How to get disciplined without burnout?

Post Reply New Topic

Whenever I try to get disciplined things go well for a bit, but I eventually crash and end up worse than before.

Try differently instead of trying harder.

Pay attention to what's going on in situations where you find it easy to do something without having to try to remember to do it, and see if you can set up something like that in other situations. For example, I find it easier to do things if I always do that thing whenever I'm in a certain place. Then I automatically think of doing it when I'm in that place.

Also, look into getting an electronic scheduler with alarms. I use an app on my iPhone for that, but before I used a PDA and before that a watch. If you have trouble remembering the right sequence of actions, you can also ask someone to help you make a picture schedule and post it where you do the activity it depicts.

I have been trying to work on my executive functioning issues for a while now, trying different tools and methods like the ones listed above. I am trying to improve, and make myself more reliable, so that I can work. But, my abilities in this area are so often unreliable; some days, I can do very well (though it feels like I have been studying intensively the night before a final exam), and other days, I am incapable of anything. After awhile of trying some new method, I crash and have nothing but bad days.

I find I do best with one small change at a time. Add one thing to my daily routine, and get used to that, before adding something else. (Seriously it can take a month before I'm ready for the next thing.) Lots and lots of baby steps.

Set yourself realistic objectives.
You will always be somewhere on the way to your objectives, perfection is unrealistic.

Look at what you have achieved (more than at what remains to achieve).
Congratulate yourself for every little improvement, little things achieved.

(a long work )

That sounds like what happens to me sometimes. I can be under mild to moderate stress without realising it, and suddenly it hits me. Or I might avoid getting engrossed in special interests (so that the rest of my life doesn't collapse), and be proud of my self-control, and a great sense of boredom and frustration creeps up on me, the cause-and-effect link between the two is anything but obvious to me at the time. So I think what we're up against here might be alexithymia, the warnings just don't get through until it's rather too late. I've got no solution, I just try to think more carefully about what I put myself through and remember that I'm prone to unexpected stress.

I did try very realistic things. An example is school. I go to school part time. I had a class once a week, but I was allowed to go to school more often if I wanted. I went to school more often and things went well for a while. Eventually I crashed and now I can barely go to school for the required day. I'm very grateful my school is so flexible, but I plan to go to full time university one day.

How much more often?

Going from once a week to twice a week might be a realistic goal. Going from once a week to every day would not be.

In terms of university, as a disabled student one of my accommodations is reduced course load, which means I can be considered a 'full time student' even if I'm only taking a single course. I find that 2 or 3 courses per term is my limit. (Each course usually has classes twice or three times a week, and I put all my courses on the same days because I find that easier.) So if you can get up to attending class two or three times a week, that's enough to function as a university student.

I think I went three times a week. Right now my goal will be to go to school once a week. Once that's easy, I will switch to two times a week. Unfortunately one requirement for the program I want is going to full time school. They want to make sure I can handle the program.