Focus is incredibly underrated and probably why a bunch of us are on ADHD medication, but I'll also highlight the importance of _environment_ that allows focus.

Focus is incredibly underrated and probably why a bunch of us are on ADHD medication, but I'll also highlight the importance of _environment_ that allows focus. Disruption-based workflows, lack of direction, applied pressure on developers that leads to stress can all kill even the most productive dev. I've worked places (most of my career) where that space to fail and space to take a bit longer on things that have value not immediately visible and produced a lot and a couple places where negative attributes have killed the momentum that can come from the general joy & excitement of development. A lot of these 'outstanding' people work within an environment where development is mostly joy. Where spending 3 days on a small problem incites a drive to tackle more. They're either established and trusted, wealthy enough to not be affected by these things, or just work within another flexible space. It makes development pleasurable and as a result the output maximizes over time.