A developer with ADHD?

This is not a blog I thought I'd ever be typing up but it's something that has come to light over the past month or so. Actually, it probably came off the back of my last blog about getting a balance in life. 

As a developer, a common comment I have had from team mates and bosses is that my coding speed needs to increase. It's been such a regular thing that I now openly admit "I know I'm slow at coding" and yes, it does frustrate me. 

No matter what I do to try and get faster, it doesn't work. Then I get stressed by it all and then I get slower because I'm now stressing about not going fast enough. 

I also recently really noticed my ability to concentrate on anything has been horrendous. I mean, 10mins working on something and then I'm like "Oh! Look, something shiny". 

Now, I know these aren't ADHD things specifically but I started to do some research and came across the NHS Scotland site about ADHD in adults. 

They have a list of symptoms of ADHD in adult. 

• you get easily distracted and find it hard to notice details, particularly with things you find boring ✅
• it’s hard to listen to other people – you may find yourself finishing their sentences for them or interrupting them ✅
• it’s hard to follow instructions ✅
• you find it hard to organise yourself – you start a lot of things without ever finishing them✅
• you find it hard to wait ✅
• you fidget and can’t sit still when there’s nothing much going on ✅
• you’re forgetful and tend to lose or misplace things ✅
• you easily get irritable, impatient or frustrated and lose your temper quickly
• you feel restless or edgy, have difficulty turning your thoughts off ✅
• you find stress hard to handle ✅
• you tend to do things on the spur of the moment, without thinking, which gets you into trouble ✅

Pretty much everything above I can tick off and in the past, I thought it was just who I am. But if you put this in to a role as a developer, it can be a real pain! Not just for me, but for my team mates, my career prospects and life in general. 

I'm not a fan of self diagnosing via google and I do plan to speak to my GP but the issue is, there is a massive waiting list on the NHS to get an official assessment. 

I've spoken about this with my wife and we are going to read up about ways to help as if I had an official diagnosis, to see if it helps. It can't make things any worse, that's for sure. I must admit that in the past I have just thought ADHD as a child thing, they have too much sugar and they are a pain in the bum! I never thought about it as an Adult thing. 

It's interesting reading the Reddit group which is ADHD_Programmers and I honestly feel like I've been seen. 
Threads like "How do I read long and boring shit", "Anyone get distracted by learning while learning", "How do you stay focussed through complex tasks", "How you do the pomodoro with less than 25mins?" 

All these things I'm like - oh my god, this is my day to day life. It's crazy. 

I'd be interested to speak to other developers who have either been diagnosed or think they might have ADHD and how they cope with it. I'm not keen on taking meds, especially since this is just me reading things online, which can be dangerous. 

So, if you're interested in chatting, drop me a message.