ADHD. How do you manage the constant stream of thoughts and ideas?

Re:ADHD. How do you manage the constant stream of thoughts a... by purple-leafy on Tuesday January 13, 2026 @07:26PM (#46610653)

I have adhd, I write them down. Some of them are great ideas, some are shit.

I got diagnosed at 29. Up until then I was very entrepreneurial and ambitious, constantly working on business ideas. Hell I taught myself software engineering because I had a single idea I hyper focused on lol.

The way I see it, lean into it. ADHD is a double edged sword - you get intrusive thoughts, some of them are bad, but some of them are ideas.

You can’t really change your brain, you can take medication and it might help you focus a bit more.

But I say lean into it. I’ve had several successful ventures from pure ADHD fuelled idea binges.

I don’t really switch off, but I make sure I work in the office every day because being around people helps.

But when I’m alone it’s a barrage of thoughts, some days more intense than others.

There are alot of ADHD founders and programmers

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:ADHD. How do you manage the constant stream of thoughts a... by chriswright1664 on Tuesday January 13, 2026 @07:38PM (#46610762)

Yep green and this is common “founder ADHD” thing. I just worry about the day today coping.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:ADHD. How do you manage the constant stream of thoughts a... by purple-leafy on Tuesday January 13, 2026 @09:21PM (#46611512)

Honestly man I’ve just come to accept that I’ll be a little unfocused and wired, I’ve learnt there’s not much I can do about it.

We really need novelty so you’ll excel in environments that can offer that (travel, anything fast paced, transport roles like trucking etc)

Embrace the chaos, don’t fight it

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:ADHD. How do you manage the constant stream of thoughts a... by R_D_Olivaw on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @12:56AM (#46612820)

I've taken it a step further and just operate on the notion that we weren't really meant to be "office drones". This lifestyle is new for humans.

We used to need people that were aware of their surroundings and able to create novel solutions to environmental challenges.

I leverage that as much as I can. Sometimes that means my "breaks" are actually rollerblading in the park while listening to music and weaving (very politely) between people.

Sometimes that means I workout and pretend I'm hunting or traversing some sort of chasm/river/etc.

It helps reduce the "death stench" that routine, monotonous work seems to give off.

[ Parent | on HN ]