Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work

Re:Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work by uh_uh on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @04:38PM (#27596881)

> ADHD people can sit there yelling at themselves to "do the thing" that they _know_ they need to do and still be completely incapable of starting regardless of how "easy" it is to actually do it once something forces them to actually start.

I also do this. Even worse: the easier and hence duller the task seems, the more difficult it is to get started on it. Once I do start on it and finish 5 minutes later, I need a 20 minute break (WFH doesn't help).

I also often zone out during meetings to the point I haven't got a clue what people are talking about. But to be honest the information content of most meetings is really low.

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Re:Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work by EricBurnett on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @06:40PM (#27598204)

That's actually a strategy recommended to ADHD folk: do 20m of engaging "fun" to prepare yourself for 5m of forced boring activity. Think of it as recharging a reservoir of $tolerance before draining it to power some boring activity.

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Re:Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work by sizzle on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:10PM (#27599512)

Getting started feels like climbing the steepest mountain, so I’ve learned to just open the damn thing in front of me and tell someone I’ll send it over to force myself to start (forced accountability). It works 99% of the time if I think the person is sitting there waiting for it anxiously. ADHD is living life as a knowledge worker on nightmare mode compared to neurotypicals with functioning executive memory.

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Re:Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work by throwaway6734 on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @08:25PM (#27599202)

>I also often zone out during meetings to the point I haven't got a clue what people are talking about

I've found that having a pen and some notepaper for doodling and writing whatever a speaker is saying is helpful to stay engaged

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Re:Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work by eyelidlessness on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:05PM (#27599475)

I play minesweeper. I even have a reputation for it. Long before I got my ADHD diagnosis. But I’ve done a good job of making people aware that if I’m playing minesweeper I’m as engaged as I’m able to be.

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