Knowing what you should be doing, but rarely doing it

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delete double post (I couldn't remember whether I hit submit or not.)

I do... generally if I cant find a logical conscious motivator then I generally have a tough time bringing myself to do things. Usually one of the things I do to help myself with that is that I force myself to do things that my brain resists doing. (not all things, just some)... sort of like trying out a new flavor of jelly bean that sounds gross but you feel that you should try it just in case it tastes ok and then you could say that you tried it... Its a similar sort of push to make things happen.

When it works (about 30% of the time) then I will get something done a single time... The key is to find ways to train my brain to consider the payoff worth the effort. If there isn't the conscious logic as to why I need to complete a task then I will not repetitively do it. (this doesn't count stims and interests, which I guess the payoff for those would be the feeling and comfort? so I guess they kind of do have a payoff/logical return)

This issue is the one thing I dislike most about myself. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one.

Oh yes. I can definitely relate. I rarely feel motivated, and it keeps me from doing the things I really want to do.

I have this too, but I think a lot of people do. Often I get friends that say ''oh I will phone you next week'', and then six weeks go by before they actually phone, and they usually say they been busy but it's not always the honest reason. It's just that time flies by so quickly that you realise you haven't done something you should have done weeks ago.

This is why I don't like having too much pressure at home. Being busy and expected to do more at work is fine, but once I get home, I like to shut my mind off of the real world and pleasure myself in doing fun things what I want to do. Even if something will only take five minutes, I still always leave it to the very last minute then I find I'm rushing around. Usually my mum's like, ''you had four weeks to do such a simple task!'', but I find that the longer time I have, the more I will leave it to the last minute. On the first week I think, ''no, I won't do it straight away, I've got four weeks yet!'' then the second week I think about it every day but keep saying ''nah, maybe tomorrow'', then the third week I kind of forget about it completely, then the forth week I think about it again and I go to do it but get distracted onto something else and think, ''oh I'll do it later'', then I end up just doing it at the very last minute.

But I think that is rather common. I've often been able to relate to NTs over this kind of thing.

I think its pretty common for anybody to procrastinate sometimes, but I think we generally do it on a much larger scale. Or at least, I seem to procrastinate on pretty much anything.

Yeah, that's true. It's more extreme with me and it seems to be mixed in with my general personality and thoughts.

I always think about how important the task is and by default do get anxiety over what horrible thing may happen if I socialise or get a job. But a very strange thing happens to me, I will go to a task and be unable to do it. I'll feel restless or even just sluggish and unfocused and then I'll remember there's this one task I've been putting off. Then I do and go back to the task I struggled with so much and I can do it now. This happens to me so much. It interferes with writing. If I haven't read from a book in awhile my brain will not allow me to continue until I do it. It seems to know the important tasks and pull me towards them by making me feel like I can't do anything.
Medication actually makes this pull greater even if I'm able to focus on most things while on it.

Yes, everyone procrastinates but the difference between autism/ADHD procrastination is the severity of it. When you've got ADHD and you really want to get things done and remember things you feel like a failure every time because you are trying so hard to avoid these symptoms. NT's don't care, they can deal with it. If they actually took more time to organise themselves they would do much better because they have the right chemicals being released naturally and have a typically developing brain. They have no excuse unless they truly have executive dysfunction and need medication or extra supports to be able to get some control over it.

In ADHD there's the hyperfocus part and unable to shift attention unless suddenly you do switch attention but it's usually on just another time wasting thing.
When you do this pretty much every day it can really cause problems.

In summary: This 'doesn't everyone do that' comment is an insult to those of us dependent on medication, strict diets, exercise routines and lists list lists to be able to control our focus, our motivation and either trying to start a task or sit down long enough to see if we are capable of focusing in the first place. Not to mention emotional regulation.

I have both monotropism and polytropism. In fact my monotropism is so bad I have made sure all my interests help me with research and all the ones that don't are those short lasting interests that last me about an hour or less. Looking at my browser tabs at the end of a day is like looking back in history. I have like 20 or 30 open on subjects I don't even remember taking an interest in.

Yes, I'm aware of what I should be doing, what a "normal" person would do. In some cases I'm overwhelmed by anxiety, often I'm just not motivated to do it. When I was younger I thought that things like getting a job or getting married were just things that happened to everybody but I never seemed to get on that path.

I read the the Wikipedia page on Executive Dysfunction , it is very informative and objective, I have not a single relevant doubt in my mind this is what afflicts me, I have got AS, ADHD, OCD and Tourette's Syndrome; all mentioned there as conditions related to Executive Dysfunction. I find it rather odd that I would find this relieving, I guess at least now I know what I am dealing with, that's always made me feel better.

That's what I meant - with me it has become an issue because it makes it difficult when on job-seekers.

I'm always on the internet on my laptop, yet I hardly go on the job sites, even though it won't take much more than 5 minutes. And when I do go on the job sites, I'm not fully paying attention and I just scroll through the job and making up excuses for every job I see. No, it's not laziness, it's just that I find it very difficult. Looking for jobs makes me anxious anyway, and I avoid the ones where you have to call telephone numbers because I hate giving my details over the phone. But I do have a personal employment advisor who comes out once every fortnight to help me look for jobs and apply. It's just something I need help with.

And I know with NTs they don't all actually need help to do a small task online or any other chore, unless they have some psychological dysfunction that makes it difficult for them but I'm just talking about the general population here, but I can still relate to them when talking about this sort of thing, if you know what I mean. Mine might be for different reasons but to them it is not considered ''weird''.

I know what you mean but many use that explanation to deny ADHD is a real disorder, many of whom are probably undiagnosed. Just when NT's try to relate to our symptoms it's like they are saying it's no big deal because they can cope. I know there's another side to it, like people want to relate to our symptoms to make us feel better but it rarely works out that way.

I do this a lot and I'm guessing it's a combination of fear of failing, especially intellectually, not knowing how to start, and routines and habits taking up a lot of time. It makes me quite angry at myself due to my tendency to plan things and then procrastinate my way to failing to follow them.

Right now I should be writing an essay for Philosophy, so yes, I do it all the time. My whole life consists of avoiding as much as possible.

Philosophy in particular bothers me because I really find it interesting, but I cannot make sense of it the way I should do.

This is why I signed up for university. I don't know what I am supposed to do after that, I don't even know how I am supposed to write 6 papers and my Bachelor paper in one semester... I don't think it's possible, but I am forced to do it. I have one semester until I'll know whether I should really carry on or not. ^^


I'm really hoping that there is a job that fits me because I fail at fitting myself into jobs. As soon as I try to look for a job, I get paranoid and I usually end up crying. ^^ I don't know how I am supposed to do it and I know I'll be hopeless anyway, so I have nothing positive to associate with it.


That is exactly what it is all about. People have told me to be more positive about myself, but how to do that if everytime I try to do something, I fail?

My mother never understood how I could not do certain things. If she really wanted to know, I'd probably tell her that I have found life only confusing and the only things that I really enjoy exist in my mind. ^^

Ugh, marriage. I hope I'll never be there. Marriage and getting a job seem so alien to me. Although I'd actually like a job. A job I'm "good" at. ^^


This is me when I am looking for jobs online. The thought of most of the jobs on offer alone makes me want to throw up.