Planning and executing schedules

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I like to do things the same way every time, and prefer doing certain things at certain times, but I am in no way a scheduled person. I'm not locked into a schedule - in fact, it's exactly the opposite, I struggle with doing the things I need to do.

For example, I am obsessed with the US reality show Storage Wars at the moment, as well as my long and enduring obsession with musical theatre. I have four exams coming up in the next two weeks, and I should be:

-Studying
-Cleaning my room which is horridly messy
-Packing and preparing to move (at the end of the month)
-Rehearsing for both a piano exam and a singing exam

But I'm either spending hours watching this TV show and forgetting to even eat, or I'm looking up Tony Award Broadway performances on youtube.

Is this a problem with executive functioning, an autism thing? Or am I just an unmotivated, lazy bum? I do want to do well in school and have a clean room and be productive, but I find myself slipping into the same old trap.

I would like to make a schedule, and stick to that schedule, but I struggle immensely with that. If I write it down, maybe that would help, and tape it to the wall or something, but even the first step sometimes feels insurmountable.

Am I lazy or just stuck in an autism trap? And does anyone know a good way to get started with planning and execution problems?

I don't know the answer to your question, but I hope someone who does will reply because I have the same problem! I think for me it is probably a combination of lack of motivation, executive function (esp. losing track of time or misjudging time while doing something I enjoy) , laziness, and avoidance. Avoidance is a big issue for me when I have a lot to do. The task may seem so daunting that I don't even want to start, so I distract myself by surfing the Internet, watching tv, ect.

My daughter has Asperger's. She is going to college in the fall, and her psychologist suggested getting an ADD Coach for her there. You might want to look into that.

ADD as in Attention Deficit Disorder? My school doesn't offer services like that, and I can't even get accommodations for it without a diagnosis. I've been diagnosed with Asperger's, but not ADD.

It sounds to me personally like it's more an issue of motivation and procrastination...it can be hard to get moving and study/work when there's so many more enjoyable things to do in this world! Particularly when there's a lot going on, as it sounds like there is in your case, it can often get a bit overwhelming.

As for making a schedule, that's easy enough! Write it down and don't let yourself do anything other than what you wrote down! If you put "Thursday 6-9pm study 9-10pm clean", then just force yourself to do it and don't even think about it. Pretend all those TVs/computers/broadway shows don't even exist for your time block lol.