Can't get things done and looking for ideas.

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This is a really demanding, stressful and difficult time in my life. Lots of things w/ time limits have to be taken care of, and paperwork is always a serious challenge for me anyway. I'm missing deadlines which is making big problems. Here's the weird part - Even when know (aka, remember) what needs to be done I just can't seem to do it. It's like there's this wall of glass I can see through, and I stand there and say, 'oh look, there's that thing that needs attention" but I can't motivate myself to get it done.

Does this happen to anyone else, and if so have you figured out how to get through that glass wall? It's like there's a circuit that isn't completing to let me feel the urgency to get it done, and another circuit not working that lets me put thoughts into action. And then there's the memory circuit, but that's probably a whole other thread. Is this executive function dysfunction?

Yes, this sounds like it.

I'm dealing with this kind of feeling myself a lot and sometimes it helps to break a task down into several smaller sub-tasks and to set myself a deadline for every one of them.

For example: "I need to get the internship I did last term approved of by the university's expert on internships. This needs to be done by the end of next week." Now, I can set myself intermediary goals like: "Okay, I will sort through my papers and reports concerning that internship tomorrow and get everthing I need for this into order and make copies. The day after tomorrow, I will phone people to get the papers that are still missing. The day after that, I will write the letter asking the expert to approve of my internship and print it out. The day after that, I will put everything into an envelope, put the address and a stamp on it and mail it. If I do not have an answer by the middle of next week, I will phone the expert and ask whether there is something wrong with my papers."

That way, tasks take longer, but they get done in the end. It just takes a little more effort to manage and to keep an eye on the schedule.

I'm exactly the same. I'm looking forward to reading some advice in this thread. I have a serious problem with executive function.

This sounds much like me too! And, unfortunately, this is one of the reasons I now find myself recently unemployed. I wish I knew how to be better at this...

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Yes, it's an executive function / executive dysfunction issue. Other words: Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), inattention symptom, ADHD Inattentive, personal initiative, being a self-starter, sports concussions, and so on. (In some cases, it may be a kind of subtle epilepsy such as petit/absence/TLE/complex partial, etc.). From what I can gather, if it's ADHD Inattentive, a few persons are temporarily helped a little (not a cure) by using the right stimulant - alerting agent for ADHD Inattentive such as: coffee, caffeine compounds, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Adderall, and so on. A written annual planner where one enters the day's priorities helps some users a little (not a cure). What you describe is quite real.

This is amazing! You people actually know what I'm talking about with the Glass Wall thing? Is there any treatment for it?

I like the task break down - using a time line. I know things take me a super long time compared to other people. It is a wonderful thing when something is completed, and on time, no matter how much time it takes.

Stimulants help but give me a side effect of an overactive tongue so I take about 1/2 of the best dose to help to avoid it. They all do it to me - ritalin, adderall - and dex has the most benefit. No doc was able to get around this. I stopped mentioning it after one doc said he wouldn't prescribe it for me b/c of the side effect. Without it all I want to do is hang out on the couch and watch movies or tv! adhd - w/ hypOactivity

You may be "tasked out," sometimes happens to me. A number of tedious things to get done, and not enough free positives to look forward to. Maybe you could alternate paperwork with reading from a book you're getting into? This sometimes (but not always) works for me.

I like the potential of this very much. Just go regular and not be so worried about perfectionism. Then, for important things, a pause at the end to look at it with fresh eyes.

The, 'glass wall' is a good analogy. I'm like that too. Personally, I get so caught up in the little details of everything that I begin to think that the entire task will take forever; then I am to overwhelmed to deal or don't know exactly where to begin.
I try to preempt the overload by simplifying or minimizing, then I prioritize, and keep things organized. When things build-up, I break everything down into smaller tasks that can be handled throughout the day or week.
I always try to start out with a plan of attack- make calls, send mail, first, second, third...
I run my house like I used to run my office.

Hey, have you been spying on me? There are times I can't even get things done I want to get done. (Not just need, not just want the result, things I want to do.)

I have a few things that help, a little.

1: I put up, where I'll see it all the time, phrases that seem to help motivate me to focus on the things that matter to me.
2: Occasional, cold-brewed coffee when I really need it. Occasional, because you'll start to get habituated after a few days and then it won't work. Cold-brewed (1 part coarse grounds to 4 parts water; soak in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours) because that stuff is not just tastier, it is stronger.
3: Break what I need to get done into tasks I can accomplish instead of overall goals I must think about before I act.
4: Various processes that help me track - and accomplish - the to-dos I need to. The trick is finding the process that works for you. There are so many, and so many tweaks, and you really need to understand "process" to figure out what is working for you.

I've been like that for as long as I can remember. Over the years I have tried to simplify my life in the hope that would free up time and improve my performance in the remaining areas. I am not sure if it has helped much because I still struggle. It often feels like my level of functioning is getting worse as I get older.

Anyway, here are a few other suggestions I have come across in the past couple of years.

"The List Is Life: Finding a new way to manage my day."
By John Dickerson
http://www.slate.com/id/2231023/

"Get-It-Done Guy's 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More"
http://getitdoneguynews.com/
See also http://getitdoneguynews.com/#steverinterview .

"Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity"
http://wikisummaries.org/Getting_Things ... oductivity
See also http://www.trgtd.com.au/ .

I was kept from graduating with my class in HS because of this. I somehow couldn't get myself to do my final paper for english class and therefore failed it. Since it had been an AP class, they just made me take the regular senior english that summer in summer school. I got lucky though as the teacher I had that summer was the same one I'd had back in 8th grade. I slept through each and every class and passed with flying colors. While it's happened to lesser extents since then, I've yet to figure out how to work through it.

If all else fails, wait until the last minute and cram! I used to do that and was able to get through college classes. Once you get to the point you realize it simply has to get done, for some reason, it's easier to actually finish it. You can't make any more excuses about there being plenty of time tomorrow or next week when it's due tomorrow, not next week!
Some things you have to do every day, though. Those are the things you have to make yourself do. Tell yourself you will do them no matter what. No excuses! You have to convince yourself there's no other option.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately too. I kept getting down on myself for not being able to accomplish tasks usually paper work that needs to be done. I was thinking that it must be Executive Function, my son also suffers really badly from it too. The really insane thing is that I worked for 25 years in the computer industry and part of my job was project management of the workload I was responsible for. I was renowned for meeting all targets and attention to detail and now days I struggle to manage most personal paper work.

I appreciate the comments here and will try to put some of them into practice.

I wrote this on another forum five days before you wrote your post:



What I have done that's helped me was set up alarms on my computer to remind me to do things at the same time every day. I use stickies, and they help a lot: http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/

But I spend a lot of time on or near my computer, so that's practical. This can help you schedule things on an iphone or android:

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/

GooSync can synchronize your google calendar with your cell phone:

http://lifehacker.com/213886/sync-your- ... cell-phone

I find in general that if I externalize motivation, it is much easier for me to get it done. If something tells me a thing needs to be done, I am more likely to do it, whereas left to my own devices, it's the glass wall.

Yeah I get this. ADHD. TLE is interesting. It feels less like a glass wall, more a brick wall. My emotions are also on the other side of the wall.

Anyway,
I take Omega 3, eat fairly balanced healthy meals, avoid junk food, try to exercise, drink plenty of water and set myself task reminders on my phone.
You also need to become more disciplined even if it is the most agonizing thing at times.
When I can't focus on things because of ADHD and I'm hyper it's hard to concentrate or do anything. I have to get up and walk around, maybe to something that involves a lot of energy then go back to what I need to do.

Last edited by pensieve on 10 Jan 2011, 1:58 am, edited 1 time in total.