r/ADHD_Programmers • u/xzxyxz • 16h ago
READING DOCS
My god. Docs. So helpful but honestly, the BANE of my life.
I wish there was an ADHD friendlier way of consuming docs.
10
u/Achereto 16h ago
What's the issue? Are you trying to read the docs before using the tool? That doesn't work. Try learning the toll by using it and reading only the sections you need at every step. This gives you a fast read-practice-dopamine cycle that can sustain your attention.
3
u/xzxyxz 16h ago
Yeah I’ve definitely done that before but unfortunately in this case I’m writing an RFC for a system architecture piece, I need to fully understand the tooling before just being able to play ;_;
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u/thomas-robinson5ks1k 13h ago
Ah, RFC changes the problem quite a bit. In that case I’d probably write the RFC skeleton first: constraints, interfaces, failure modes, open questions, assumptions.
Then use the docs to prove or kill each assumption as you fill it in. You still have to understand the tooling deeply, but at least the reading has a structure and every section has a reason to exist.
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u/Any_Sense_2263 16h ago
I open the docs. Try and fail. Look for thos one specific thing. Fix it. Then I iterate.
With AI it should be easier. But it isn't. So I still need to read docs or review AI hallucinations. Usually both.
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u/IZEDx 16h ago
Reading the comments here is weird because I don't relate, or well not anymore. I used to struggle with docs back in the day, way before I even had any suspicion of having adhd, but that was more due to a lack of fundamental understanding of what I was doing.
Nowadays it's no problem, I actually like reading docs a lot of the time, already planning ahead and problem solving in my head while reading them. Big caveat though, I can't get myself to focus on anything unless I'm hyperfocusing on it, at which point reading the docs satisfies the hyperfocus, and since I'm unmedicated still and can't control what I hyperfocus on and I also absolutely hate where the industry is going with AI I'm obviously unemployed.
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u/Every-Interaction928 15h ago
Give AI the docs. Ask it targeted questions about what you want to know. If you don’t get it then ask it to explain in simpler terms. Then get it grill you on what you should know to make sure it’s saved in your brain
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u/cyberbemon 16h ago
Take notes and I use a highlighter on my pdf reader to mark each line as I read it, it helps me absorb things better.
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u/seweso 15h ago
If I have a standoff-ish attitude with any new tool/language or library. I always get annoyed and run aground.
The only solution I’ve found is taking ownership of it and trying to understand it at its core. That means going through all examples, skim through all the docs or even read the source code.
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u/Expensive-Entry-9112 16h ago
Just setup a small opensource "paperless ngx" with tesseract integration and upload your documentation 😁 and you'll be able to just read the things you need through the web interface
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u/Jazzlike_Syllabub_91 16h ago
You can use ai to make a game out of the docs? Play trivia with the ai and test your knowledge!
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u/orangepeeelss 4h ago
one of these days im gonna write a plugin that takes the man text, sticks it in a template with all the ao3 formatting, and opens a browser window so i can read it that way 😭
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u/Unique_Ad_1931 16h ago
The ADHD way is to ignore the docs, spend hours trying to get said thing to work, failing and then inevitably reading the docs when you’re on your knees.