Can't get things done and looking for ideas.

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Happens with me as well, I wondered if this was an AS thing.

Executive dysfunction. Used to be so busy and happy did not notice it, but stress brought it back to the surface.

I find I enjoy my special interests with such relish, little details so absorbing, that the desire to do anything else just is not there. However, if I'm actually doing some chore, I love that too. It's a matter of MAKING myself do what needs to be done WHEN it needs to be done.

Using iCal with alarms on iMac / iPhone to bring me out of reveries. Also have a service dog who helps me transition between tasks. Hard to describe how difficult it is to switch attention and physical activity from whatever is holding interest.

Common strange problem for auties / aspies.

Interesting point about external motivation. I find it helpful, too, up to a point. Having it portable is worth a try. I'm checking into goosync - waiting to see if my device is supported. Thanks for the info.

Now and then I'm good for 1 or 2 days of on-task work with external motivation - lists, alarms for tasks on my computer - but then I'm exhausted and crash for 1, 2, or more days and struggle to get anything done. Any tips for building stamina? In a lecture by Tony Atwood, he talks about aspie kids in high school becoming exhausted by day's end b/c of the conscious effort required to negotiate all the complex social interactions. I loved hearing this b/c it made my periodic exhaustion understandable and I stopped bugging myself about being a slacker.

I'd also like to try to get some understanding as to what is diff to make these 2 day productive periods happen so that I can make it happen more often. Any ideas? Nutrition, supplements, sensitivities or anything else?

The only way to figure this out is to get seriously analytical, and to do this you're going to have to gather data. Start keeping a journal (one more task, I know) that lists every factor, physical (diet, supplements, exercise, amount of sleep the night before, temperature...), mental (sensory problems, positive events, even waking and sleeping states), and emotional you can possibly think of that applies to that day. And, list how well you managed. After you have a good pile of data, go back and look through it, seeking patterns. Not just on the days you did well; look for what might have been different the day before, or even earlier. The key is to find a pattern of different things that are linked to your more successful days.

I do understand that's a lot of work, and it is akin to an oxymoron to suggest you undertake it in order to figure out how you can manage to get work done... But what works for one of us may not work for another; I've tracked down a few things like this, and the things that help seem to be highly individualistic - and often, annoyingly subtle as well. The subtler they are, the harder they are to catch.

If you really don't think you can do this, your only other option would be to find someone willing to observe you and collect data with as much level of detail as they can manage. The problem with this, of course, is that they can record only external events, they will not always be aware of certain trains of thought, etc. - and I at least have found that in some cases, the positive trigger is as "simple" as a certain type of train of thought triggered by my reading.

this is exactly the same cycle I'm in too. I work well for 1 or 2 days and then crash for 1 or 2 days and when I crash I mean I really do not do anything productive. I wish I knew how to increase my stamina too - but the advice you were given seems good. my partner used to be very good at noticing the patterns of what was good for me and what wasn't but now I have to work this out for myself. I'm going to try making weekly plans so that I know what I have to do each day of the week for the week ahead but I'm not sure that it'll work because it seems like there's nothing I can do to prevent the need for rest when it comes.

Unfortunately, my stamina's been decreasing over the years, so I am not sure what to do to increase it. I've been able to increase my ability to get things done by specifically targeting things I have a problem with (remembering to eat lunch and dinner, for example), and beyond that I don't really currently have a lot of responsibilities beyond arranging for my own medical appointments and entertainment, and buying my clothes and hygiene products. So far, I've been doing this for about... a month? And it's worked well, but again... I am not under a lot of pressure right now.

I am still figuring everything out - I've been thinking of trying omega-3 fish oils as that's a thing ADHDers talk about. Not sure if it'll do anything, but I'll try anything that sounds reasonable at this point.

And yes to Tony Attwood's thing about becoming exhausted. That was so me every day in school, at work. I couldn't figure out why I needed to sleep so much when I've had jobs. Now it makes sense.

I'm having this very problem right now with paying my estimated taxes. I have never gotten them in on time. I want to do it this year for once and not pay the penalty. I have 2 days left.