Difficulty paying attention / understimulation?

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It has recently been brought to my attention that I have a lot of trouble staying focused on a task. I feel like anything that will take longer than an hour feels so big that I don't want to begin it (eg even a movie or book that I am interested in), and that I become very distressed if I am forced to (eg. a uni lecture or at the cinema). When I sit in a lecture, no matter how interested I am, after about 15 minutes I lose any chance of focus, become exhausted and distressed to the point that I feel like I want to stab myself while I'm sitting there.

I find it impossible to keep my attention on most things for longer than 15 minutes, even more impossible to sit still or have just one input at a time. When I read I try to say "pay attention, pay attention", but usually before I finish the sentence my mind has drifted away. And the mental exhaustion of trying to pay attention over and over is so enormous that I can only read about 2 pages at a time, taking in about 20% of it. I have recently been testing using the computer to read aloud to me while I follow the words with my eyes, while also keeping my hands busy. It seems to be having a positive effect at keeping me on task.

But I really don't understand what this means. Is my distress from under or overstimulation? I assume that this is related to AS, but I don't really understand what that means for how I am most likely to be able to deal with this. I'm generally very easily overstimulated, it seems absurd to me that I would be needing more stimulation to keep me calm. But it has me wondering if I am seeking that stimulation because when I read or am in a lecture or watching a movie I rock INTENSELY and repeatedly pull my hair out.

I think it may differ depending on who you are. For me, it generally is understimulation that ruins my ability to pay attention. My mind automatically starts going to something else that interests me. It's why I stopped taking classes with long lectures. I have yet to find a solution to the problem, however(although Ritalin helps me some).

I have this problem when studying. I try classical music, or just starting on *something* productive and working my way from there.

The big thing that helps me focus though is this; Coming across a maths problem I just can't solve. It works better than anything else. Try to find *something* about what you're doing that engages you. Focuse takes practice, don't give up.

same here; i can pay attention a lot better if i also do something else at the time, although the 'something else' should not use the same sensory set.
when listening to lectures, listening to music is counter-productive as it makes the teacher harder to hear, so i read the book i brought or make some logiquiz puzzles (sudoku, for example), but while i'm reading/writing something, music is the best 'motivator' for me