Mind Over Matter: How I Overcame My Learning Disability to Build a Successful Tech Career
This is an article I wrote up in 2016 for the Startup Institute. I realized I never shared it directly with my readers, so shame on me! But others have found it inspiring, and I hope you will too. It was around 2009 that I…
The Three Foundations of A Better Brain: Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise
Here’s something everyone should internalize if you don’t know this already: It doesn’t matter how many brain ‘hacks’ you try. It doesn’t matter how much information you consume on this topic, or how much time you spend listening to podcasts and reading blog posts. It…
My “Brain Hacks and Upgrades” Presentation
Last summer I was super excited to give a talk at QCon New York, a fantastic international software conference. At QCon they give some great in-depth talks about everything tech related, ranging from web development to programming architecture, scaling, management and so on. Last summer…
Why I Got My IQ Tested (And You Should Too)
My first experience getting diagnosed with a “brain thing” was similar to what most people experience. I went to a psychiatrist and told him I was having trouble focusing. He said, “You have ADHD,” and gave me some drugs. Problem solved! Not really. Medication can…
Presenting at QCon New York, This June 2016!
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be speaking at QCon New York, a pretty kickass software conference this June. The title of the talk I’ll be giving is ADHD & Technology: Brain Hacks and Upgrades. It will share some content from a blog post I wrote…
Brain Hacks vs. Brain Upgrades (Compensation vs. Correction)
As you may already know, I’ve invested a lot of time, money and energy trying to overcome the challenges associated with my brain’s learning deficits. I’ve found that the various methods out there fall into two categories: things that change the brain, and things that…
Working Out My Brain With Mozart
5 days a week, I hole up in a hidden corner at the local Crunch gym. For just over an hour, I hop on a bosu ball and bounce a tennis ball around while listening to mozart and wearing vibrating headphones. Weird? Probably. Effective? Possibly….
Changing Your Brain is Tough (But Possible)
If you just got diagnosed with ADHD, learning disabilities or something similar, it’s a bit of a heavy cross to bear at first. You know you’re different; but you feel like you’re “less” than other people, which is not only bad but it’s completely false….
Programmers with ADHD – 10 Productivity Tips
I’ve met a fair amount of programmers with ADHD over the years. A lot of them were fairly successful in their chosen career, but they all had some combination of the same issues all people with attention deficits face – distractibility, trouble focusing, disorganization and so on….
How to be successful in spite of your ADHD / learning disability
Despite having ADHD, a learning disability, and a sleep disorder, I’ve maintained a healthy 15-year-long career as a professional web developer. Knock on wood. In fact, I didn’t even know that I had ADHD or the learning disability until the age of 30. I sensed…
