Never-ending cycle of distraction- help me please

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Well, I have completely and thoroughly f****d up.

I'm an Aspie, am currently enrolled in a professional practicum course at my university.I wound up assisting one of the branches of my university in creating learning modules for students. When I first entered the course, I was excited at the prospect of gaining relevant professional experience.

The main problem, however, is that everything went wrong from the start. I was unable draft a proper contract because I hadn't read the course slides thoroughly (having only entered the course on the last day). Then I struggled to create the appropriate content for the first few weeks. After talking with my supervisor, we decided to focus on a different area entirely. Unfortunately, I have struggled to create appropriate content on time. Throughout the entire damn practicum, I have struggled to focus on my given tasks, due to my inability to concentrate on work for more than half an hour, tops. This inability to focus has dogged me throughout high school and university, but I've always managed to cope due to there being a single due date to remember. But in the practicum, with multiple due dates to remember, I have been unable to stay focussed on anything. And to top it all off, I have been late for meetings with my supervisor twice now. It has recently been made explicitly clear to me that my commitment to the practicum is under review.

Not only am I probably going to fail this course, but I've been given a glimpse into what the professional world will be like for me. And if this is how its going to be for me-- if I am going to be hampered in my inability to meet deadlines by an inability to focus on anything long enough, or to force myself to stay focussed and committed to the tasks given-- then I am thoroughly screwed.

And do you know what the worst part is? I never told anyone-- not my supervisor, not my teacher, no one-- that I had Aspergers. For some bizarre reason, I thought I could overcome it. For some utterly stupid reason, I allowed myself to be blinded by pride and a refusal to acknowledge my one biggest weakness.

Please, help me. I feel like my future is falling apart at the seams. I don't want to walk into my first real career destined for failure.

I don't know what to say Kev, except I totally empathize with your plight. I've had the same problems as you do all of my life. It's a b***h. I'm trying to figure out how to deal with it myself.

Sorry I'm not much help.

Yup. I had the mind to do great things but could never make it focused enough to get anywhere. It's quite disabling.

You should probably tell someone at your university that you have AS. I'm told that they have to make arrangements to accomodate you. Might not help, mind, but see what there is.

Are you on a medication to aid concentration? I've never used one and the idea does not appeal to me, but it is an option, if you can get a doctor to agree.

I like meditation, it seems to help me bring my mind together more quickly, and for longer periods. Another option.

Story of my life! Went through all of high school fighting it, bombed out at college because of it, have somewhat limited my oppurtunities at work because of it. All I can say is, stay away from professions that make demands we can't meet. You're not going to be any happier having to fight to concentrate while at work, regardless of how great and important the job is.
Find your niche and stay there. I had to do it. Gave up being a degreed engineer and had to settle for a technician's job. Kept me sane, happy, and married. Even with that, I get overloaded many times, especially under pressure. I usually have to turn off my computer to stay focused when it's that bad.

@Moog: I was on medication when I was younger, and I'm in no hurry to get back on it. I dunno...I'll ask my school's accessibility counsellor, and see if he thinks meds would be a good idea.

Has anyone tried finding ways of organizing their time? I've tried using post-it notes on my laptop, and failed.

I don't use post it notes but at work I have a dry erase board which outlines what I have to do each day. I don't let anyone see it lest they start asking questions about the status of jobs. It's not there for their information. If needed, I will turn off my computer and plow through the day's work.

Set up a hour by hour planner of what you must accomplish at the beginning of each day. Check off each task as they are done. Keep your tasks small and easily accomplished. Eventually the big pieces will fall into place. Unplug your internet cable if you must. Clean all of the games off your system. Make distractions distant and hard to get to. Invest in some soothing music and noise cancelling headphones. The music must not anything you really want to listen to and like. It's there for "white noise". I've found Easy Listening "elevator music" works best for me.

Burn through it one small task at a time is about the best help I can offer.

Give yourself deadlines for tasks.

Break down your tasks into do-able chunks, so you don't feel overwhelmed.

Get yourself a timer and take breaks. The timer is for not getting sidelined by distractions of your mind wandering from the task at hand to other things, as well as not getting too OCD and lost in details. The best time chunk is 15 minutes. Set the timer for that and then take a quick break. Do not get distracted by anything mental. Listen to calming music or go outside.

Talk to yourself to remind yourself out loud about your task.

If you need to read 3 articles for a report and something gets you sidelined and wanting to read about another topic. Don't. Stop and say to yourself, "My task is to read 3 articles." out loud.

Keep a small notepad for your sideline thoughts and ideas and that way you won't be tempted. You can always go back later.

Try Google calendar. I started using it this month and it helps to see your time blocked out. You can also set it up to send you notifications on your email of what you need to do. Also blocking your time out this way, is great because it enables you to start realizing how long tasks actually take.

I have ADD and because of this I always underestimate how long something will take me, because I usually get distracted and into something else and then when I finally get the actual task done, I underestimate how much of my time was spent on that task alone, minus my wandering mind and attention on other things.

Good luck

The ideas already listed are all good. I was diagnosed ADD (wrongly) years ago, so have been super organizing myself like this for years. It's hard. Every day is hard and we work at getting through life with a great deal more difficulty than others. But it's possible to do it, and it can get better. At least it did for me, very slowly and incrementally over decades.

Trying to study or write college papers (at home, I was married) I would get up from the table every 5 minutes because I'd think of "something I HAD to do". No matter how hard I tried I could not sit still the way I WANTED to. Focus is short, always. Sometimes I would be up all night typing (yes, before computers), take a shower and drive to class w/o having slept. Even when there had been all semester to do the paper. (Actually I think a lot of NT students do that too).

I did some teaching myself, and as I wrote to someone else, organizing the material the first year is very hard. But it gradually gets easier. You need to give up everything else right now and get this right. Over time it will be easier, then you can relax. But right now you have to work harder than your colleagues to accomplish the same. At least you know you are not alone, I thought it was just ME.

Do what the others suggested and make tons of lists, and maybe use colored markers and pens. I need the lists around me (I'm surrounded by them on my desk right now) to be in different colors and sizes of writing to attract my attention. Re-write the lists often, taking off things completed, adding new things, changing the order as you work through them. I start to ignore them if they sit there too long unchanged. Have a large wall calendar with squares you can mark things on. Set up an online calendar (I use Yahoo to email me), and I put all my monthly reports to my supervisor on there a year ahead! And if I miss a month putting them in, guess what? No report!

But if you become good at what you do (I can do things in the lab my supervisor can't) a missed report is annoying but minor. Find and Use your strengths.

Oh, and these days I leave my desk (computer) and go to a quiet spot in the building to write up things at times. I can't have that phone sitting there ringing, or the colleague in the next cubicle chatting. Many days I want to scream I WANT MY OWN OFFICE NOW! WITH A DOOR! Unfortunately that is not the world I live in. And taping that mans mouth shut wouldn't be PC.

Hang in there.

LOL I've always wished for a magical remote control so I could use the mute at my whim. I don't care if it's PC or not!