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I will make up a story more elaborate than game of thrones before doing something I don’t want to
I’ve learned that my brain’s ADHD department needs the opposite. It needs constant stimulation to keep it distracted so that it leaves me alone to have some semblance of executive function.
Audio stimulation works best. I used to always listen to podcasts, but I’ve found that specific types of music are best for getting work done. (in my case, it’s upbeat energetic thrash and groove metal)
This! Thrash metal or some good electronic music is the only thing that helps. Chiptunes too. I can pump out shitloads of work that way. Unfortunately, ever since Teams was introduced, people keep calling me without hesitation. People invite me to (recurring) meetings faster than I can decline them. I fucking hate the post covid era. I can’t listen to music for more than 2 minutes before the next interruption.
hmm maybe headphones with transparency mode would help? you can still listen to music while having the call on speakers. just an idea, don’t know if it’s feasible
At least for myself, music is great at helping me concentrate on non-verbal tasks, but the second I’m expected to pay attention to speech or (god forbid) talk to someone, it makes it impossible too. That may be the autism causing that as well but I’m not sure.
Hell yeah, some electronic & industrial sounds are always welcome. I do have chiptunes represented on my playlist too. There’s at least Strike The Earth from Shovel Knight.
Fortunately mr job is pretty good about leaving me alone to work on things. (or not, as is often the case)
That’s interesting. I kind of go back and forth. Sometimes I’ve got the TV going and three other devices plus headphones in, sometimes I need everything quiet.
One of my absolute favorite things to do is just lay on the bed in a cool dark room with the fan blowing at me. It’s both for cooling down because I’m heat sensitive (completely separate medical issue) and for the sensory deprivation and recharging.
Sometimes I will still put on something to listen to, even in that case. Usually it isn’t typical music though. It will typically be a long form video of a video game speed run or some kind of asmr video with people talking in japanese.
And at work, on days I’ve stayed late for whatever reason, it gets very peaceful and productive for sure.
Being absorbed in my music while working brings that kind of peaceful productive feeling with it, actually. By occupying a certain part of my brain, it must prevent certain anxieties and distractions from getting that attention.
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Trance or DeepHouse here
Me sitting on the couch listening to my clock and making it go from “tick tock tick tock” to “tock tick tock tick” back and forth in my head for 27 minutes straight.
Ouch, this one is too real!
“Write stuff down and put it where you’ll see it!”
— proceeds to completely see through the stuff you wrote down because it is now blends into the background scenery —
Yup. Getting tired of people saying “just write notes and reminders!”
Okay, my brain immediately deleted the memory of the reminder once it popped up, now what.
I carry a notebook around for this and that works pretty well. If I need to do something I write it in there first and that way even if I get sidetracked it’s there. It also helps prevent getting sidetracked because I can put whatever is sidetracking me on the list instead.
I’m happy to hear you found something that works. I tried this before and just like every other thing, I forgot about the notebook after a week of it kinda helping. More of a me problem here, though.
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Yeah, this is why I have a physical calendar with stickers that I can place for tasks (they are called family calendars and have extra space to place pictograms and notes on each day of the months) and an app that notifies me of tasks to do at the same time (for any ADHD havers here, the app is called Habitica, it’s the best app I’ve found for ADHD, try it out; it really helps).
If I blend one out completely that day, the other reminds me non-stop on my phone (post-its were not helping at all on their own and weren’t precise enough compared to a family calendar). It helps with getting more tasks done than if I didn’t use those tools at all (I am medicated, but I still struggle with not doing tasks when my motivation is very low, you all know how it is).
Even with relaxing. Just yesterday I told myself, “Hell yeah it’s Sunday I’m having a gaming day for myself!!”
I turned on my game and sat there for 5 hours doing nothing. I hate it.
I have to, I mean HAVE to, get paperwork done today.
So far today I have mowed/weed wacked the yard, weeded and watered my garden, pulled meat from the freezer to defrost and planned dinner for tonight, and took one phone call in regards to said paperwork. They called me, of course.
I’m now on break and it’s nearly noon. This paperwork is over my head and I am overwhelmed. I could start on other chores just to avoid it, instead I uh, am taking break. I have to get this done, and I am annoyed as to why I have to do it at all… I might just pull it out to look at it. That’s step one no?
Yes definitely pull it out. Celebrate any progress in the right direction. Write down one word. Fill out one tiny section. Now positively reinforce it - that section was easy, nice. If that’s what you get done today then so be it. The next section will be easier.
Got 7000 words done, fuck yeahhhhh Dinner was never made, but got a large chunk of it done! You folks are so supportive! Thank you! Warms my heart
You took a phone call? You overachiever, you
I also get so insanely productive when I have something else to do. You’re on the right track. You do the minimum possible step towards what you want to do even how small it is just find something small enough that you can manage.
Maybe I’m the odd one out, but I need some form of background noise to concentrate on anything. Whether that be music or someone endlessly yapping with a monotone voice in a video. Just anything that drowns out my endless stream of thoughts that have 0 to do with my task.
Excellent username really unique I like it
Same to you!
😁
The distractions are all on the inside of my brain going weeeeeee… so should i just remove my brain?
Complete removal seems extreme. Maybe just disconnect some of it, as a treat.
If I don’t have something to distract me I can’t concentrate
Yep, the goal is to find the correct balance of the correct types of distractions.
Too much or the wrong ones and you veer off course and never make it back to the main task, too much the other way and the main task feels like too much to start.
This is different for everyone which makes it all the more fun. It’s a life skill people with adhd need to learn all on their own and other than telling rach other a path exists, we cannot actually guide each other from our own experience.
And the sometimes what works shifts around or stops working all together as circumstances or surroundings change.
I work best with music/podcasts/streaming all simultaneously blasting. Then I can concentrate.
My wife finds it BAFFLING that I can listen to a TV show with audio description on, or an audiobook, or a podcast, while playing a video game, and be happy as a clam.
My brother gets annoyed by me having like 2-3 audio sources at a time on my computer when I try to have a conversation with him or have him take a look at one of the things producing audio and makes me mute the rest.
It slightly annoys me when he uses headphones because I want the extra background noise. But I realize that’s an absurd thing be annoyed about and keep it to myself normally.
Yesterday, my cousin, whose computer is right next to my room was playing music loudly and when he found out I was taking a nap asked if he needed to turn it and down and I said something that sounded like it could be passive aggressive and then had to say something like “I’m not being passive aggressive. I actually like that noise while trying to sleep. Like people like fans for white noise”.
One of the best things I accidentally did for myself was put a 3D printer in my office. It’s a fantastic level of noise and distraction. I could watch that nozzle laying down plastic for hours, and my brain shower-thoughts its way to problem solving while I do. I love it.
I literally clutter my space in the vain hope that random mis-positioned object x will remind me to do task y. Blank wall isn’t going to remind me to do shit.
Would you look at that, I have hands.
I remember back when I was in school and staring at my hands seemed infinitely more important than homework. Also watching shadows change as the sun moved across the sky.
Thinking about really makes me appreciate Adderall.
You had a WINDOW?! Lucky. I got a windowless room in school all by myself to do my homework in, as my reward for even having an IEP (that was never followed)
“y’know, they call 'em fingers, but I never see them ‘fing.’ Oh, wait, there they go.”
Me with distraction: feeling fine, barely getting work done
Me without distraction: rumination HELL, feel like shit, still barely getting work done
Give me interesting work and I will give you unlimited output
Same. I don’t struggle with difficult tasks that I can dig into and use my knowledge and problem solving skills to resolve. I spent 2 hours writing a script last week that will save me 2 days of work and didn’t get distracted once. What I struggle with is tedious bullshit.
on a related note, when i dont have anything to do i feel like mosquitoes are assaulting me every half a second, 10% are real, the other ones i probably just imagine and it was just wind on my legs
I always tell people “I need something to ignore”
And it’s mostly true…I need background sound. And not just white noise - I need something with meaning
Put me in nature, and I’m fine. Bird tweets, rustling of the leaves - I’m at peace. I’ll hear even a squirrel hundreds of yards away, but I know what’s going on. I just need to know what’s going on around me in a way that makes sense. The creaking of the building, distant cars, muffled footsteps… Just the unnatural silence
That’s what freaks me out
Can ADHD be almost the right way to handle undesired work?
If one doesn’t want to do work, it’s straight forward to not do it. If that isn’t allowed then doing everything else is the closest thing to avoiding that work. In that sense, ADHD is either a way of avoiding to be broken or the inability to integrate work into one’s accepted goals.
How could it be possible to accept work that one doesn’t want to do?
I think there’s still a problem in that you need to do some things that are undesired in order to maintain yourself - Household chores, for example. Some things are non negotiable, and for those you need to be able to force yourself, as unpleasant as it is.
