Published on 12, July, 2020
I procrastinate about everything. Why do I do this?
- At work it takes me around 3 hours to actually do something. I distract myself with anything but work.
- I struggle to do simple tasks like post a letter. - I’ve had a box of rubbish in the boot of my car for almost 2 years now.
Any tips?
Writing lists sometimes helps, sometimes doesn’t. Read lots of books and researched loads but not been useful.
Is this an autistic trait or does it happen to many people?
GPK26 said:Throw a bit of chronic fatigue into the mix with Autistic Inertia and then you're really up against it!
Yes I imagine that is very difficult!
GPK26 said:I have something going on where even after a good nights sleep, I just don't feel refreshed / energised in the morning (still under investigation with neurologist). I like DOING things. I crave the feeling of accomplishment.But I struggle to get going in the mornings - usually take 60-90 minutes to get up.
I completely understand this, I rarely have any energy either. Waking up not to mention getting out of bed is a huge transition.
GPK26 said:When I do start doing an activity such as cleaning the house or working on the garden (something that I have done today), then I get to immersed in it. When I was working (up until earlier this year), I'd get so into what I was doing (IT stuff) that I easily spend half a day focussing on the task and not take any screen / loo / food breaks.
Hyper focus, this is what you are describing! Our autistic hyper focus and resulting inertia is an overall result of a monotropic cognitive style. You can read more about monotropism if you Google monotropism or search Fergus Murray monotropism article.
https://monotropism.org/
GPK26 said:It's not something that I have thought about or read up on before, but will probably end up spending hours researching it now!
I hope you enjoy your monotropic deep dive into the ironic subject of monotropism!
It’s an interesting one and I’ve never really thought about it nor experienced it - I know that from before my diagnosis that people with autism that I knew of in my last supermarket job were simply labelled as lazy and needed army style discipline to make them do stuff, given the kind of conversations that I overheard, the general attitude being that they needed to be bullied for thier own good, given also that many supermarket management were ex-army - it probably comes from the myth and misconception that autism is caused from poor parental discipline in childhood and that the only way to manage autism in adulthood is by means of ultra strict army style discipline, where workplaces don’t have the time nor inclination to engage in “hand-holding”
Throw a bit of chronic fatigue into the mix with Autistic Inertia and then you're really up against it!
I have something going on where even after a good nights sleep, I just don't feel refreshed / energised in the morning (still under investigation with neurologist). I like DOING things. I crave the feeling of accomplishment.But I struggle to get going in the mornings - usually take 60-90 minutes to get up.
When I do start doing an activity such as cleaning the house or working on the garden (something that I have done today), then I get to immersed in it. When I was working (up until earlier this year), I'd get so into what I was doing (IT stuff) that I easily spend half a day focussing on the task and not take any screen / loo / food breaks.
I guess that's Autistic Inertia?It's not something that I have thought about or read up on before, but will probably end up spending hours researching it now!
Autistic inertia?
This is not laziness, those are textbook symptoms for untreated ADHD. By the way, ADHD is a common comorbidity of ASD. Get yourself tested.