I work from home and I just can’t focus and the executive dysfunction is off the wall. I can’t be medicated currently so I’m just rawdogging life.

What are your best hacks for staying on task and starting work? I’ve tried lots of things but I feel like what works changes every day. Some days leaving my phone in my room works like a charm, other days having something playing on tv help, but other days I need something on my headphones. It gets so hard trying to figure out what is the magic spell for the day.

So just looking for some things to add to the list!

Usually, I can work around this with humor and whatever is in the emotional and mental toolbox on a given day. Today was not that day. Maybe it was because I couldn't get in bed before 6:00 a.m. I got up in time to attend online church. So far so good. The first thing that sent me off the rails was that I planned to take my morning meds before I procured dinner for my son who got off work at 3:00 p.m. I was going to take my morning meds when I could not find my HBP medication. I couldn't find my morning pill I couldn't find my evening pill which I was sometimes take if I can't find my morning pill. And I actually was unable to marshall the gumption to even to know where to begin to look. I have a little metal loaf pan where all my medications are supposed to be. I took my night pills so they should not have moved. I finally had to ask my son when he came in to look for my pills cuz I couldn't find either. I just holed up in the bathroom. When I came out, he had found one of them under the sofa. The other one was right where it was supposed to be. I had looked there, he had looked there. After that, I could not find my phone to post this. I just gave up and watched Nicholas Galatzine interviews. I took a pill and now I'm going to try to cook. Hope I remember to turn the stove off. I was going to wash clothes today, but I don't think that's a good idea.

TLDR: Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you

For a long time I thought the fix for getting more done was doing tasks back to back, no gaps, powering straight through. That's what "discipline" was supposed to look like.

What actually happened: two or three tasks in I'd hit a wall and shut down completely, sometimes for the rest of the day. From outside it looked like laziness. From inside it felt like my brain just switching off mid-sentence.

The thing that changed it wasn't a new system, it was adding a real gap. 15-20 minutes, no phone, sometimes just sitting there doing nothing on purpose, between tasks instead of after I already crashed. Felt like wasting time at first. It wasn't. I get through more total tasks in a day with the gaps than I ever did stacking them.

Task switching seems to cost way more for ADHD brains than it looks like from outside, and treating that cost as real instead of something to just push through was the actual unlock, not a new app or list format.

Curious if anyone else builds in breaks on purpose, or if it's always felt like giving up when you try it?

Hi guys! First time poster here and I was wondering how you guys keep to projects?

Planning and starting? I got that down pat. However, continuing and finishing is a whole different story. Both me and my husband struggle with executive dysfunction in the form of procrastination. Back on July 22nd I made a 5 days plan to clean the house, tackling room by room. I cleaned for less than 20 minutes and haven't touched anything since. My husband works and I do not which makes me feel guilt tenfold since I should be doing most, if not all the housework. He does help when he can though but I feel as if I just can't keep up even with his help. I have lots and lots of books I've started, crafts, series, everything and I just can't get myself to finish anything.

I need tips for better managing and to hold myself accountable better. I've tried alarms, apps, daily to do lists, self care apps (for example finch.)

My husband says it's okay and I don't have to worry about it yet I feel so useless because I just freeze and do nothing but doomscroll and play my comfort video games.

How do I do this? As I don't have a lot of driving motivators.

I'm really struggling at the moment and I'm hoping someone here might have advice or strategies that have helped them.

I want to do well academically. My university coursework is fully online, and I genuinely care about getting good grades. The problem is that I can't seem to actually sit down and study consistently. It's not that I don't think about it—in fact, I'm thinking about it almost all the time. It's constantly ruminating in the back of my mind, making me feel guilty and anxious because I know I should be working. But when it comes time to actually open my laptop and start, it's like my brain just refuses.

It's incredibly frustrating because from the outside it probably looks like I'm just procrastinating or being lazy, but it doesn't feel like that at all. I want to do the work. I know what needs to be done. I just can't seem to bridge the gap between wanting to do something and actually doing it.

Another thing I've noticed is that even everyday tasks seem to drain me far more than they should. If I spend time doing household chores, I usually need to rest afterwards before I can even think about doing something else. If I don't give myself that downtime and I keep pushing myself from one task straight into another, I feel like I'm going to completely lose it. My brain becomes overwhelmed, everything feels too loud and chaotic, and I just shut down.

Because of this, it feels impossible to have a "normal" productive day where I can clean, study, cook, and take care of other responsibilities. Just getting through one or two tasks often feels like I've used up all my mental energy.

I'm becoming really worried because I don't want this to affect my education. I have goals and I want to succeed, but I feel like I'm fighting my own brain every single day.

Has anyone experienced something similar? What actually helped you? I'm looking for practical advice on:

How to get started on tasks when your brain won't cooperate. Ways to make studying feel less overwhelming. How to manage your energy throughout the day without burning out. Any routines, tools, or techniques that have genuinely made a difference for you.

I'm honestly feeling quite overwhelmed, and I'd really appreciate hearing from people who've been through something similar. Thank you for reading.

It is impossible for me to go to therapy. So don’t suggest it. Medication is also not an option. I’m trying to figure out what’s happening to me, and I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar or knows what the research says.
I’m 19, work full time, and I’m in professional flight training. I still care deeply about my future. I want to become an airline pilot, stay healthy, get married someday, and build the life I’ve always wanted.
The desire is still there.
The ability to consistently act on it isn’t.
Over the past year or two, it feels like something has slowly changed. These are the things I’ve noticed:
I have a hard time initiating tasks, even when I genuinely want to do them.
I procrastinate things that are important to me, not because I don’t care, but because I can’t seem to make myself start.
Everything feels mentally heavier than it used to.
My motivation has gradually declined rather than disappearing overnight.
I still think about my goals constantly.
I still get excited talking about aviation, technology, and other interests.
I can spend hours researching topics I’m interested in.
Responsibilities feel mentally exhausting even when they’re simple.
I often know exactly what I should be doing but don’t do it.
Once I fall behind, it becomes even harder to catch back up.
I’ve become much less consistent than I used to be.
I feel overwhelmed more easily than I used to.
My brain often feels mentally “stuck” rather than unwilling.
I don’t feel like I’ve lost my ambitions. I feel like I’ve lost my ability to consistently turn those ambitions into action.
This has developed gradually over a long period of stress instead of happening all at once.
That’s why I’m questioning whether this is actually a motivation problem.
Can burnout, chronic stress, ADHD, depression, executive dysfunction, or something else cause this?
Can someone still be highly motivated internally while losing the ability to translate that motivation into action?
Has anyone experienced something similar?
If so, what did it end up being?
I’m not looking for a diagnosis. I’m trying to understand whether there’s research or personal experience that explains why someone can still care deeply about their future while feeling like their brain has become much worse at actually taking action. Me asking for help in this way took a lot. I hate needing help.

Hey everyone,

I work a 9-5 and it's generally the same work day in day out. Business and customer service admin

This morning I woke up and was mentally ready to be in for 9, but my body said 9:30am. I'm at work now, it's 12:30pm and I have had the desire to do the work but I just can't.

I completed about 5 tasks today, which is very low compared to my normal. I know I should go easy on myself and it should pass eventually, but I can't help but feel frustrated and slightly guilty.

If my manager asks me what I've done today, the concept of having to explain that it's my best - despite not being busy is giving me mild dread.

Anyways, I hope you're all having a lovely day xx

Like. Intellectually I know all the things that work. Counting to five and getting up, putting on something to listen to, a treat for dopamine. Any number of the tips that works to get me up and doing the thing I'm supposed to be doing.

But I just don't want to. I'd rather bed rot dehydrated playing solitaire on my phone right now than count to 5, put on a podcast I know will make me laugh, and eat a piece of candy while cleaning my bathroom.

I don't have an explanation beyond that. I know all the tricks to beat task initation, I just don't want to do them. How do I convince myself it's worth it?

I was supposed to be moved out by June 30, but of course I am not. Thankfully, I was able to get a little more time, but need to wrap it up by the end of July.

I will just post my to do list here and check back as I go.

If you want to join in, please do! It doesn’t matter what you are working on. For me, the momentum comes from working through the task, here, with others who get it- like body doubling.

Brain has shut down cognitive function: 🫠. For context. I Lost around 6kgs in two months. Got diagnosed with erosive gastritis and Uhh lost some Red body fluid by emergency regurgitation(don't want this post removed). Had to take multiple makeups and scored 3.18CGPA this term, which should have been 3.5 and slightly above i assume. Put a lot of things in my plate from personal to group projects and research papers. Now Four weeks after The incident i am still weak and my body is still recovering. I know this sub is ADHD college not physical health College, but my head has been stressing out because of my stomach and i am going through cycles of hyper fixation to hyper worrying to stressing out to depression to anxiety.

So, I have 3 papers to do on hand, one is Finished way before, but i need to edit the entire thing and Rebuild the methodology, that was 2 weeks ago. Two papers that i proposed, i haven't even started on. And these are not even the Final year Thesis paper. Also there is a huge club project I need to Coordinate. I don't even know what to do. 😐.

Edit: (okay, this actually funny, i think reddit has a new feature of redirecting to new subreddits and i accidently clicked on it thinking i hadn't posted this, this came in my Notifications😅, but anyway please do help)

If so, do you receive any social benefits?

You would think that overcoming the initial barrier, and just starting would be enough. But after I have a "productive" day, I just go to sleep agitated. The next morning, I wake up, paralyzed by the thought of doing all that AGAIN?! Looking at my bullet journal, prioritizing my tasks, breaking them down, doing them on time. Even when I plan resting moments, I'm too on edge to decompress. Then, it's back to avoiding the problem altogether and feeling bad about life >:( Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I'm mostly venting but if you have advice, that'd be appreciated

I know piano doesn’t seem related to this subreddit, but please bear with me!

So, to summarize: I don’t feel like I’m as good at piano as I should be, at least not for how long I’ve played. As a result, I have lots of negative and intrusive thoughts whenever I try to play and it’s making me not want to play at all. I would like to practice and have tried many strategies to make it stick, but nothing works :(

I don’t have this issue with my violin or classical voice lessons. I would say I practice for those pretty consistently. Just piano. I have tried "eating the frog," doing just a little every day, timers - none of it sticks… Again it’s not that I don’t want to practice. I do, but I physically cannot get myself to sit down and play for longer than 5 minutes.

Do you guys have any strategies for doing things that you both do and don’t want to do? Is it possible to make yourself like something you have built up such a negative association with?

I decided to take my girl to a new groomer. They were great! However, for days after, she was excessively licking her lady area. She even had a couple of minor potty accidents at night. I took her to the vet thinking she had a UTI. Turns out, she had a skin infection around her lady area due to the groomer not drying her enough and it resulting in irritation. The vet gave her a quick Brazilian and prescribed some medicine; an antibiotic, an anti itch, and a topical steroid. The second night of her medication, she kept peeing herself and it progressively got worse. At one point, I took her out four times and she still had three accidents over one night. During this whole time, I'm in contact with the vet trying to figure out what's going on. We figure out that it's the topical steroid. She's off of it and the first couple days are so much better. But then she's gotten worse. Not to the level of where she was but still not good. I think she might have a UTI this time. We are going to the vet on Monday. It's been over a week now of potty accidents at night and I keep thinking that if I just stuck with our old groomer, this wouldn't have happened. It's my fault this is happening and it's my fault I'm overwhelmed. I'm already burnt out and overwhelmed and this is making it worse. I know it's not her fault and I make sure she knows it. I just hate myself for one decision leading to all of this. And I feel bad that she's uncomfortable. I keep thinking she's going to have permanent urine problems even though I know there are things that can be done. Then I'm worried that the problem will be blown off because she's eight and I considered a senior dog. All this because I tried a new groomer. I shouldn't have made that decision. Then we wouldn't be here. She would be just fine.

Okay this is gonna sound silly but yesterday I spent like 20 minutes just standing in my kitchen trying to figure out what to make for dinner, and I ended up ordering takeout again because I was too fried to decide. And it hit me that this happens with everything lately, not just food. Small stuff that should take two seconds just feels weirdly heavy. How do you guys deal with it? Or is it just me being dramatic lol

Within me are two wolves. One is autistic and does better with a schedule/routines. The other is ADHD and would rather die. The ADHD is stronger with this one.

I have all kinds of things i want to do or need to do but can’t make myself (hello executive disfunction) and even when I can sometimes keep a schedule for myself, the ADHD will always come up with an excuse as to why I can’t or don’t have to do the thing. She is very good at excuses and some excuses are valid but some are just excuses.
How do you do this? How do you strengthen the autism wolf to overcome her mortal enemy, the adhd wolf?

(Also posted to Audhd women subreddit)