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I'd recommend talking to your doctor about Adderall. I have the exact same kind of issues focusing and basically have all my life. Sometime in college I talked

I'd recommend talking to your doctor about Adderall. I have the exact same kind of issues focusing and basically have all my life. Sometime in college I talked to my doctor about it and it's single-handedly one of the best decisions I've made. With it, I can multi-task and stay focused on even tedious tasks. I'd say I'm easily 4x as productive, which has helped my career tremendously. Seriously--I don't want to come across as a shill, but it's like a night and day difference in ability to stay focused. Insurance covers it, and diagnosis consists of your doctor asking you a few questions about exactly the kind of thing you're describing here.

Tepix 9y ago
Adderall is an illegal drug in many countries. Be careful.
- moduspol 9y ago
  Interesting. I'm in the US, and it's just a controlled substance here.
- garmaine 9y ago
  That’s why the recommendation was to see a doctor (and ideally a psychiatrist not a general practitioner). There are many legally prescribed medications to treat ADHD and most jurisdictions allow at least one of them.
ezzzzz 9y ago
I second this. Struggled with exact same thing. The idea of having ADHD had never occurred to me until I found myself rapidly approaching 30, struggling to complete college coursework, my 3rd go at higher education. I wanted so badly to succeed but just couldn't cross the threshold and do what needed to be done. It wasn't until I googled something like 'Why can't I get work done?' that I came to the realization I may have ADHD (which was later confirmed with a proper diagnosis). Medication was not a silver-bullet, but medication + the kinds of routines you've developed (habit tracking etc) was. Also check out r/adhd on reddit. Super helpful people in that sub, and tons of anecdotes from people struggling with the same issues.
sebnap 9y ago
Yeah, and resolve your issues with life like this. You are a human being, with a very complex psyche, on top of it, you are to unaware to be aware of most of it. So, the thing that drives you, is a program written into you, maybe you should change something in your life, than just take a pill and transform into a robot. Maybe you enjoy, drawing, making art, being closer to your children, doing something in nature, meditation, and so on. Maybe, you adderall it all away, for the money.
- moduspol 9y ago
  Do you feel the same way about people using inhalers to treat Asthma? There's no basis for believing I am fundamentally "the way I should be" struggling to focus on tasks, or that I should be at a disadvantage relative to my peers simply because they were born with more efficient brain chemistry. What I enjoy is building things, and Adderall helps me do that. Neither myself nor society is made better by my spending days scrolling through HN or Reddit instead of building the things I want to build, or doing things I want to do.
  - sebnap 9y ago
    If you believe you are brain chemistry induced, sure. But maybe it's the other way around. And this is what "the-searching-in-life" could be about, or not?
    - moduspol 9y ago
      I honestly don't know how far I am from "normal," but why do you believe there is a kind of implied sacredness even in the "normal" human condition? Even if, for the sake of argument, we accepted all humans have trouble concentrating to the same degree, why is struggling with that a desirable goal? A lot of us get wisdom teeth, too. Am I missing out on important parts of the human experience by having them removed?
      - sebnap 9y ago
        > I honestly don't know how far I am from "normal," but why do you believe there is a kind of implied sacredness even in the "normal" human condition? This is actually a very important question. You could even argue further and say, is a schizophrenic person healthy from 'their' viewpoint or should we measure it with the ordinary man as a standard and declare him ill. I definitely can see that a unconscious behaviour can be seen as an illness, and then it's something that should be treated. But altering your perception of the world, into a more narrowed state, can lead to losing the ability to correct your course in life. The same way an alcoholic or drug addict, is able to enjoy himself in his drugged state but lives in hell in every other. But society can see in these examples an ill person. In case of you, going to a doctor, giving him the responsibility to tell you to be ill, accepting it and living in this state, nobody sees as something that's not good for you. Nobody means in this case, neither you. Suffering can lead the way out of things. Out of harmful relationships, jobs, addictions. If you suffer in your normal state, it doesn't have to be your chemistry but the mindstate you were in. Why would meditation work so good, because it alters your mindstate, and instead narrowing it down it opens it up.

Tepix 9y ago

Adderall is an illegal drug in many countries. Be careful.

moduspol 9y ago
Interesting. I'm in the US, and it's just a controlled substance here.
garmaine 9y ago
That’s why the recommendation was to see a doctor (and ideally a psychiatrist not a general practitioner). There are many legally prescribed medications to treat ADHD and most jurisdictions allow at least one of them.

ezzzzz 9y ago

I second this. Struggled with exact same thing. The idea of having ADHD had never occurred to me until I found myself rapidly approaching 30, struggling to complete college coursework, my 3rd go at higher education. I wanted so badly to succeed but just couldn't cross the threshold and do what needed to be done. It wasn't until I googled something like 'Why can't I get work done?' that I came to the realization I may have ADHD (which was later confirmed with a proper diagnosis). Medication was not a silver-bullet, but medication + the kinds of routines you've developed (habit tracking etc) was. Also check out r/adhd on reddit. Super helpful people in that sub, and tons of anecdotes from people struggling with the same issues.

sebnap 9y ago

Yeah, and resolve your issues with life like this. You are a human being, with a very complex psyche, on top of it, you are to unaware to be aware of most of it. So, the thing that drives you, is a program written into you, maybe you should change something in your life, than just take a pill and transform into a robot. Maybe you enjoy, drawing, making art, being closer to your children, doing something in nature, meditation, and so on. Maybe, you adderall it all away, for the money.

moduspol 9y ago
Do you feel the same way about people using inhalers to treat Asthma? There's no basis for believing I am fundamentally "the way I should be" struggling to focus on tasks, or that I should be at a disadvantage relative to my peers simply because they were born with more efficient brain chemistry. What I enjoy is building things, and Adderall helps me do that. Neither myself nor society is made better by my spending days scrolling through HN or Reddit instead of building the things I want to build, or doing things I want to do.
- sebnap 9y ago
  If you believe you are brain chemistry induced, sure. But maybe it's the other way around. And this is what "the-searching-in-life" could be about, or not?
  - moduspol 9y ago
    I honestly don't know how far I am from "normal," but why do you believe there is a kind of implied sacredness even in the "normal" human condition? Even if, for the sake of argument, we accepted all humans have trouble concentrating to the same degree, why is struggling with that a desirable goal? A lot of us get wisdom teeth, too. Am I missing out on important parts of the human experience by having them removed?
    - sebnap 9y ago
      > I honestly don't know how far I am from "normal," but why do you believe there is a kind of implied sacredness even in the "normal" human condition? This is actually a very important question. You could even argue further and say, is a schizophrenic person healthy from 'their' viewpoint or should we measure it with the ordinary man as a standard and declare him ill. I definitely can see that a unconscious behaviour can be seen as an illness, and then it's something that should be treated. But altering your perception of the world, into a more narrowed state, can lead to losing the ability to correct your course in life. The same way an alcoholic or drug addict, is able to enjoy himself in his drugged state but lives in hell in every other. But society can see in these examples an ill person. In case of you, going to a doctor, giving him the responsibility to tell you to be ill, accepting it and living in this state, nobody sees as something that's not good for you. Nobody means in this case, neither you. Suffering can lead the way out of things. Out of harmful relationships, jobs, addictions. If you suffer in your normal state, it doesn't have to be your chemistry but the mindstate you were in. Why would meditation work so good, because it alters your mindstate, and instead narrowing it down it opens it up.