My code is broken (and I don't know why)
One of the recurring jokes in my house is…
My code is broken, and I don’t know why!
It’s a reference to a meme I saw ages ago where a husband and wife were lying and bed.
The wife’s thought bubble had a long train of thought about how distant her husband had been and how she wonders what’s wrong. His side just said…
My code is broken and I don’t know why.
The meme has been so sticky for me because I can 100 percent relate to it. Even my wife says it about her work, and she’s not a programmer!
Yesterday, I ran into a bug at work that I just couldn’t solve. Everything I tried either did nothing or just made it worse.
It was a difficult challenge, which of course, triggered my ADHD hyperfocus.
I ate lunch way too late. I missed a meeting. I ate dinner late. Even while I was eating, I was distant, unable to let the problem go, researching solutions on my phone. Then back on the computer again after dinner.
It wasn’t until I took some time away—several hours—that a potential solution finally clicked.
I was so close to the trees, I couldn’t see the forest. Fresh eyes and new perspective helped make something that was obvious and right in front of visible that previously wasn’t.
I know that when I get like this, stepping away is the right move.
Pivot to another task. Take a walk. Read a book. Do anything other than fixate on the task. But wow is that hard when the hyperfocus brain magnet locks in!