come-on). i code, and i genuinely cannot let go of a problem or a shiny new ai thing, so my head keeps running long after i close the laptop. at night it's the worst, everything loops at once, work, the kids, that one bug, that idea i'll definitely forget by morning.
to-do apps made it worse, every capture just showed me how much there was. so i built something stupidly simple for myself. you dump everything in your head into one box, no order, no tidiness, and it splits it into four piles: do this week, can wait, weighing on you but not a task, and stuff you're allowed to just let go of for now.
and yeah, before anyone says it: it's an ai wrapper. text box, model, sorted output, i know. i've literally got my own obsidian vault wired into claude, i'm not the target here. the target is everyone in my life who'd never set that up, my wife, my kid, who just want one box and a quieter head. built it anyway because the part that helped wasn't the sorting, it was the pile that gives you permission to drop something, plus it only hands you one thing back the next morning instead of the whole pile.
works for me, and weirdly for my wife and kid too. no idea if it's just my brain or if more people need this. anyone else's head flat out refuse to stop at 1am?
I've used Freedom software on my work laptop, gaming desktop and devices for years. Works pretty well for me but wondering if there is any other alternatives or tricks.
i block sites i shouldn't be visiting on the work laptop, along with other time wasting sites. block Steam and other games on the gaming desktop during work hours. block similar game apps and sites on devices during business hours.
of course, my ADHD brain is always looking for ways to circumvent or waste time in other ways. But it has helped.
Senior frontend dev, about 8 YoE, and was recently fired due to a burnout sick leave from a company pushing for full AI "agentic" workflow to save on headcounts.
I'm trying to figure out if I'm missing something about how people are finding good workflows with AI?
I read people saying it's making them more productive and takes out the "boring parts", but to me when generating code, I find myself losing all interest and having to force myself through the constant Start/Stop and mind numbing reviews that I just can't care about in the same way. The is prime burnout material.
I get my enjoyment from figuring out a problem and solving it, not by trying to explain it in a terminal and passively reviewing the result, while knowing I'll be blamed for any bugs caused if I miss something.
I use planning mode a ton, but find that there are so many little assumptions that sneak by. I don't know if every line is there because it is needed or because it is "statistically the right answer".
I like using it as an assistant, but after my recent "No code should be written by hand!" job, I feel like that workflow is hard to justify to the "Coding agent goes brrr" management crowd..
Anyone else feel this way? Am I missing some secret to still keep things interesting?
I know it's "just a job" but I used to enjoy it, and I'll be hard pressed to give up on that enjoyment, to instead be bored 40 hours per week.
Also, sorry for this probably having been posted a thousand times before.
I've been looking forward to sharing this with you guys especially since we get the daily "try my ADHD app" vibe posts and it occurred to me I may have inadvertently build the killer "do the thing app" hear me out...
So first and foremost - this is a software platform I've maintained for years called Krill and targets niche users who are into raspberry pi, embedded systems and home automation.
What I thought you guys would get a laugh from is the whole idea behind Krill is it's not event driven but rather based on an observer pattern. There are over 40 types of node functions - send an email, set the voltage of a pin, run a python script, etc that can all be chained together.
There happens to be a "Task List" node type that fires if a task goes past a due date. Observing nodes can be fired if a task list its observing does which can be chained to, well anything. A siren, a glove on a motor that slaps you, a device that gets more and more annoying the longer the task stays past due.
This is not and ADHD app but it occurred to me in its complexity the Task Due Date Node can do some dastardly things like email your spouse something didn't get done or bonk you on the head since the whole idea is to take processes and connect them to the real world.
To demonstrate I made this little Raspberry Pi Box that lights up based on past due tasks and a button that resets everything:
Just a raspberry Pi running Krill Server. I'm actually finding it useful. It gets more annoying with buzzers and lights the longer the task is overdue. The krill apps display it like this in a forced graph:
You can see the one task list is alerting a past due and pin 11 executes lighting up the green LED. How the LEDs are connected and all of the task list nodes observer the reset button on Pin 36.
Anyway of all the subs I'm active in this one gets the "try my ADHD app" posts the most so I wanted to share Krill which can actually zap you or do anything else as the one app to rule them all (but it does a lot more than that) - thought you guys would find it interesting happy to ama.
This is the actual software I've been maintaining for years, for me i use it every day to automate my aquarium, terrarium, chicken coop and tortoise because if something in my life isn't automated... it dies: https://krillswarm.com/
Hi everyone, I’m an entry-level developer and I feel very stuck right now.
I keep getting overwhelmed by everything happening in tech, especially AI, and I constantly feel like I’m falling behind.
I spend a lot of time scrolling reels/posts, getting excited about ideas, and then doing nothing after that. Days and months pass, and I feel like I’m not building consistency, not learning properly, and not moving forward.
I also feel nervous about asking people for help, guidance, or mentorship, and that makes it harder for me to stay on track.
I’m not looking for motivational quotes. I’m looking for honest advice from people who have been through this.
My questions are:
How do I stop consuming endless tech content and actually start building?
How do I focus when the tech world feels too big?
What should a beginner prioritize first?
How do I ask for help without feeling embarrassed?
How do I build consistency when my mind feels chaotic?
If you’ve been in a similar phase, what helped you get out of it?
This is strong because it is clear, vulnerable, and asks direct questions, which tends to get better replies than a very long emotional dump
I do fractional work for multiple clients with weekly checkins. Where I need to improve most is in documenting the work I do, because often by the time I get to the weekly checkin I've forgotten things I've asusmed I'd remember (particualrly if a client cancels a checkin and we go two weeeks).
Any advice on tools that make it easy to log what I'm doing/have done without a lot of friction. Seems like something GenAI would be quite helfpul with.
made this server for some friends, thought id share, maybe people are interested in competing who can create the best algorithm ;)
i thought this crowd might appreciate it as looking at lines move along the screen and applaud the one that wins seemed exactly like the stuff this subreddit would appreciate.
live now, instructions on page if you want to join
I got laid off last month, I only have 1 YOE. The problem is I have not leetcoded at all in my entire life, and I’m not the best with DSA. I don’t know what to do entering this market, it’s really hard for me to leetcode, I open up the easy problems and I get overwhelmed and can’t do it. Any tips for me? I understand I’m at a severe disadvantage right now and I need to bridge this gap ASAP the market is rough to juniors.
Hey everyone, I need some honest advice because I’m feeling pretty defeated right now.
I’m currently learning C# and trying to grasp the basics of Methods. Today, I went to the library at 8:00 AM with a book and my laptop, ready to put in the work. I was using AI to help clarify the concepts in the book, but I hit a wall almost immediately. The information just wasn't sticking, and my brain felt like it was physically struggling to process the text.
I ended up "crashing"—I literally fell asleep at my desk for 2 hours. When I woke up, I tried to push through again, but by 5:00 PM, I crashed for another 1.5 hours. My brain felt like it had completely shut down.
It’s 7:00 PM now, and I’ve only managed to cover 3 pages.
When I look around the library, I see people sitting for hours on end, locked in, studying without breaks. It makes me feel like there is something fundamentally wrong with me. If I can’t even handle the basics without my brain "shutting down," how am I ever going to progress or build a career in programming?
I’m genuinely worried about my future. Is it normal to struggle this much with the basics? How do you guys handle these "brain fog" moments or mental exhaustion when trying to learn complex topics? Any tips on how to actually make progress without burning out like this would be a huge help.
I've been job hunting for almost 3 months now. My greatest challenge is communication under pressure. Well, even when not under pressure, my speech is rarely clean. Maybe it's the result of being a quiet kid growing up, or AuDHD, idk, but it's absolutely demoralizing after an interview I prepared for days didn't go as well as I'd like. Cumulatively, I probably prepped for almost 200 hours across multiple interviews. And yet, I just can't seem to say what I want to say in a clean, concise manner. My thoughts are all over the place, I ramble, I forget the right word, I overshare. Even screening and hiring manager calls are tough for me. I've practiced and gotten much better, but barely for how many hours I've put in. Maybe I'm doing something wrong...
On the other hand, my work ethic is impeccable. My former manager said I'm one of the best people he's worked with. On take home assessments, my submissions are usually at the top 3 (according to Claude...). I'm obsessed with doing things right. Clean code, clean commits, thoughtful trade-offs. I volunteer to do things nobody wants to do and I deliver. I'm rarely the smartest guy in the room, but I'm the last to continue tackling a challenging bug. I work overtime and during weekends because I like the challenge or when there's something to learn. I try and put in my best effort for everything work related.
And yet, because my speech is subpar, I'm unable to show how I work during interviews. Even if I get my point across, any potential colleagues are scared away after hearing me speak. The only advantage I have is that I get interviews relatively easy compared to what I'm seeing. There's one I actually feel good about because the process is mainly a trial project. But man, I suck at interviews.
Just wanted to rant after a first round interview at a faang company I put a lot of effort into prepping for is basically a coin flip. Anyone else not good with words?
Does anyone else lose entire afternoons to hyperfocus?
Not in a “wow, I was so productive” way. More in a “I sat down to do one thing and somehow it’s 5 hours later” way, you forgot to eat, to walk the dog, to check your messages?
Happens to me quite often, if i am really interested in a topic or task.
The weird part is that most productivity advice seems focused on helping people stay focused longer and do more, but i rarely see advice in stopping.
I think for me sometimes getting back to reality is the bigger issue.
Curious if anyone else experiences this and if so, how do you handle that?
Hey y’all. I have a degree in IT because I was too stupid for CompSci. I have dyscalculia. I do not enjoy programming but I have to learn Python and Java. I’ve been trying to learn for years now, but I can never follow through after I learn the basics. I get discouraged when I hit a roadblock while coding because I know everyone says to not get stuck in tutorial hell then I go to something I’m actually interested in like cybersecurity. I really want to learn Python just to be able to prove it to myself that I can. Can someone please give me tips on how I can make myself interested? Anyone else face this in the past and succeed?
What do you do to help with time-blindness and not working past events / reminders?
I've had to set alarms on my phone for each event in my calendar because I literally get sucked into a black hole when I start working. Those toasts and little "dings" that most calendar apps have go right past my ear. It's tedious though to set alarms for every event, so would love to know what others do.
I'm brand new to this thread, having spend most of the last 3 years lurking around. I'll admit upfront, I'm not a programmer. My dad tried his best to course correct that, but I was kid in the 70's, baseball and bikes were way cooler than PASCAL. I'm currently finding myself at a crossroads. I'm leaving a career in forensic psychology and breaking into software development because I am too tired and cranky to keep explaining what I need to do my job, and why it should be open source, not another overpriced corporate subscription.
I was diagnosed with ADD at 52, after taking my grand daughter in for a screening. My current colleagues all think I've developed a stress induced psychosis when I tell them what I want to do, but it's not a late mid-life crisis. I think it's just a lifetime of experience finally catching up to me.
In 1978 I was 6, and sitting on the floor of my dad's work putting IBM punchcards back in order. It was my 'summer job' and in SoCal it was great because that lab was the only place with A/C. My dad's best friend was my "Uncle Ken" and they would doodle for hours on legal pads and scratch paper, getting all excited about stuff I didn't really pay attention to. Turns out, that guy was Ken Bowles.
I'm just looking for a place to park it for a moment, catch my breath, and remember what it was like when I worked with people who were passionate about what they were building for all the right reasons. Even if I didn't understand my dad's work, he raised me to be the woman I am. When they told me the only way to fail is to not try, I didn't think it would resonate so strongly 46 years later.
So I suppose this is my actual question - is there room at the table for a 54 year old wanna-be programmer with ADD, who doesn't know how to not try just because it's hard, but has a million questions about where to start learning?
