Autistic Inertia (problems with switching task) tips?

I'm a huge fan of Trello, I would be lost without it! I particularly like that I can move tasks around easily so on a bad day I just move the tasks along to somewhere else

Laziness or mild PDA or autistic inertia problem.  Those are three labels that are hard to unpick properly - and then even harder still to try and mitigate against.

To be fair, those wise words are worthy of a repeat entry.  I think those are excellent suggestions and advice from out_of_step.  I often need to "burst open" when I need to start the next thing.  It can scare people when I jump up and REALLY just get the whole damn thing started with some gusto.

This doesn't always work - sometimes people run away and sometimes I sprain my ankle or bump my head - or both - or all three !

Thanks for sharing, AuTricker! Weirdly enough I saw and read this message yesterday but couldn't bring myself to reply. I thought about the response and then left the tab open on my phone until now. I often get what you said about the message going cold. I get LOTS of tabs on my phone and end up with duplicates, do a big cleanout then the cycle happens again.

The visualisation is agood idea but, and I think this might be related to my suspected ADHD, is that I am VERY susceptible to daydreaming/ fantasising. If I'm feeling a little spacey It will achieve the goal of switching task but the new task ends up being fantasising instead of whatever I intended to do.

Discomfort can break me out sometimes but not always. If it's bladder- related I am very hyper-aware but I've let my foot go numb or let my arm tingle etc. from being in awkward positions and not moving. I'm sorry to hear about your arthritis though, that sounds really difficult. I'm the same with cleaning. I'm Ok once I start BUT I Cannot stop or I will STOP.

I also end up writing a lot so I think you might be onto something there.

I have this! Even smaller examples than the cup of tea, if I am absorbed doing something on the laptop, reading this thread for example, I don't even want to stop to move my eyes aside to check the time! I have to force myself to do it, and it is slightly easier when I just look in the corner of the screen than glance behind the laptop screen at the clock on my desk. Or just having a drink of water from the glass beside me.

But then sometimes the thread I am reading becomes too interesting or overwhelming with too much info/too many thoughts, and I have to stop reading it. Like the hyperfocus suddenly got blocked. Weird. Or if I want to reply but want to read not write then I might leave that thread open in one tab but open another to keep reading the forum, and then I might not get back to the one I wanted to reply to for days... by which time it has gone cold so I probably don't reply at all, but I usually leave the tab open so end up with fifty trillion tabs open...

Not sure I have any good tips for breaking it or switching tasks, not very good at that. Maybe closing my eyes for a bit (seems easier than actually looking away!) moving my head aside with them still closed so when they open I am not looking at the thing any more, just letting my brain catch up, then gently try thinking about the next thing. I thought the imagining doing it was actually somewhat helpful though, like how sportspeople use visualisation to achieve their goals! So actually picturing myself getting out of bed, putting on my slippers and walking to the bathroom might help motivate me to actually go to the loo!

The other thing that does break me out of hyperfocus is unfortunately pain/discomfort. I am more on the hypersensitive side of things, so although I can kind of understand people not noticing hunger, my arthritis can become too insistent to ignore. Then I stop and realise just how much the pain has built up behind the dam before it overflowed, ouch! Plus when that happens I usually also have a rather urgently full bladder! It doesn't help with housework either, yesterday I was vacuuming the stairs but the pain got too much after only 5 of them and I had to stop for a youtube break. Then of course I didn't want to go back to it as the pain made it somewhat aversive, but I really wanted to get it finished (they hadn't been done for a while due to the vacuum being blocked so were badly in need of it, and quite satisfying to clean) so did manage another few steps, but had to give up after only 8 so there are 4 left which I have not gone back to yet...

Haha, now I am struggling to stop writing this post even though it is rather long! I wonder if that is part of why we write so much sometimes? As well as thoroughness of course.

I can't use dated diaries either they always end up abandoned and I feel bad. The best thing that has worked for me is Trello (https://trello.com/) as it lets you create lists of things to do, set reminders, checklists, and you can freely click and drag items between cards you set up. You can also create labels and filter across them. I find it super useful for work but also use it at home to organise shopping lists, gift lists, holiday packing lists etc. 

I use the pomodoro technique to help me focus as I have to switch between multiple projects at work. It can be quite difficult but Trello, a well organised outlook calendar, my forest app (for the pomodoro technique), and an understanding manager that will talk me through any hiccups while I cry or think I've failed gets me through. 

Thanks, in the winter months I take a thermos flask to work, I’ve just read the link you added, it’s very much me. I had to leave a project I’m working on earlier in the week, I hated starting another project knowing the other is unfinished and I was fully focused on it. I’ve struggled to engage with the new project and know if I leave it too long then the spell will be broken and I will struggle to re engage with my previous project. I have a stack of one year appointment diaries, all have been used for the first few days of January.

I have a thermos for this exact reason - my tea usually goes cold otherwise!! I found a nice one with a ceramic lining which keeps it at drinking temperature for a couple of hours. 

On good days, I manage all this well. On bad days I'm exhausted and have not previously had the words or understanding to really explain why. 

Thank you for filling in another piece of the puzzle. The cup of tea example is spot on. If I do eventually make the cup of tea, it is never drunk. I’m too focused on the main task and divert at the same time to do another ten minor tasks that have caught my eye. The cup of tea is eventually found in the microwave after I have already reheated it twice. The autistic side of my brain needs order and to hyper focus, the ADHD side is thinking about everything else on the planet. I find by the evening I am exhausted.

Exactly that. I'm finding that with so many things since realising that I'm Autistic. It's like it's this missing piece of the story which is pulling all my odd, unexplained experiences and quirks together in a way that finally makes sense. Inertia is just one of the examples. 

It's a bit of an eye opener really isn't it. Until then it's another element swimming against the tide without realising it.

Me too, and I've never had words to describe quite what was going on until recently. It's nice to know that it's actually a thing.

The bit what you said about simultaneously thinking about brewing up while reading is quite right too. Its like my voice taps me on the shoulder "you're thirsty" but I just ignore it. My previous comment was more related to thoughts but I can see how it could apply to some tasks.

That makes complete sense. I see all the really minute steps for a lot of things in my head e.g. making tea isn't just make tea it's a stream of smaller tasks and steps which include stop task, stand up, walk to kitchen, put on kettle etc. etc. Which is why I think I get easily overwhelmed. I don't need to be imagining opening the fridge before I've even stood up, for example. 

I get inertia when trying to talk to people as well which can also be frustrating. 

I find talking to someone else helps file thoughts a bit more into some sort of order. Or writing down. I've kind of come to the conclusion, often, there is in mind ALL the detail for a particular thing which can be a bit overwhelming so don't know where to begin. A difficulty prioritising or filtering out unecessary detail. 

Exactly the same, which is why I gave the tea example as making tea is very easy and painless for me - I actually like the sound of pouring the water into my mug. It isn't that I don't want to make the tea just for some reason I can't. I'm also while reading simultaneously thinking about making the tea so it's not like I'm so absorbed in the book that I don't want to do it or don't think of it. It's a very odd situation. My partner couldn't imagine it when I tried to explain it to him. He was understanding but had no frame of reference. 

I have a similar thing with things that need doing too. Sometimes I have so many things to do piled up in my head that I don't have space for more things and I really struggle to action any of them 

Sometimes it isn't procrastination because I actually want to do these things. Its not like I'm putting off doing them by doing something more interesting either. Sometimes things which need doing don't register properly (like an overflowing recycle bin needs taking out but I just keep piling more on top).

Yep! I completely get that! I have that in other areas (I haven't tried anything specific for inertia). It's like there's just another layer to punch through that comes naturally without effort to a lot of people. 

The problem I have, is that there are the things I've mentioned above, but I don't do them consistently and they can be a huge effort in themselves....like......I KNOW I need to count down from 5 but even that takes prep and effort!! 

Thank you so much for your reply! I also find that if someone is waiting for me to do something with them that helps me shift focus. I plan my workday in chunks but always forget to do it with my personal life and it's something I really should consider doing. 

Counting down from 5 sounds like a good idea to try! I also get suck on thoughts and find myself spirally down an intrusive thought path that can stem into a full blown fantasy if I don't head it off. 

I'll definitely check out the article, as it's something that I've only just stumbled upon and realised applies to my own life there's so much to learn! I find it's definitely worse on bad days than good days, it's still present on good days but I find myself more able to control it.