This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Listeners, thanks for tuning in today. In this week's failure Friday segment, we're gonna hear from a self-employed programmer who struggled with motivation and procrastination. In fact, maybe he continues to struggle in some ways because it's not something you completely fix, right? You just try to improve. At least that's been my experience.
And after many years of difficulty, he received an ADHD diagnosis that led to much improved habits. So listeners, let's be real here. I have been there. I have ADD as well, was diagnosed as a kid, and then kind of reaffirmed that diagnosis as an adult. About 10 years ago, I had some problems with focus, and I was like, maybe I should actually like do something to address this as opposed to just, you know, some pop psychology things, but actually really try to understand this condition, perhaps get some treatment, medication, and so on.
And so I kind of went on that journey. I've actually shared a bit about it on my blog. If you're curious, you can always go to chrisguillebeau.com and search ADD, you can search Adderall, search focus. You're probably gonna find a number of articles about all those different topics. But as it pertains to our episode today, our episode of "Side Hustle School," well, this happens to be in the segment known as failure Friday.
And I kind of wondered about which segment to put it in because ultimately it is a success story. Like it's a story of how Ben, this listener who is a self-employed programmer, ultimately it's a story of how he kind of turned things around, but sometimes we have to go through, you know, a mistake, a misstep, a disaster, or a failure to get to that point. And so I actually liked putting it here because he was really struggling. It was a big struggle. It led to some failures.
And now ultimately he's on the other side of it. But of course the whole point of this feature is to look at what's going wrong and to kind of delve into that a bit as opposed to just like fast forward through the hard things, you know? So that's why I put it here. Anyway, Ben from Irvine, California, like me, he's diagnosed with ADD. He'll tell his story and speak for himself, of course.
I just kind of wanted to set it up a little bit by sharing some of my story. So, but the focus here is on Ben and then I'll have a quick wrap-up for us at the end. All right, enjoy. [Music]
Hey there, it's me, Ben. I'm the guy who can crank out an entire website in a caffeine-fueled all-nighter or the one who takes a full day to align a stubborn logo.
It's safe to say my motivation runs like a rollercoaster, always thrilled by the new and exciting, but the steady, everyday tasks. They're my nemesis. As a web developer, this inconsistency posed a significant problem. Clients don't care about my inspiration. They care about deadlines and deliverables.
After all, nobody's ever said, take your time, Ben, wait for the muse to strike. And working remotely only amplified this issue. No one looking over my shoulder. No definitive end to the workday. My first year freelancing was a chaotic dance between hyperfocus and procrastination.
A project to design an interactive virtual tour for a museum had me so riveted. I was practically living in the Bronze Age for a week. But then, there were the dull projects, like redesigning a tax consultant's website, which felt like walking through a bog. I missed deadlines, got emails from clients who noted their concern. And let's just say, my reputation was more infamous than impressive.
After a year of riding this inconsistent wave, I knew something had to change. I visited a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, ADD. It was as if someone had switched on a light. My rollercoaster motivation wasn't a quirk. It was a condition.
I started medication and began implementing strategies to manage my ADD. I built more of a schedule with short sprints of focused work, followed by quick breaks to burn off excess energy, basically, the Pomodoro technique on steroids. I used task management apps to turn mundane projects into a game, rewarding myself for each completed task. Little did I think the path to consistent productivity lay through the land of dopamine hits. In tandem, I started having heart-to-heart conversations with my clients.
I explained my working style, set realistic expectations, and asked for clear, concise instructions. You'd be surprised how understanding people can be when you communicate honestly. The change was not immediate, nor was it easy, but as weeks turned into months, my consistency improved. My work was no longer a slave to my erratic motivation. I managed to keep clients satisfied and even expanded my business.
Now, looking back, I realized that my biggest hurdle wasn't ADD. It was my lack of understanding of my own condition. Once I acknowledged that, it became a challenge I could tackle rather than a mysterious, uncontrollable force. In the world of web development, we solve complex coding puzzles daily. Addressing this issue felt like debugging my own code.
It was hard, but worth it. All right, thanks for listening. I'm going to take a short break, then set a timer and get back to work. [Music]
The biggest hurdle wasn't ADD. It was the lack of understanding of my own condition.
Really appreciate Ben sharing that. I think that's a great sum up. If you struggle with ADD or another neurodivergent condition, it can also be a strength, right? It's a weakness and a strength. It's just kind of like something that comes with different characteristics.
So maybe I shouldn't say it's a weakness or a strength. It's just its own thing. So listen, if you struggle with anything like this, just to be clear, it's good to actually talk with a doctor and a therapist, not just the pop psychology thing, and that can be helpful too. But for me, it was actually really helpful to kind of like go to the root of the problem and talk with some professionals. And in my world, I continue to struggle sometimes and I continue to be fine other times.
You know, it's just a journey, right? We're all in a journey. So whatever phase of the journey that you're on, whether it has anything to do with struggling to be motivated or procrastinating or just the inability to do things that you want to do, or if it's something totally different, whatever phase of that journey you're on, I am cheering for you. I make this podcast for you every single day and I hope it is helpful. So thank you for tuning in today.
It's a big month. I got a book launch coming up in a couple of weeks, more on that at some point. Today's notes, sidehustleschool.com/2407 and the best is yet to come. So stay tuned, stick around. It's all completely free.
My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
from The Onward Project.
