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This is a common problem. The book Deep Work goes into it in detail, and has some research-based techniques to fix it. Basically it boils down to removing distr

This is a common problem. The book Deep Work goes into it in detail, and has some research-based techniques to fix it. Basically it boils down to removing distractions, and determination, gradually building up your brain's ability to focus again. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X47ZVXM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X47ZVXM

utopcell 8y ago
Thank you for sharing, this looks like a nice reference (although the irony of obtaining this link via hacker news is not lost on me.)
01100011 8y ago
If I try eliminating distractions, I just end up daydreaming. I spend most days at work just reading the same shit over and over with nothing sticking. I manage to get work done in rare bursts after exhausting my brain with distractions. Fwiw, I'm in my mid 40s and have less than a year of treating my sleep apnea. I'm pretty sure I've had ADHD my whole life but blamed other things until recently. I'm trying to resist getting medicated, but I think I might it to get me focused enough to work on CBT and meditation.
- sys_64738 8y ago
  Don't medicate but challenge yourself. Learn a new editor while doing your job. Try using Windows instead of using a Mac. Try typing only left handed. There are varioud challenges to overcome boring assignments. Also try a standing desk so if you skive then you must stand up for fifth teen mins.
  - internet_user 8y ago
    the worst advice ever. If you have medical issues - take care of medical issues in the best way possible. Challenging yourself = denying yourself treatment. Challenging yourself is not a treatment for something like sleep apnea.
    - bobydonahue 8y ago
      Yes but the evidence for ADHD is dubious. We have a long way to go when it comes to understanding the human mind. Anyone, not just people with ADD, can increase their performance with narcotic stimulants. Just don't be disingenuous about it.
      - adamzk 8y ago
        Just because ADHD is poorly understood and often diagnosed incorrectly does not make it any less debilitating to those who have it and certainly does not imply that they are not in need of medication. Yes the medication can be abused by those who don't need it to get an edge. This is what makes it a controlled substance. Opiates can be abused too and have the same effect on everybody. The difference is that people in server pain need opiates to function at a baseline normal level. People with ADHD need medication to function at a baseline normal level. The fact that some people abuse them to go beyond that is completely irrelevant
        existencebox 8y ago
        > People with ADHD need medication to function at a baseline normal level. This statement is so out of line I had to chime in. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. I was medicated for a few years, before I stopped taking the pills without telling my parents (they were being pressured by the private school I was in to medicate, I was kicked out shortly after they found out I had stopped.) Those years are a complete empty window in my memory, and left me with physical ticks that _decades_ later I still have to suppress, alongside no actual tools for dealing with the symptoms. Medication is not a silver bullet. Not all ADHD cases need to be medicated. Find what works for you, whatever the hell that is, and don't listen to dogma. For me that was coping mechanisms combined with a realization that much of the "attention deficit" was because I _didn't want to pay attention to the shit I was supposed to_ and _that's completely reasonable._ To insinuate that I haven't tractably found success ("baseline normal") with a non-medicative approach in my life is frankly insulting.
        8y ago
  - 01100011 8y ago
    That's bad advice for me. For instance, I was supposed to be working on finalizing a new feature. Instead I was obsessed with writing tool wrappers. I learn things all the time, but they seldom relate to the thing I'm supposed to be doing. I'll bounce around instead of deep diving through the codebase I'm responsible for.
- metaloha 8y ago
  Holy shit, same boat, same age, on CPAP for about a year now, can't remember what was said in the meeting I was just in this morning. And browsing HN while I should be writing tests ;)
  - internet_user 8y ago
    Your apnea could be undertreated, or it could be a symptom of a bigger problem. Epiglottic collapse is not uncommon in apnea patinets (10-15% of cases), and is not treatable by positive pressure, as it is an inspiratory valve. CPAP only works on the expiratory valve - which is your soft palate. If you are having a large number of arousals, despite optimal CPAP pressure, and your respiratory waveform is jagged in certain ways (hard to describe in text) - you are very likely having epiglottic collapses. However, epiglottic collapse can only be definitively diagnosed by sleep endoscopy. Epiglottic collapse can only be treated surgicially.
- hippich 8y ago
  Or simply go to a doctor specializing in it and check with him what they think. If they suggest trying something - try it and see if it works. I was in the same boat. Can't really say it was a miracle, but it definitely helped a bit.
- interfixus 8y ago
  Add a decade, subtract the apnea, but otherwise: Welcome to my world, or an exact replica thereof. The thing is, I can focus on stuff I really want to do, but I can't fake the want. So - my personal pet projects are doing fine. As for work, my life has improved tremendously since I sort of gave up careerwise. These days I drive a bus and actually have some mental energy left over for my sparetime. No medication. I don't like the idea.
mr_tristan 8y ago
I would add that _almost anything_ that requires focus for a period of time can actually help you out. This book talks about the benefits of learning to memorize a deck of cards - just you and a deck of cards in the morning (no phone, no computer), can help "repair" your ability to focus.
yeezyseezy 8y ago
Have you been able to put any of these techniques into practice? It's been a few years since I tried reading it, but I wasn't able to push through the fluff to make it to the practical advice.
swah 8y ago
Another suggestion: https://sivers.org/book/PracticingMind https://sivers.org/book/PracticingMind In my experience: its hard to get started, but when I'm in the flow I know that I can do this. Start with simpler tasks (small wins).

utopcell 8y ago

Thank you for sharing, this looks like a nice reference (although the irony of obtaining this link via hacker news is not lost on me.)

01100011 8y ago

If I try eliminating distractions, I just end up daydreaming. I spend most days at work just reading the same shit over and over with nothing sticking. I manage to get work done in rare bursts after exhausting my brain with distractions. Fwiw, I'm in my mid 40s and have less than a year of treating my sleep apnea. I'm pretty sure I've had ADHD my whole life but blamed other things until recently. I'm trying to resist getting medicated, but I think I might it to get me focused enough to work on CBT and meditation.

sys_64738 8y ago
Don't medicate but challenge yourself. Learn a new editor while doing your job. Try using Windows instead of using a Mac. Try typing only left handed. There are varioud challenges to overcome boring assignments. Also try a standing desk so if you skive then you must stand up for fifth teen mins.
- internet_user 8y ago
  the worst advice ever. If you have medical issues - take care of medical issues in the best way possible. Challenging yourself = denying yourself treatment. Challenging yourself is not a treatment for something like sleep apnea.
  - bobydonahue 8y ago
    Yes but the evidence for ADHD is dubious. We have a long way to go when it comes to understanding the human mind. Anyone, not just people with ADD, can increase their performance with narcotic stimulants. Just don't be disingenuous about it.
    - adamzk 8y ago
      Just because ADHD is poorly understood and often diagnosed incorrectly does not make it any less debilitating to those who have it and certainly does not imply that they are not in need of medication. Yes the medication can be abused by those who don't need it to get an edge. This is what makes it a controlled substance. Opiates can be abused too and have the same effect on everybody. The difference is that people in server pain need opiates to function at a baseline normal level. People with ADHD need medication to function at a baseline normal level. The fact that some people abuse them to go beyond that is completely irrelevant
      - existencebox 8y ago
        > People with ADHD need medication to function at a baseline normal level. This statement is so out of line I had to chime in. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. I was medicated for a few years, before I stopped taking the pills without telling my parents (they were being pressured by the private school I was in to medicate, I was kicked out shortly after they found out I had stopped.) Those years are a complete empty window in my memory, and left me with physical ticks that _decades_ later I still have to suppress, alongside no actual tools for dealing with the symptoms. Medication is not a silver bullet. Not all ADHD cases need to be medicated. Find what works for you, whatever the hell that is, and don't listen to dogma. For me that was coping mechanisms combined with a realization that much of the "attention deficit" was because I _didn't want to pay attention to the shit I was supposed to_ and _that's completely reasonable._ To insinuate that I haven't tractably found success ("baseline normal") with a non-medicative approach in my life is frankly insulting.
        8y ago
- 01100011 8y ago
  That's bad advice for me. For instance, I was supposed to be working on finalizing a new feature. Instead I was obsessed with writing tool wrappers. I learn things all the time, but they seldom relate to the thing I'm supposed to be doing. I'll bounce around instead of deep diving through the codebase I'm responsible for.
metaloha 8y ago
Holy shit, same boat, same age, on CPAP for about a year now, can't remember what was said in the meeting I was just in this morning. And browsing HN while I should be writing tests ;)
- internet_user 8y ago
  Your apnea could be undertreated, or it could be a symptom of a bigger problem. Epiglottic collapse is not uncommon in apnea patinets (10-15% of cases), and is not treatable by positive pressure, as it is an inspiratory valve. CPAP only works on the expiratory valve - which is your soft palate. If you are having a large number of arousals, despite optimal CPAP pressure, and your respiratory waveform is jagged in certain ways (hard to describe in text) - you are very likely having epiglottic collapses. However, epiglottic collapse can only be definitively diagnosed by sleep endoscopy. Epiglottic collapse can only be treated surgicially.
hippich 8y ago
Or simply go to a doctor specializing in it and check with him what they think. If they suggest trying something - try it and see if it works. I was in the same boat. Can't really say it was a miracle, but it definitely helped a bit.
interfixus 8y ago
Add a decade, subtract the apnea, but otherwise: Welcome to my world, or an exact replica thereof. The thing is, I can focus on stuff I really want to do, but I can't fake the want. So - my personal pet projects are doing fine. As for work, my life has improved tremendously since I sort of gave up careerwise. These days I drive a bus and actually have some mental energy left over for my sparetime. No medication. I don't like the idea.

mr_tristan 8y ago

I would add that _almost anything_ that requires focus for a period of time can actually help you out. This book talks about the benefits of learning to memorize a deck of cards - just you and a deck of cards in the morning (no phone, no computer), can help "repair" your ability to focus.

yeezyseezy 8y ago

Have you been able to put any of these techniques into practice? It's been a few years since I tried reading it, but I wasn't able to push through the fluff to make it to the practical advice.

swah 8y ago

Another suggestion: https://sivers.org/book/PracticingMind https://sivers.org/book/PracticingMind In my experience: its hard to get started, but when I'm in the flow I know that I can do this. Start with simpler tasks (small wins).