What are the key takeaways from this The Bike Shed episode?

Key insights include: **Single-threading work:** Keep only one ticket in progress at a time to avoid context-switching costs. Mark blocked items explicitly and move them to a blocked column rather than juggling multiple incomplete tasks simultaneously.; **Wait time strategy:** During test runs or CI builds, resist switching tasks for short waits under ten minutes. Context switching wastes more time than waiting, and prevents forgetting to check results when builds complete.; **Calendar automation:** Set meeting reminders for one minute before start time instead of ten minutes. Longer lead times allow getting distracted and missing meetings, while one-minute warnings force immediate context switching to meeting mode.

What did Adi Slater and Sally Hall discuss on The Bike Shed?

Adi Slater and Sally Hall share their experiences managing ADHD as software developers, discussing practical workplace systems, accommodations, time management strategies, and the importance of accepting neurodivergent work styles without shame. Key topics include: **Single-threading work:** Keep only one ticket in progress at a time to avoid context-switching costs. Mark blocked items explicitly and move them to a blocked column rather than juggling multiple incomplete tasks simultaneously.; **Wait time strategy:** During test runs or CI builds, resist switching tasks for short waits under ten minutes. Context switching wastes more time than waiting, and prevents forgetting to check results when builds complete..

How long is this episode of The Bike Shed?

This episode is 37 minutes long. SignalCast provides an AI-generated summary so you can get the key insights in about 3 minutes.

The Bike Shed

478: ADHD at work

October 14, 2025

37 min episode · 2 min read

Adi Slater,Sally Hall

Episode

37 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Career Growth, Productivity, Leadership

AI-Generated Summary

Published Dec 25, 2025

Key Takeaways

✓Single-threading work: Keep only one ticket in progress at a time to avoid context-switching costs. Mark blocked items explicitly and move them to a blocked column rather than juggling multiple incomplete tasks simultaneously.
✓Wait time strategy: During test runs or CI builds, resist switching tasks for short waits under ten minutes. Context switching wastes more time than waiting, and prevents forgetting to check results when builds complete.
✓Calendar automation: Set meeting reminders for one minute before start time instead of ten minutes. Longer lead times allow getting distracted and missing meetings, while one-minute warnings force immediate context switching to meeting mode.
✓End-of-day anchors: Leave failing tests or Post-it notes with specific context before ending work sessions. Red terminal output or physical notes placed on monitors provide concrete re-entry points that bypass time-blindness and memory gaps.

What It Covers

Adi Slater and Sally Hall share their experiences managing ADHD as software developers, discussing practical workplace systems, accommodations, time management strategies, and the importance of accepting neurodivergent work styles without shame.

Key Questions Answered

•Single-threading work: Keep only one ticket in progress at a time to avoid context-switching costs. Mark blocked items explicitly and move them to a blocked column rather than juggling multiple incomplete tasks simultaneously.
•Wait time strategy: During test runs or CI builds, resist switching tasks for short waits under ten minutes. Context switching wastes more time than waiting, and prevents forgetting to check results when builds complete.
•Calendar automation: Set meeting reminders for one minute before start time instead of ten minutes. Longer lead times allow getting distracted and missing meetings, while one-minute warnings force immediate context switching to meeting mode.
•End-of-day anchors: Leave failing tests or Post-it notes with specific context before ending work sessions. Red terminal output or physical notes placed on monitors provide concrete re-entry points that bypass time-blindness and memory gaps.

Notable Moment

One developer shared forgetting to feed their children during coding bootcamp due to hyperfocus, then accidentally broadcasting a Slack reminder about feeding kids to their entire general channel after forgetting the slash command syntax.

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