[HN Gopher] Goblin.tools: simple, single-task tools to help neur...
___________________________________________________________________
Goblin.tools: simple, single-task tools to help neurodivergent
people with tasks
Author : ValentineC
Score : 263 points
Date : 2025-03-24 14:15 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (goblin.tools)
(TXT) w3m dump (goblin.tools)
| pnutjam wrote:
| AI backend.
| compootr wrote:
| vibe coding? nope. 100% vibe life
| wobfan wrote:
| Hacker News Comment.
| bhollan wrote:
| Niche meta deep cut quip
| scubbo wrote:
| Notches
| nailer wrote:
| I do like the idea, but here is my first experience: I added
| "Launch MyProjectName website" (using the real name) and here's
| what it generated as sub tasks:
|
| - Open a web browser
|
| - Type "MyProjectName website" into the search bar
|
| - Press "Enter"
|
| - Locate the official MyProjectName website link in the search
| results
|
| - Click on the link to access the website
|
| - Wait for the page to load
|
| ------
|
| EDIT:
|
| Rate limited, so to reply: I think most people understand there
| is a difference between launching a website and viewing a
| website.
|
| If the AI wanted to know more about my role - whether I am a
| programmer, a designer, or someone that would use a high level
| Wix/Squarespace type tool - it should ask me.
| wobfan wrote:
| I mean this could've happened with a human counterpart too
| (although, I know, less likely, but still). You probably gotta
| be at least a little more descriptive and specific about the
| task.
| ziddoap wrote:
| I mean, yeah, that makes sense given that you used a 3 word
| prompt. It doesn't use real magic, despite having "magic" in
| the name. You should probably give it some more context.
|
| I typed in "get a haircut" and it worked great.
|
| In reply to your edit:
|
| > _I think most people understand there is a difference between
| launching a website and viewing a website._
|
| I don't think so, at all. Non-tech people at my work come to me
| and say "I couldn't launch Outlook this morning", or "Google
| won't launch". They don't mean that they are building an email
| client or search engine. Most people use "launch" in the non-
| entrepreneurial way.
| whazor wrote:
| I tried 'Clean home' and it gave me:
|
| Gather cleaning supplies (broom, mop, vacuum, cleaning
| solutions, cloths)
|
| Declutter each room by picking up items that don't belong
|
| Dust surfaces such as shelves, tables, and electronics
|
| Wipe down surfaces with appropriate cleaning solutions
|
| Clean glass surfaces and mirrors
|
| Sweep or vacuum all floors
|
| Mop hard floor surfaces
|
| Clean carpets (vacuum or spot clean if necessary)
|
| Freshen up the bathroom (clean toilet, sink, and shower)
|
| Organize items back to their designated places
|
| Take out the trash and recycling
|
| Final walk-through to ensure everything is tidy
| nkrisc wrote:
| Seems perfectly reasonable, given the prompt.
| nailer wrote:
| I think most people would consider that launching a website
| is a separate task from viewing a website.
| wolfgang42 wrote:
| Most _computer_ people, perhaps. For the average user the
| difference between an app and a website (especially an app-
| like website) is much fuzzier, and "launching" an app
| sounds more technical (and thus more appropriate for an
| operation that they don't entirely understand) than
| "opening" it, so that's the word they use.
| nailer wrote:
| I expect an LLM to be smarter than that, particularly for
| an audience that frequently works in the technology
| industry.
| dmos62 wrote:
| Try "ask a question unambiguously", haha!
| wolfgang42 wrote:
| I suspect this tool is probably tuned to help with "14-step
| coffee days"[1] rather than big projects; the list you got is
| genuinely the more plausibly helpful one for that situation.
|
| [1] https://crafty-
| butch.tumblr.com/post/638122754578726912/by-w...
| shmageggy wrote:
| Nice. AI-powered replacement for my missing executive function.
| Now I just have to remember to use it...
| nonethewiser wrote:
| Abstract it more.
|
| This is essentially a thin wrapper around an LLM. Hardcoded
| prompt templates. The value isnt in the template itself, but
| more-so the _curation_ of the template. So curate better.
|
| Instead of hardcoding the prompt template, allow people to
| create/share/vote on arbitrary templates. A prompt library of
| sorts.
| hombre_fatal wrote:
| Open-ended prompting seems to go against your prescription of
| more curation. Also, I don't think most people want to think
| about LLM prompting. The tool should be prompting for me. I
| think they are going towards the right direction of how to use
| LLMs, not away from it.
|
| A "break down task into steps" would be a great feature for
| every todolist app.
| nonethewiser wrote:
| >Open-ended prompting seems to go against your prescription
| of more curation
|
| Not at all. There is the selection mechanism and the universe
| of templates. Both can be greater in a system where there is
| user creation and voting. Otherwise we're saying Goblin.tools
| has searched and found the best templates possible. Seems
| unlikely. And even if true now you dont need Goblin.tools
| anymore because you have just recreate the static templates.
| zerkten wrote:
| A problem is that the proposed audience are individuals who
| struggle with options. Giving them more options doesn't
| help them. Enabling a power user mode with user creation,
| voting, etc. would be valuable for others. I suspect
| template sharing in some situations is problematic because
| getting great results for an audience can have text which
| some will find objectionable.
| dbreunig wrote:
| Nice! Great idea and focus.
|
| I have a similar function built into my app, which takes the
| proposed name for a checklist and description and uses it to
| generate steps. Have heard many use it for executive function
| management: https://steplist.app
| jaggs wrote:
| Took a look. So annoying that you can't delete any of those
| lists. What happens if I don't like/drink coffee?
| dbreunig wrote:
| When you log in you can create your own lists, bookmark ones
| you might like, and only see the ones you want.
| BaudouinVH wrote:
| I've ADHD and I'm on the spectrum. Others may differ - it's a
| spectrum after all- but I feel no list-only app will ever silence
| the drunk baboon on my shoulder constantly pulling my attention
| from what I'm doing.
|
| I'd advise goblin.tools to market itself differently and aim for
| the neurotypical market as well.
|
| #my2cents
| y42 wrote:
| I second that, I saw a lot, I tried some... most of them are
| just task planners, but I was always missing same basic
| features.
| mvieira38 wrote:
| Yeah, no gameification or breaking down can make doing the
| dishes or writing documentation more interesting than whatever
| my interest of the month is, unfortunately. I'd be beyond
| cooked without medication
| r00fus wrote:
| I have to say my neurotypical family members love goblin chef
| tool as well as the spectrum individual.
| dirtyfrenchman wrote:
| ADHD + spectrum as well. I couldn't agree with this more.
| laurentlbm wrote:
| There are other tools in the menu.
| stared wrote:
| I am neurodivergent. Yet, this website (while well-intentioned)
| feels chaotic, offering too many things (I bet the author is
| neurodivergent as well :)). So, instead of doing something from
| the TODO, I want to give the professor mode a try.
|
| In any case, I saw quite a few time something "expanding the
| list". Usually it works less than anything that actually asks you
| on the next step - in this case, my go-to are recent LLM models.
| For example, it split "take out the trash" into 8 steps - quite a
| lot of detail, even for an autist.
| kixiQu wrote:
| This is a great use for LLMs because anywhere that they can get
| someone over the activation energy requirement of the blank page
| effect, it's okay if they're wrong - it's much easier to correct
| a wrong broken-down list than start it oneself.
| p_l wrote:
| One of the bigger uses of Llama I found for myself is throwing
| a description of email to write, having them generate a
| skeleton for me, this kickstart enough that I can do a rewrite
| even when I totally lack the energy to start one.
|
| Sometimes also making them rewrite it in a different style then
| rewriting that manually again
| huvarda wrote:
| I asked it to break down eating a pie, this is what I got:
|
| Choose a pie
|
| Gather necessary utensils (fork, plate, napkin)
|
| Place the pie on the plate
|
| Cut a slice of the pie
|
| Pick up the slice with the fork
|
| Bring the slice to your mouth
|
| Take a bite of the pie
|
| Chew and savor the flavor
|
| Repeat until finished
|
| Dispose of any leftovers responsibly
|
| Clean up the utensils and plate
|
| Maybe an absurd example but I feel like something like this makes
| it seem even more intimidating to do basic tasks
| ziddoap wrote:
| You can adjust the spiciness level (level of detail) to the
| right of the prompt.
|
| At the lowest you get - Select a pie
| - Grab a fork or your hands - Take a piece of the pie
| - Bring it to your mouth - Chew and swallow the pie
|
| Still probably a bit much, but I think using a to-do list for
| eating a pie is also a bit much.
|
| I did "get a haircut" and it was a pretty good breakdown. Same
| with "Paint a room in my house". I think these types of tasks
| are more suitable for step-by-step breakdowns than "eat a pie".
| BigGreenJorts wrote:
| > still probably a bit much
|
| I think what's worse is that it still over detailed the steps
| but left out the actually additive steps of the OP's list
| which I would say is the bit about the getting/cleaning the
| dishes and trash
| n4r9 wrote:
| If you want to see a _really_ intimidating breakdown, check out
| Carl Sagan 's approach to baking an apple pie from scratch.
| flobosg wrote:
| Vaguely related: Julio Cortazar's "Instructions on How to Climb
| a Staircase" - https://doarchstairs2016.wordpress.com/wp-
| content/uploads/20...
| sundarurfriend wrote:
| That sounds perfect to me. Often on low-spoons days, I'll ask
| ChatGPT to do exactly this, break down a task or recipe into
| the simplest, concrete steps to be taken. It's meant to be used
| when your mental energy is low enough that "obvious" things
| don't seem obvious anymore, and you need them broken down into
| a form that doesn't assume or ask anything of you.
|
| It's like taking an old school BASIC program and modularising
| it into small self-contained functions. That may increase the
| lines of code by a lot, but it still makes it simpler and
| easier to process because you only need to keep one function in
| mind at a time.
| layer8 wrote:
| It sounds like eating a pie will be a huge pain and I'll give
| up halfway through it, assuming that I don't get distracted
| even before.
| edaemon wrote:
| Hm, these instructions are interesting -- is it suggesting I
| repeatedly pick up an entire slice of pie with a fork and take
| bites out of it?
| satisfice wrote:
| The way it breaks down tasks quickly gets into a rut. If a
| certain item or context is not available there is no way to
| suggest that it pop up a level and say how to synthesize it or
| get to an alternative plan.
|
| Once again, we see that AI stands for automated irresponsibility,
| not artificial intelligence.
| senkora wrote:
| I cautiously like this. I asked it to break down "clean the
| bathroom" and it gave me a reasonable series of steps.
|
| It then gave a time estimate of 3 hours 25 minutes, but I know
| from my own time tracking that doing a similar series of steps
| takes me 40 minutes on average.
|
| It seems to overestimate the time taken to do very simple tasks,
| so if you break the task down too far then it will always wildly
| overestimate. Perhaps a fix would be to ask the LLM to make one
| estimate for the overall task, make separate estimates for each
| subtask, and then ask it to reconcile the two? Something like
| chain-of-thought/reasoning.
| groby_b wrote:
| Yeah, randomly AI-generating a large list of imagined sub tasks
| is _just_ the thing to manage e.g. ADHD.
|
| You want to do this well, lean into pre-defined (and user-
| defined!) checklists instead. Sure, use AI to help people
| generate the checklist if you must, but the value is having a
| repeatable procedure.
| fluidcruft wrote:
| Haha Magic ToDo is fun. I got a reasonable set of steps for a
| project and when I'm in the "whatever, just tell me what to do"
| overwhelmed/surrender mode this would be great. Also love that
| subtasks can be easily broken down into subsubtasks with a click.
|
| Would love this as a todoist extension for brainstorming
| subtasks.
| HiPHInch wrote:
| one of the greatest ai idea on 2025, although the product has its
| own issues
| bityard wrote:
| Okay, I wasted a few minutes in The Judge. It's too damn
| hilarious giving it a passage that insults the reader's mother in
| fine detail and then having the AI explain very politely and
| patiently why someone might take offense to that.
| quibono wrote:
| This could be overgeneralising a bit... but I see a lot of people
| with ADHD (on- and offline) who tend to make it an essential part
| of their identity. I realise it's a very impactful thing to have
| to deal with (I have ADHD too) but I feel like a lot of the time
| it's brought up for no real reason. E.g. you started daydreaming
| when reading a book? Forgot something to do when you walked
| through a doorway? Got angry? You lost track of what you were
| thinking about? Must be the ADHD. There are YouTube channels
| whose whole gimmick is that they're run by and for people with
| ADHD. And guess what kind of content you'll see there: "Why
| cooking with ADHD is hell", "How ADHD can make you lie", "Music
| for people with ADHD". What happened to "music for
| concentration"? HN is a place where I see this play out a lot.
| bluedino wrote:
| Similar things exist for dyslexia, introverts, etc
| dijit wrote:
| It's likely a definitive example of selection bias, you won't
| hear people _not_ talking about having it, but ADHD affects
| (approximately) 30% of the population.
|
| Assuming even a tiny amount of those are loud when exploring
| their discovery would mean a _lot_ of people talking about it
| online.
|
| This is likely also combined with Millennials (my cohort at
| least) being one of the most self-aware generational cohorts in
| history (while also being a tad self-centered).
|
| I have my own journey with ADHD ("many markers" but no official
| diagnosis, as that could negatively affect my life in Sweden)
| and it was really liberating to learn that, no, I wasn't just
| lazy, that I may have an issue with executive function and if I
| work around it I can at least partially tackle it.
|
| The amount of stress that gets applied by society for people
| who are "not performing up to their potential" or slacking off
| or what-have-you is actually quite immense when you cannot
| force yourself to work, so I understand people who feel
| liberated in the moment and who seek solutions, loudly.
| nsagent wrote:
| It seems odd that as a society it's been deemed a-okay to
| pathologize a cluster of traits shared by 30% of the
| population.
| dijit wrote:
| We as a society seem to enjoy doing that.
|
| Half of the population are provably on a different
| circadian rhythm than the other half, but we force everyone
| to function only one way.
|
| There's a dozen more examples, related to psychiatry and
| medicine.
| 0_____0 wrote:
| neurotypes exist in an n-dimensional space with loose
| clusterings, making binary attributes at best vague and
| clumsy.
|
| i hope we move away from pathologizing and toward making
| social and economic structures adaptive for people that are
| currently challenged by them, and likewise find better ways
| for people to adapt their lives to fit how their minds work
| dwaltrip wrote:
| My understanding is that ADHD prevalence is closer to 5-10%.
| That's the number I've seen most by reputable sources.
|
| Nonetheless, the rest of your post resonates with me and and
| your points stand on their own :)
| dijit wrote:
| I think its unknowable, but I definitely read 30% expected
| undiagnosed in the population.
|
| Here is a reputable source that claims 25%
|
| https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/mediaroom/pressreleaselisting
| /...
| couscouspie wrote:
| The problem with ADHD is, that the symptoms are very common and
| it is mostly the degree to which an actual case of ADHD is
| different from the neurotypical person. So, a big portion of
| the overall population feels like they might have it and many
| of them are willing to put in whatever work it takes to find a
| doctor that confirms their diagnosis.
| dwaltrip wrote:
| Underdiagnosis is a much bigger issue. There are millions who
| are dealing with this alone and without awareness that can
| help them.
|
| Sincerely, person diagnosed at age 35
| lolinder wrote:
| I think it's particularly common to see that with people who
| discover their ADHD in adulthood, and there are a lot of us now
| that awareness has been raised in recent years.
|
| I went my whole life thinking that I was broken. I had intense
| anxiety surrounding social interaction, was horribly depressed,
| got terrible grades through high school, and just generally did
| not enjoy most of life. I eventually learned how to cope and
| function normally to an outside observer, but still would go
| through cycles of intense anxiety and depression that I didn't
| know how to explain.
|
| A few years ago I finally was diagnosed with ADHD and suddenly
| everything clicked. My anxiety, my depression, my grades, my
| intense hyperfocus on one thing at a time but also inability to
| keep consistently focused on one thing for more than a few
| weeks. All of that suddenly made sense, and there were people
| in the world who knew exactly how I felt. And the thing is, the
| anxiety and depression have largely gone away. Now that I know
| what's going on inside my brain I don't have to beat myself up
| about it, instead I can learn from and lean on hundreds of
| thousands of other people who have to cope with the same thing.
|
| So yeah, today I will often notice "oh, that's an ADHD thing"
| at random times in my life. But it's not so much that it's an
| essential part of my identity as it is that it's enormously
| comforting to finally have an explanation for all of the weird
| quirks that I have, and it's a huge relief to have a community
| of people who experience the same things that I do. When I say
| "that's my ADHD", it's me reminding myself that I am not
| broken, just different, and different is okay.
| sheepscreek wrote:
| Russel Barkley, in his book "Leading With ADHD," actually
| suggested mentioning or "blaming" your ADHD after a mistake
| as a way to foster empathy for your personal challenges. It's
| not intended to be an excuse, but rather a means for the
| other person, who assumes XYZ is effortless, to comprehend
| better/gain empathy.
| throw80521 wrote:
| To be honest, I thought exactly like you for years. I still
| benefit from society choosing to label me with something, and
| that I do not choose to fight. For a while my diagnoses
| provided so many explanations to my problems and I could live
| with new purpose.
|
| But a while later, I found it was not enough. I hadn't
| reached "true happiness" or at least whatever I can call my
| current state of being. I took a different path, shed all my
| labels, self-prescribed or otherwise, and am happier than I
| was before.
|
| I still think I am "different" and have quirks, etc. So in
| practice, not a whole lot different than before. I just don't
| use the labels to describe these differences that others
| might use instead.
|
| I think this only emphasizes that one approach does not
| necessarily apply when generalized to all people. In my case
| it only served as one step towards a greater solution, and
| hopefully even more effective solutions I can build on top of
| that later.
|
| The same goes for heightened awareness for ADHD. More
| knowledge can be a blessing (as in your case). At the same
| time, the population such awareness can serve is shaped like
| a very complex blob, the form of which nobody truly knows,
| but I believe some clinicians/promoters see the "blast
| radius" of promoting awareness as a perfectly round circle
| overlaid directly onto the population.
|
| My experience also made me realize what one can term "ADHD"
| may change with overarching cultural shifts or personal
| growth. I think ADHD should be seen closer to a symptom of a
| constellation of any number of potentially unrelated causes
| than a "disorder" to be focused on alone. Unfortunately the
| established terminology seems to have won out there.
|
| The way we see health conditions and the words we choose to
| describe them can have profound effects on our understanding
| of ourselves.
| wnolens wrote:
| I was going to reply to the same post with similar. If just
| having a label to apply alleviates the negative emotion,
| isn't it a placebo?
|
| I think a far far greater number of people experience the
| exact same problems of focus and distress, and learn to
| cope effectively in their own deeply personal way. I
| identify strongly with all the symptoms stated. A label
| feels useless, or worse - constraining, as it becomes your
| identity. I still have to drag my ass out of bed, do enough
| good work everyday next to colleagues who figuratively lap
| me every day, make a to-do list to remember to buy soap, go
| without soap for a week, .. etc lol.
|
| I call it being me.
| welshwelsh wrote:
| >my intense hyperfocus on one thing at a time but also
| inability to keep consistently focused on one thing for more
| than a few weeks
|
| Sounds extremely normal to me. I wonder what I'm missing.
|
| For example, suppose a typical person decides to learn a new
| language.
|
| At the beginning, they are very excited and enthusiastic
| about it. They might buy a textbook, download an app or sign
| up for language classes, and spend lots of time on it for a
| couple of days.
|
| After a week or two, as the tediousness sets in and the goal
| seems farther off than they expected, they start to shift
| their focus to something else. After a month, there's a 50/50
| chance they completely forget about language study and stop
| doing it. Only a very small minority will last more than a
| year.
|
| That's what I'd consider normal. How is ADHD different?
|
| Another example: meditation. A new meditation practitioner
| may try to focus on their breathing, but then find they
| usually get distracted and start thinking about something
| else within 10 seconds.
|
| I have a feeling that if I were to say "I find it difficult
| to focus my attention on something for 10 seconds without
| getting distracted", many would reply "that sounds like
| ADHD." But this is, in fact, quite normal.
| groby_b wrote:
| > That's what I'd consider normal. How is ADHD different?
|
| ADHD is different in that sustained focus takes a ton more
| of energy than for non-ADHD folks - if you're high
| functioning. And is almost impossible if you're not high-
| functioning.
|
| Totally agreed that "can't focus on my breath for 10
| seconds today" isn't ADHD. "I have repeatably sub-par
| executive function" very much is, though.
|
| For your language learning example, it's more that somebody
| _can 't_ stay focused on the learning, even if they want
| to/have to and are aware their focus is sliding away.
|
| There's a reason ADHD diagnosis is technically a process
| that's a bit involved, you're trying to test for both sub-
| par function, and for the repeatable part. I'd take self-
| diagnosis with a bit more salt, especially it's of the "I
| often forget my car keys" kind.
| theshackleford wrote:
| > I have a feeling that if I were to say "I find it
| difficult to focus my attention on something for 10 seconds
| without getting distracted", many would reply "that sounds
| like ADHD." But this is, in fact, quite normal.
|
| That _would_ be quite normal. A determination of ADHD is
| made based upon the severity of impact. _Everyone_ gets
| distracted to some extent, but is it significant enough to
| be destroying your life, Y /N?
|
| That's the determining factor.
| sebasvisser wrote:
| And then after a while the energy fades..you get distracted
| again. You get both over stimulated and understimulated and
| the quest for another thing that gives you the feeling of the
| world finally clicking into place begins.. And each of these
| fixes (brain.fm, nootropics, adhd-planner-apps etcetc) give
| you that feeling just for a little while... That's why we
| crave it..and because we (can) have more energy we talk about
| those (a lot!!). But in the end most of us just go from one
| fix to another..some of us are just really loud about it..
| y-curious wrote:
| During COVID, the amount of people diagnosed skyrocketed. I was
| one, and I was putting it off for a long time. I think you see
| it a lot because of this; If I'm a content creator, tagging it
| with ADHD puts it on the feed of a lot of people that are
| newly-diagnosed/self-diagnosed.
|
| I completely agree with you though, I don't mention it to
| people generally. I may be quirky and might have some weird
| rigid rules about how I work personally, but I hate the idea of
| sharing it publicly.
|
| Final note: I think it's a good marketing tool for productivity
| tools. "It's such a good to-do list that people with ADHD can
| find success with it! That implies that if you don't have ADHD,
| you will be a superhero when you use it!"
| sussmannbaka wrote:
| fwiw I see more posts like yours than I see posts that your
| post describes.
| conradev wrote:
| Labels in public health are absolutely problematic for exactly
| that reason.
|
| But I will also say that ADHD, if you have it, is an essential
| part of your identity regardless of your awareness of the
| label.
| astrange wrote:
| I tend to find it's causing things even if I'm trying to
| avoid essentializing it, and this also goes for side effects
| of medications for it.
|
| eg relationship advice says you shouldn't "change your
| personality" for your partner, but in my last relationship
| both of ours changed quite a lot when our medication changed
| or even if we hadn't taken it that day, so I don't really
| feel attached to it.
| MarcelOlsz wrote:
| My life got infinitely better when I stopped believing in any
| of that. It feels more like a spiritually bereft western
| pseudo-religion and I resent anyone parading around these
| titles.
| fullstackchris wrote:
| Definitely agree there. There seems like there is a label for
| EVERYTHING these days. Coincidentally there was an article in
| the paper I saw just today about how destructive self
| diagnosis can be (and how many gen z / alpha are doing that
| via tiktok) I rememeber when some first tried to explain ADHD
| to me... and I was like... "what? elementary school kids dont
| like sitting in a classroom for 6 hours a day? so like, being
| NORMAL?"
|
| Source: I had / (have?) ADHD, don't think about it at all
| anymore, just keep working hard, stick with hobbies and you
| can do great things regardless of what "labels" society has
| assigned you.
| gatienboquet wrote:
| I have ADHD and I've decided that it's part of my identity.
|
| I was diagnosed late at 28. When I got diagnosed, my
| psychologist told me that I had to reassess my life. Many
| behaviors that people had misinterpreted as laziness,
| carelessness, or lack of commitment were actually
| manifestations of my ADHD.
|
| Friends who thought I didn't care when I forgot plans, teachers
| who believed I wasn't trying hard enough, and colleagues who
| saw me as disorganized - they were all seeing untreated ADHD
| symptoms, not character flaws.
|
| Understanding this was liberating because it meant I wasn't
| fundamentally flawed as a person. I had to rebuild myself, my
| confidence - it was a new start in life.
|
| It's a process to relearn and teach yourself that you can do it
| now. Labeling publicly, saying to your friends and family that
| you are ADHD makes it so that you OWN your change, you OWN your
| disability.
|
| tldr, ADHD as an IDENTIY is for me : Reclaim control over your
| narrative instead of letting others define your behaviors
|
| Create accountability for yourself and set realistic
| expectations with others
|
| Remove shame from the equation by openly acknowledging your
| challenges
|
| Enable yourself to access appropriate accommodations and
| support systems
| lawlessone wrote:
| > who tend to make it an essential part of their identity.
|
| I tend to notice that more with younger people who find out
| earlier and get it treated.
|
| Finding out in your 30's because you realize things shouldn't
| be going so inexplicably wrong is different.
| hexator wrote:
| I think people in their 20s find it easier to make group
| identities, and being in a group that tends to be
| disadvantaged is a uniting force. This is true whether or not
| you actually have ADHD, which is a problem for sure.
| no_wizard wrote:
| > I see a lot of people with ADHD (on- and offline) who tend to
| make it an essential part of their identity
|
| Honest question: why is this an issue? If someone makes it part
| of their identity its because they feel its important for
| others to know, and that can be for a variety of reasons.
|
| Is there a reason we _shouldn 't_ make it part of our identity,
| if we so choose?
| theshackleford wrote:
| Because they want to gatekeep it and how you are supposed to
| act with it.
| 99_00 wrote:
| What exactly is the point you are making?
|
| That ADHD is over diagnosed?
|
| That it doesn't require tailored interventions or advice?
|
| That social media is exploiting interest in ADHD to provide low
| quality advice?
|
| Or something else? Can you clarify your point?
| sfpotter wrote:
| I'm in the middle of pursuing an autism diagnosis as an adult,
| and despite the obvious manifold benefits it would bring to my
| family's life, judgment from people like you is the #1 reason
| I'm hesitating going through with it.
| gejose wrote:
| This is SO true
| addicted wrote:
| Considering ADHD is poorly understood, historically highly
| underdiagnosed and significantly prevalent it's not surprising
| there's a lot of content about trying to to understand it for
| both people with and without ADHD.
| hedayet wrote:
| I have ADHD. Here's my story:
|
| 1. I can focus and solve hard problems, but you'll notice my
| legs swinging restlessly, hand gestures, or me suddenly typing
| a completely unrelated web address.
|
| 2. I was always a great student, but I was also the most
| restless; making jokes and talking constantly, no matter how
| hard I was punished for my behavior.
|
| 3. The toughest part of my ADHD is inconsistency. My
| performance can fluctuate a lot, and it takes tremendous effort
| to stay consistent. I get bored quickly with easy tasks, so I
| rely on alarms, calendar events, and other reminders to help me
| stay on track.
|
| 4. People like me are prime targets for distraction businesses,
| whether it's social media, gambling, or other addictive
| behaviors. And a lot of my energy goes to resist them.
|
| All in all, even for a functioning person like myself -
| managing ADHD takes a lot of effort. In my late 30s, I'm
| finally feeling a bit more in control. I've accepted that this
| is part of who I am, and while I can't fix it completely, I'm
| doing my best to avoid letting it impact the people around me.
| addicted wrote:
| There's so much survivor bias in these comments.
|
| We know what happens when ADHD is underdiagnosed and not
| recognized in society (which requires it to be labeled
| appropriately). You have scores of children who get labeled as
| "problematic" or "bad students" ans suffer from that
| discrimination for the rest of their lives.
|
| Labeling may not help a particular individual but helps all in
| society as a whole
| DavidPiper wrote:
| As a roughly neurotypical person who watches a lot of YouTube,
| I find that ADHD-adjacent content is one of those
| recommendation spirals where if you click one video that even
| mentions ADHD in its content (e.g. "How to tidy your home with
| the Marie Kondo method") the algorithm will recommend you
| content explicitly addressing ADHD (e.g. "The best way to take
| notes with ADHD") for weeks.
|
| After clicking through a few of them that seemed interesting, I
| discovered the same thing you did: most of them take a very
| typical day-to-day problem (need to organise my wardrobe, need
| to organise my notes better) and frame it as an explicitly ADHD
| problem.
|
| I'm glad we live in a time of greater awareness, and I'm glad
| people are receiving useful diagnoses that lead to management
| that improves peoples' quality of life. I'm very happy for
| people who eventually find ADHD can be their superpower rather
| than a detriment.
|
| But I do wonder if there's a quiet grift going on (maybe just
| on YouTube? Not sure) taking advantage of this. There are a lot
| of people saying "You have ADHD therefore you have this
| specific problem that neurotypical people don't" - where the
| first half might be true, but the second half is not.
|
| Which seems to me to be framing the identity / otherness-from-
| neurotypical-ness in an unhealthy way in order to push more
| content. And possibly leading to the over-attribution of
| everything to ADHD rather than just... life.
|
| Again, I don't want to minimise the impact of ADHD or the
| problems it can create for people, but this is definitely a
| pattern I've seen pop up on the Internet only in the last 5 or
| 6 years.
| XCSme wrote:
| I also feel like A LOT of people have ADHD (a lot more than it
| was initially estimated). I think like 50% or more of the
| population is neurodivergent (or maybe it's because
| neurodivergent people tend to group together, so everyone
| around you seems neurodivergent too).
| 0000000000100 wrote:
| Pretty neat. The automatic breakdowns are cool, but you
| absolutely need to move the delete button inline. Confirm dialog
| if there are items beneath it, otherwise just delete.
|
| Generated like 10 sub-items for me, 5 of which were relevant. But
| to remove the 5 junk ones, you have to open the dropdown for each
| and hit delete.
| raybb wrote:
| I'd really love a voice based AI tool that will follow up with me
| on projects and next steps.
|
| So like I'm renovating a house and I've got to find someone to
| help with drywall, get a new top of the septic, get quotes on the
| driveway, etc. Multiply this a few times with my job and side
| project and so on.
|
| It would be great if it would just ask me what's new with each
| thing and update tasks and remind me to follow up with the person
| not calling me back etc. Of course, all this can be done in your
| mind or with Todo apps but just something to talk to and nudge
| would be great.
| ireadmevs wrote:
| I'm on the same boat as you. Had this idea some time ago and I
| feel that this should be doable with today's LLMs tooling. On
| the coming weeks I'll be trying to hook something up and see
| how far can I get, with the extra requirement from my side that
| everything should run locally.
| theshackleford wrote:
| I use ChatGPT almost exclusively for this today due to quite
| extreme ADHD that even when treated, leaves me weaker than most
| in the executive department. My therapists have always advised
| that I have some kind of "second brain" where things live,
| otherwise they just vanish into the ether.
|
| Why use "AI" at all? Because now I have something to yell at me
| and ask if I actually finished the thing I said I would before
| jumping into some new thing. If I have not, it can give me a
| concrete next step to help me overcome the analysis paralaysis
| that may be preventing completion.
|
| I've worked hard to configure the thing so that it won't
| tolerate my bullshit. It is entirely structured around pushing
| me to function as a normal adult should. Yes its sad and
| pathetic I can not do this alone, how broken must I be that an
| "AI" is any level of assistance in this area etc. The idea I am
| sure seems ludicrous to 'normal people' who would never even
| remotely consider using it for such a thing. However it is what
| it is, and I would prefer the shame that comes with the extreme
| benefit I have received as opposed to the opposite.
| dijit wrote:
| What used to work for me is to build a single list every morning
| (based on yesterdays list) and then just do it one after another
| without allowing myself to prioritise after that point.
|
| My largest executive function issue is the guilt of _not doing
| some other thing_.
|
| If I have a very stressful situation, I can easily organise my
| thoughts and ruthlessly prioritise what is important from what is
| not important.
|
| In "peace" times, this doesn't work at all, and instead if I have
| something that I know will take half a day (say, for example,
| fixing a subtle bug in the email system) then I will feel guilty
| about doing that over something else (say: doing paperwork for
| the worked hours that month).
|
| Thus, I do neither. Until one becomes critical.
|
| It's fucking stupid, but I can't fix it.
| meander_water wrote:
| I'm very similar to you and going through similar issues.
|
| I've also started to write a to-do list on paper and keep it
| always open in front of me on my desk. This is the only thing
| that seems to work for me. If I keep a virtual to-do list, I
| lose track of it, forget to check/update it and it eventually
| becomes useless.
|
| You're not alone, hope you find something that works for you!
| teddyh wrote:
| This should make it easier for people to adapt when their job
| adopts Manna(tm).
| phito wrote:
| This is neat. I wish I could self host it, I wouldn't use it
| otherwise.
| konart wrote:
| One of the best tools I've seen this year!
|
| I'm not sure about "neurodivergent people" part though. I don't
| think I'd call myself neurodivergent or anything close. Pretty
| sure the app will be useful for anyone.
| distantsounds wrote:
| So how many neuro-divergent people did you test this on before
| you made the claim that it would help them?
| scubbo wrote:
| > goblin.tools is written and maintained by Bram De Buyser, an
| AI, software and data engineer.
|
| I'm not saying that a semicolon and an Oxford comma are
| _necessary_, here - but I am saying that I did a double-take at
| my first interpretation that we are now naming and personifying
| AIs.
| podgietaru wrote:
| Oh hey! I made something like this that integrates with TickTick
|
| https://github.com/Podginator/TickGPTick
|
| It needs updating, but basically you set a tag that let's you
| expand tasks out much in the way goblin tools does.
| dwaltrip wrote:
| When I open the app and am greeted by a mostly blank screen with
| an empty todo list, the first thing I think is "How is this
| different from any other task manager app? How do use it in a way
| that would help me?".
|
| And then I close the tab! (naturally, ofc)
|
| A little bit of onboarding / guidance on how neurodiverge peeps
| can get the most out of it would go a long way.
| 0_____0 wrote:
| adhd here. bad enough to not graduate from high school on time. I
| have been medicated for a decade now and I dream of finally
| having built my systems around life up to the degree that I feel
| good about discontinuing them. It's not good for you to be on
| stimulants every day like I am. If your flavor of adhd is mild
| and the functional impairment you have doesn't literally ruin
| your life, consider working your way up the theraputic ladder
| from therapy with an ADHD specialized therapist, starting meds
| only if necessary. Consider your goals wrt your brain stuff and
| measure your results against that. Don't get on the meds unless
| you have to.
| theshackleford wrote:
| > bad enough to not graduate from high school on time.
|
| This is a good example of how wide the ADHD spectrum can be.
| From my perspective, I'd actually call this mild, not because
| it is, but because I never finished high school at all. My
| parents bought into stigma and refused meds against medical
| advice, and the fallout ruined both my childhood and much of my
| adult life.
|
| I get you're aiming for a cautious take, but I'd urge anyone
| reading this to think hard before following it. If you do have
| more than _mild_ ADHD, this kind of "avoid meds" advice can be
| genuinely harmful, it's the kind of thinking that keeps people
| suffering for years when they don't have to.
|
| As an adult, I refused meds while my life continued to fall
| apart. Convinced by stigma and those that constantly shouted
| "MEDICATION BAD." So as my life spiraled ever downwards, I
| increased the rate at which I beat my self up telling myself
| constantly I just needed more willpower, better systems, or the
| right therapist and it would all change. Spoiler alert: none of
| it worked without the baseline support stimulants gave me and
| refusing to medicate was one of the biggest mistakes I have
| ever made. It did such a degree of damage to my life it's not
| even possible to begin to describe it.
|
| Stimulants aren't inherently dangerous when used properly. What
| is dangerous is untreated or mistreated ADHD and the damage it
| causes, to you the individual and those around you. The
| therapeutic ladder should start with what works, framing meds
| as a "last resort" is unhelpful and rooted in stigma, not
| reality.
|
| If you think you have ADHD, get off the internet and see a real
| doctor. Work with them to figure out what actually helps you
| without assumption or expectation and don't let other people's
| experiences or stigma decide your treatment for you.
| currymj wrote:
| i can imagine a tool where you take a picture of a cluttered desk
| or closet, and it produces a list of all the objects and then
| comes up with a plausible organization plan.
|
| that's a little more complicated than these tools, but it seems
| within reach given publicly available technology. image
| segmentation models are really good now, the list of objects
| would be pretty reliable at least.
| scudsworth wrote:
| whats the product here exactly? 8 llm prompts? at least,
| according to the about page, they're using "Ethical" ai models.
| lol
| oynqr wrote:
| It did not want to assist with cooking desoxyephedrine, but help
| with dumping a large garbage bag in a body of water without being
| seen was okay!
| aeblyve wrote:
| I tend to think that a better treatment for these kinds of issues
| is biological, rather than prescriptive. If one has issues with
| thinking in a productive way, a new mode of thinking (i.e.,
| "step-by-step") can be only somewhat therapeutic. It fits in the
| same box. I think this applies to very many different kinds of
| brain issues.
|
| Obviously, the foremost treatment today is various stimulants.
| But other, more healthful ways of increasing brain energy, such
| as nailing down blood sugar management, lowering inflammation,
| and reducing environmental irritants, are probably also helpful.
| These interventions need not even be expensive or dramatic. Using
| lower glycemic index carbohydrate sources (i.e., fructose vs
| starches), consuming Thiamine (Vitamin B1) to improve glucose
| metabolism in cells, alongside taking in adequate cholesterol for
| the production of stabilizing neurosteroids such as progesterone,
| is a more specific description.
|
| Quotation from Mind and Tissue, by Ray Peat:
|
| ``` The brain, with its extremely high energy requirements, is
| usually the first to suffer from energy deprivation. At slight
| levels of deprivation, the brain will simply lose functional
| efficiency, but more serious or prolonged deprivation can produce
| lingering modification, or even structural damage which is
| relatively permanent (and may even have transgenerational
| effects).' Just as the skin (or muscle) has a lower energy
| requirement than the brain, the various parts of the brain have
| different requirements. The parts which are most resistant to
| damage are the "lowest" and "oldest" parts of the brain, the
| parts we have in common with frogs. These parts regulate
| physiological processes, such as breathing, and so it is
| biologically useful that they should be most resistant to damage.
| When a person is given an anesthetic, the first parts to stop
| functioning, or to go to sleep, seem to be just those parts that
| have the highest energy requirements, and which are least
| resistant to damage. The anesthetized person keeps breathing, for
| example, until very high doses of anesthetic are given, but other
| functions disappear one by one as the dose increases. The front
| part of the brain, which is most uniquely human (and "newest) but
| which doesn't have "specific" function, in the usual sense, is
| one of the most sensitive parts of the brain. It is a very large
| piece of tissue, and it seems to be involved in planning and
| choosing, in governing the other more specific functions (This
| part of the brain, as well as the cerebral cortex in general,
| gives us the ability to "disregard" stimuli, to use Lendon
| Smith's term.) The famous Russian neuro-psychologist, A.R. Luria,
| has described the behavior of dogs when this tissue is damaged or
| removed:
|
| ..destruction of the frontal lobes leads, not so much to a
| disturbance of memory as to a disturbance of the ability to
| inhibit orienting reflexes to distracting stimuli: ..such an
| animal cannot perform tasks involving delayed responses under
| ordinary conditions, but can do so provided that irrelevant,
| distracting stimuli are removed (if the animal is kept in total
| darkness, if tranquilizers are administered, and so on). The role
| of the prefrontal cortex in the synthesis of systems of stimuli
| and the creation of a plan of action is manifested not only in
| relation to currently acting stimuli, but also in the formation
| of active behavior directed towards the future? Various theories
| of what causes hyperactivity, e.g., low blood sugar, weak
| radiation from fluorescent lights and TV. 3 or food additives, 4
| and the observation that drugs which stimulate the sympathetic or
| adrenergic nerves (ephedrine or caffeine, for example will
| relieve the symptoms, are all consistent with the idea that not
| enough energy is being supplied to permit this tissue to function
| properly. Low blood sugar will starve the nerves; food additives
| or any low-level poison can serve as a stressor of nerve tissue,
| leading to increased energy requirements;
|
| many forms of very weak radiation' can lower the efficiency of
| metabolism, increasing the tissue's energy requirement, and brain
| tissue is the most sensitive to at least some kinds of radiation.
|
| Intestinal irritation can cause disturbances of the nervous
| system, and should be considered as a possibility in "disorders
| of attention." Toxins produced by intestinal bacteria can affect
| the brain directly, but more often act by damaging the liver's
| ability to regulate blood glucose. The commonest cause of
| hypoglycemia is hypothyroidism, and a thyroid deficiency
| increases the tendency toward a high-adrenaline state, but more
| importantly, thyroid hormone is the basic regulator of efficient
| energy production. Memory and attention are impaired by even a
| slight thyroid deficiency. The Russian paradigm, with its
| emphasis on energy and inhibition, suggests that thyroid function
| should be carefully examined in cases of hyperactivity. Too
| often, western physicians think only about hyperthyroidism in
| hyperactivity. ```
|
| The more recent book "Brain Energy" by Chris Palmer offers
| similar perspectives in terms of dysfunctional mitochondria as a
| fundamental causative factor in just about every mental illness.
| stevage wrote:
| This is very cool.
|
| Needs a bit of UI love for mobile. If you break down tasks 3
| levels deep in becomes unusable.
| xipho wrote:
| Curiously, or not, I'm not sure what the expectation is, it
| seemed to quickly enter somewhat of an infinite loop then I
| started with "What is the meaning of life?". Around level 3 or 4
| each simplification is essentially what was presented for that
| item in the prior list. Maybe some hidden meaning there ...
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