Reflection - AI Work and ADHD

2025-08-27T07:16:57Z

Reflection #

It’s time to be more devoted to my work… AI has been a cool technology to watch and experience but one thing I’m allowing it to do to me is to kill my love for building… I feel like I’m arriving where I’ve already seen many talented developers get to -

realization

AI is not magic, it’s a headache.

Don’t get me wrong, targeted and focused use of LLMs, with careful planning and time-boxing can be great, and has been for me. But I am a creature and prone to take the path of least resistance, and in many cases I’m just letting the LLM do the work. This is where the ADHD element from the title comes into play. Now, I’m not blaming ADHD for me being lazy, because I’m not sure laziness is the fairest descriptor of where I’ve been lately. A common issue for those with ADHD, maybe even the defining characteristic, is the black-hole that’s present in the space where motiviation and reward belong in the brain. I’ve resonated with this thought for much of my life:

Fulfilled or Relieved

When I finish tasks, I’m not fulfilled… if anything I’m relieved.

This is a core issue I am seeking to address in my life, and I guess in real-time reflection I should thank the hellscape of AI and LLMs for surfacing this pattern in my make-up today instead of when I’m in my 40s or 50s.

So where I’ve been is that I’ll let an LLM write code and then I’ll attempt to be validating the tests or example scripts I prompt it to generate, get comfortable with it, and ship.

But then in a few weeks the context of that code is all lost on me… I didn’t craft it with blood and sweat and so when I’m asked a question about it I realize I’m barely fluent in a thing I built (did I even build it?)!

This is embarrassing and exhausting… I’m not sure what I’m gonna do about this, definitely not write about how I’m going to change my life over this dissastisfaction and from this day forward everything will be different…

But today does feel like an infelction point in a trajectory I’ve been on with AI and my job, so not starting today, but just a decision I am making today, is to time-box every task with vigorous commitment.

💭 Normal boyhood is ADHD

2025-06-13T10:58:01Z

Here’s my thought on Normal boyhood is ADHD

I may want to write a longer post about this or just capture some quick thoughts but I appreciate DHH’s take here…. ADHD diagnosis is an epidemic… Humans are different and I think we should seek to build society that makes space for differences, rather than medicating everyone into more or less the same robotic blog to work and pay taxes.

However I came across this post on another platform with commenting, and most of the commentators were upset with the post saying things like “tell me you have no idea what ADHD is without telling me” and long explanation of honestly regurgitated talking points from a very pro-pharma worldview position… it’s kind of a chicken or egg thing to me - because you don’t have to be a doctor to read and do your own research, and to “just trust the experts” is the most unscientific saying in history… but the folks criticizing this post claiming DHH is speaking out of turn are taking JUST as arrogant approach to ADHD or mental health, only they put more faith in a medical community (which I’ve written about a little and am sus of due to the money), but they put ZERO faith in their own ability to think critically or observe patterns about the world…

Thanks DHH for the thoughts here, as a guy recently diagnosed with ADHD and Autism I’ve done my own reflection and simply agree with a lot of what he puts down here

Note

This is one of [[ my-thoughts ]]. I picked this up from Waylon Walker(https://thoughts.waylonwalker.com). It’s a short note that I make about someone else’s content online. Learn more about the process Thoughts

Posts tagged: adhd

Reflection - AI Work and ADHD

Reflection #

💭 Normal boyhood is ADHD