Do you find tasks that require energy burn you out?

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For me having Autism is really trying sometimes. I burn out quickly even though I have had plenty of sleep. Does that happen to most of us IE: Aspies and Auties?

I work Mon to Fri 9-5pm in an office environment. By the time it is 1-2pm I am ready to just go home, I am so burnt out. It is not physical just paperwork, the normal corporate type job. It really frustrates me because I want to succeed in my job and in also my "adulthood" yet it takes so so sooo much focus to not stim, to not draw attention to deal with the lighting and the noise. I try to escape every hour or so I go downstairs and go outside for a minute or two so that I can re-group myself again. I just find that my energy levels deplete so fast.

Grocery shopping burns me out as well, driving there, shopping for the stuff, the noise , lights, trying to figure out what I need even when I have a list.

I find that by the time the weekend comes I want to do outdoor stuff and go and have fun with friends or family but I cant do much. I have do things within a couple hour span. Like a few hours then I need a nap or quiet time then I can go again but I need a rest. Its very frustrating because my friends want to see me but I cant at times im so burnt out, I don't want them to think I'm making excuses but its hard to someone who is NT to truly understand what it is like for us.

So what about you guys? Is is hard at times to deal with just every day stuff without burning out? How do you deal?

I have definitely been noticing this myself more and more. The more social I have to be at work, the more I am exhausted. I try to take naps during my lunch break, or at the very least, listen to repetitive soothing music while I walk outside. I hate the lights and all the noise, but there isn't much I can do about that. I keep thinking about what kind of job has the least amount of stimuli and social interaction. The only thing I can think of is an IT job.

On Saturdays, I get ready for the week (laundry, go grocery shopping, make lunches, do dishes) and I feel like I haven't stopped working! Sundays I end up sleeping in most of the day. Like you, I would enjoy going out and doing things outside more, but my brain is just done. I feel like my whole life is devoted to work, and work that I just do not enjoy that much.

Tasks that require mental energy do, or things that cause me stress. Yet I can go hiking for hours, or do physically strenuous work, and be fine.

Knowing that I have a lot to do can make me stressed so that I'm exhausted, too.

Yes! I feel like I need lots of prep time before, then downtime afterward. If I go full throttle for an extended period, then I need downtime for the next couple of days - if I don't have that option, then I am lower functioning......and it always just seems to snowball out of my control

I get really overwhelmed if there is a lot to do, like if I know I have all these things that need to get done after work, or on the weekend it can really give me a lot of anxiety. I even will say to my friends I cant hang out if I know I have so much to do, or I feel like its gonna be a change in my routine. I also cant handle when my routine changes very well if it had to change for something fun or a good thing I cant change my routine I get so stimmy from it.

yes! no one in my life understands that me being even the tiniest bit of social....wears me out.
i don't really go out during the week--just to work and back home. and on the weekends....there have been plenty of weekends where i don't get out of my pj's and don't even go outside of the house. two days (the weekend) doesn't feel like enough time to recoup for the next work week. by the time sunday night rolls around, and i'm JUST starting to feel good, i have to cancel that feeling and go to bed to get up so damn early for work.

i've also tried telling people that this constant forcing my body awake....it's literally killing me!

Yup, they do indeed.
I cope by taking 'sensory breaks', comparable to the smoke breaks some of my collegues take.
As long as my work is done in time, noone really cares, they know about my issues.

There is a mutual understanding: i am allowed to listen to music while i work, and there is a signalling system in place: if i listen with one earbud, i am available for random conversations and other general socialisation; when i got both buds in, i am recharging and socialisation should be kept to required only.
I minimise the "double bud" time and in exchange my coworkers respect it.


A lot can be done if you are up front with your issues and provide possible solutions/workarounds yourself, especially if they cost no extra time or money from the employer; since i am more productive thanks to the quiet times, i can take more breaks and do the same work in a day.

I have always felt like I could do a 30 hour work week maximum and no more. Ideally I would just do a part-time job but that pays for nothing so no point.

I also find the working week and socialising exhausting, I am lucky in that I have a very understanding wife that helps and supports me to recharge. I find that doing sensory things helps regulate me, so even when I'm tired I go for a walk in the evening as I know it makes me feel better and helps me cope or I have what feels like a stim discharge when I get home, it's like working hard to not stim all day and then getting home and letting it all out.

Task that require a lot of mental energy & focus burn me out but I have ADD in addition to my Aspergers. I worked over 9 hours a day(not counting my lunch hour) doing floor cleaning & custodial stuff & I handled long shifts OK. But I burn out very quickly if I try to organize my music collection on my computer even thou I can spend hours on my comp at a time doing other stuff.

Mentally challenging stuff definitely, I am very affected by this, physically challenging no, I can run a mile pretty fast and my stamina is decent but mentally I find it extremely exhausting to cope with many things, but it's not a physical thing I recover from, which is much harder than just eating and resting to replace what was lost.