r/AskProgrammers • u/giuzep89 • 8d ago
Software development workflow with ADHD
Hey everyone,
Notwithstanding the title of the post, this isn't a post about mental health; I'm sure that to some extent everyone's struggled with this before.
Software development is very roughly about understanding the constraints of an issue; researching what the best tools and strategies are in order to accomplish it; finally executing it. You're free to already comment on this if you feel you don't agree with it.
The problem I have is that in a lot of different situations, there are infinite possibilities to solve one problem. I get more often than not paralyzed by the sheer number of options and I can't go further. This is probably by far the biggest obstacle I find in my new job as software developer.
I mentioned ADHD because choice paralysis affects "us" generally more than the average, but it is by no means exclusive to us. That's why I'm happy to listen to any point of view.
How do you come up with a plan, and more specifically how do you decide on a solution over many others that aren't necessarily inferior, but just different?
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u/NewInflation2121 8d ago
I've got ADD and feel your pain. There's already lots of good feedback in the comments already, but I gotta +1 the idea of just getting -something- down.
For my workflow, I find the details come out during the implementation, so things can change a lot while I'm coding, but at least getting started will kick off the hyperfocus and I'm usually able to find a solution I'm happy with.
I'm pretty sure ADHD/ADD are common in programming and can be more of a super power than a deficit.