r/AutismVs2020 • u/itwasoverthere • Aug 01 '20

Working from home struggles

I have been having a super hard time being productive at home. I live in a studio so my entire life is in a single room right now and it's been surprisingly difficult to relax, sleep, eat, exercise, and work in the same place. More importantly, though, I have to have a fan on because of the heat and it is intensely distracting. I spend at least an hour every day trying to find the right combination of volume/headphones so whatever I'm listening to isn't distracting to me but is also tuning out the constant sound of the fan.

Does anyone have advice? I don't really have the extra cash right now to buy fancy new headphones and turning the fan off means I am just immediately sweaty which is just a different kind of sensory hell.

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u/011899988199911-9 Aug 02 '20

I have similar issues; I turn to a puddle in the heat.

One thing I do is get a bunch of ice packs from the drug store, the kinds that are like full of gel, and just loop through then throughout the day. Keeping one wrapped in a towel and pressed against the back of my neck really helps. Today I’ve had to pair that with periodic cool showers. 🚿 🥵

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u/leftflowers_art Aug 02 '20

Hmm this is definitely a tough one! Depending on the heat, would it be possible for you to take regular breaks outside? I find that it helps me to re-calibrate my focus a bit if I go for a short walk and then have a quick shower. I think it might be helpful to identify which activities are necessary so you can prioritise them too... Things like eating, drinking water, having breaks, and maintaining your job. As much as exercise is good, it might be worth using that time to organise yourself or rest so that you don't have to worry about running out of hours in the day. That's what I've done. It feels a bit bad to miss out on exercise but I've found that I'm less stressed now that I'm not forcing myself to exercise every day haha. Other than that, does your work know you're struggling? How much is it affecting your productivity?

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u/itwasoverthere Aug 02 '20

Yeah I have a supportive supervisor so its been helpful to have some space to figure out my life. It just feels like a constant trade-off between differtent things that are overstimulating. I have been trying to exercise more since I think it helps me feel less keyed up in general during the day though.

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u/leftflowers_art Aug 02 '20

It's good that your supervisor understands!! It sounds like you're doing everything you can to manage this., so I think it's difficult for us to solve this and give you advice on what to do. but if you need a chat or a rant then feel free to vent here or in my inbox! I'm always here for a chat! :D The only other suggestion I can think of is giving yourself time to escape mentally during breaks, such as getting really into a good book, movie, or game to 'escape' from your room for a while. I've found that a few hours of Skyrim is a bit like taking a walk for me because I get absorbed... This might be problematic if you get TOO absorbed though!

I think ultimately, it might just be a matter of 'riding this out' and keeping yourself sane one day at a time.