Exhaustion and burnout

Are the tasks simple? How many different steps are there in carrying out a task? I have terrible problems starting and finishing things that I have the physical and intellectual ability, and the skills and experience, to do, but my head won't let me do them.

Not a work example, unless you're a gardener, but when I cut my grass I routinely check and top up the oil in the mower, clean the air filter, add petrol, then start the mower, and get on with the mowing. Each step is very simple, but if I need, for example, to adjust the drive belt, which is also simple, it's quite likely that the grass won't get cut that day. Also if I didn't know exactly where the oil and filling funnel is, or couldn't find a rag or bit of kitchen paper to wipe the dipstick on, the mowing may not get done. Any extra steps, or not being able to find something I need for the usual steps, can make the job overwhelming.

I didn't realise this until quite recently, and I think it affects me more badly than it did in the past, but I'm sure it's always been there. It seems that ideally I need everything to be perfectly organised, everything to have its place where I know I will always be able to find it, and to have dedicated workspaces for specific tasks. But getting that set up is a massive task with multiple steps, and I'm bad at putting things away and keeping things tidy! I even struggle with things I enjoy, want to do, or will have a beneficial outcome.

Getting exhausted isn't surprising, when simple tasks can take that much effort, and every step means finishing the previous one, then making the effort to start the next.

Are the tasks simple? How many different steps are there in carrying out a task? I have terrible problems starting and finishing things that I have the physical and intellectual ability, and the skills and experience, to do, but my head won't let me do them.

Not a work example, unless you're a gardener, but when I cut my grass I routinely check and top up the oil in the mower, clean the air filter, add petrol, then start the mower, and get on with the mowing. Each step is very simple, but if I need, for example, to adjust the drive belt, which is also simple, it's quite likely that the grass won't get cut that day. Also if I didn't know exactly where the oil and filling funnel is, or couldn't find a rag or bit of kitchen paper to wipe the dipstick on, the mowing may not get done. Any extra steps, or not being able to find something I need for the usual steps, can make the job overwhelming.

I didn't realise this until quite recently, and I think it affects me more badly than it did in the past, but I'm sure it's always been there. It seems that ideally I need everything to be perfectly organised, everything to have its place where I know I will always be able to find it, and to have dedicated workspaces for specific tasks. But getting that set up is a massive task with multiple steps, and I'm bad at putting things away and keeping things tidy! I even struggle with things I enjoy, want to do, or will have a beneficial outcome.

Getting exhausted isn't surprising, when simple tasks can take that much effort, and every step means finishing the previous one, then making the effort to start the next.

johnsb said:

I didn't realise this until quite recently, and I think it affects me more badly than it did in the past, but I'm sure it's always been there. It seems that ideally I need everything to be perfectly organised, everything to have its place

I have found this in myself, 

I can create some really complex and exhausting time consuming thing with ease. 

But something simple that is fragmented, I need time to de-fragment the whole thing so I can step by step sort it.