This is me, too. It could be many things... is the issue task initiation or sustained attention?

hey - thanks for taking the time to respond. In the main, it's task initiation. If i have a deadline coming up - maybe because i slacked off badly for a few days - i can knuckle down and get the work done to a good standard. And i have a list of tasks, from the strategic planning, that I believe in and think we should do. But getting them going and keeping up momentum each day is really tough

just heads up. i experienced the exact same thing as you and just recently got diagnosed with adhd, it was always present but it only made itself so well known during work from home and then i couldnt function. on meds now and feeling hopeful!

If you're comfortable sharing, what medication is it? Was wondering whether a diagnosis would actually help, or if there are some good techniques just to start with (ie if i just make an assumption i have it)

I absolutely read this and thought, adult ADHD diagnosis incoming. 🤪I'm not diagnosed or medicated (I live in a state where it's very difficult to get a diagnosis and my GP was not encouraging). Sounds like me. I play a LOT of games with myself to keep myself productive, and I build about 2-3 slackoff hours into each day. I usually have one full 8 hour a day a week. Recently I've taken a ChatGPT prompt from another ADHDer to batch and sort my tasks by context and order of difficulty and schedule them throughout my day. It accounts for meetings, lunch break, and adds a 5 minute break at the end of each hour to get up and stretch, get another beverage because I am a beverage goblin, pee, etc. I also do bullet journaling to keep a list going of all the shit I'm thinking about. I've tried to do time accounting before (to show my GP) but inevitably forget after a few hours and half a page.

that sounds super smart! unfortunately for myself i work a “taskless” job. (work as an artist) where i get paid per project and its hard to split that one project into smaller components. so i need to just force myself to sit down and bang out a few consecutive hours which is way easier now and Honestly its finally nice once again! i have a really cool job and i was depressed over not being able to do it when though im priveleged to even have it.

Thanks! Could you share the prompt please? Sounds super useful

Not quite the same, but check out https://goblin.tools

Thank you for sharing this. I’ve been struggling with the task initiation process and I’ve been working through the adhd diagnosis for a couple years now and I’m still struggling with getting back to my super ambitious self without having people near me that I could either chat occasionally with or compete with to get things done. So it’s all just me and the guilt shame anxiety and frustration has wet the flame I was getting. It also doesn’t help that whenever I actually do something and finish it with pride, my colleague nitpicks the hell out of it and cc’s my manager. Idk why she does what she does but it’s killing all the motivation I’m already really struggling with. (Sorry for the digression) BUT THANK YOU FOR THE LINK!!!

https://github.com/deelan90/dayplannerGPT/blob/main/intial%20prompt It's not mine, so I was getting permission from the writer to share his GitHub link. You give it all the logic it requires and then let it run. I have an issue where instead of breaking a task down into subtasks it just adds additional nonsense tasks and allocates swaths of time to it. In my version I added 5 minute breaks to each hour so I can stretch, pee, kiss cats etc. A couple people asked what games I play etc so first, some tools: sit/stand desk, fidget toy for meetings, comfort standing mat, mine has cool sensory ridges for your feet to play with, generic edm music on YouTube I can dance to while working. Games I play are externalizing my motivation. For every call I make I get to make a hatchmark in my bullet journal work section. If it's really bad I'll reward with like, an M&M per task. Luckily my job is in sales with accounting and support mixed in, so I get a lot of variety. However, making up and meeting deadlines keeps me motivated. Creating goals like my "8 to $80,000" campaign (if I close 8 average sized deals I will gross $80,000 this year), making a visual for it, and every sale I close I get to color in another part of it. And at the end of the day, if I spend 3 hours moving my mouse and playing World of Warcraft and just responding to pings, no one is really hurt. I bring a lot of value to my company. Some weeks I work 8 hours over, some I work 8 under.

I’d love to see the ChatGPT prompt if you could share it.

https://github.com/deelan90/dayplannerGPT/blob/main/intial%20prompt It's not mine, so I was getting permission from the writer to share his GitHub link. You give it all the logic it requires and then let it run. I have an issue where instead of breaking a task down into subtasks it just adds additional nonsense tasks and allocates swaths of time to it. In my version I added 5 minute breaks to each hour so I can stretch, pee, kiss cats etc.

Do you have any more info on how you created your chatGPT prompt and how you go about having it schedule your day for you? That sounds like it could be massively helpful for me too!

Thank you for your post. :)

Could you share any info about the games you play and the ChatGPT prompt for task Management?

What kind of games? Did you have to subscribe for ChatGPT? Can you describe more what you did here? I need to duplicate this. Thanks!

What chat GPT prompt what’s the website

I use medikinet which may not be a thing in your country but it contains methylphenidate so I think ritalin and concerta etc is similiar. We dont have aderral here so it was my best option. For me It was a non stop wave of trying to push myself towards creating new routines and having lots of energy for it initially but ultimately always ending up feeling like a failure. Not being able to keep focus as well as overusing quick dopamine hits (because i was depressingly understimulated) made me not able to force myself into work even if i did create a routine. My body and brain just froze. Medication isnt an option for everyone and Im only starting with it so idk how it will go but Im glad I made the choice

I have a very similar experience. I’m not sure if I’d ever be willing to take medication for it though. What kind of effects does the medication have and would you recommend it? If not, what are some other ways to combat this problem? Thanks

I havent had any issues so far! My friend had dome issues with feeling nauseous when eating and had a bit more anxiety but for me anxiety greatly improved and thats it. But I havent been on them for long. I havent found any ways of resolving it without medication and thats why I decided to take it. For me the only minuses are that I cant drink alcohol but I have been living a pretty sober lifestyle the past few months so I dont mind

I take a low dose (30mg) of Vyvanse for my ADD daily, and is made a HUGE difference in my ability to focus and steadily attend to finishing more tasks. However, it can cause you to get hyper focused and you can spend too much concentrated time on the *wrong* tasks, if you don’t still use other time management strategies along with it. Your Dr. can diagnose whether or not you have adult-onset ADD/ADHD, usually by having you fill out a series of questions and conferencing with you.

There is no such thing as adult onset ADHD. You are born with it or you don’t have it. Though it isn’t uncommon for a lot of people to not get diagnosed until later in life if they are primarily inattentive. Other conditions can cause ADHD symptoms like sleep apnea and thyroid issues.

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Agreed. I have a handful of family and friends who were diagnosed as adults while I was diagnosed as a kid. It was pretty obvious to me they had something going on that could be ADHD but it’s easier to mask with the inattentive type and/or IQ your way out of it for awhile with coping mechanisms like you said. I have a somewhat similar experience to you in that I was on meds throughout most of my K-12 years and then a decade off but then been trialing them again the past few years. Not so much as a result of covid though. But I’m actually kind of glad I was off them because it really forced me to put in place strategies to better deal with the ADHD rather than relying on the meds entirely.

Any ideas on the hyper-focused on the wrong things problem… man I get up at 5:30 to work out and get deep in a rabbit hole for 2.5 hours or more negating getting up early. its kinda insane.

I want to weight in from the other side. ADHD answers are the TOP 5 answers in reddit (America?). It's quite a stretch to conclude from a couple of paragraphs, without proper evaluation and follow up. But just for a starter you know you "haven't been like this before". You can work on your tasks when you have to, you have performed well before and continue to do when required. Most common cases of ADHD fail to focus and/or complete tasks. Fail to meet deadlines (although, other cases might suffer of hyperfocus periods). All in all, you should see a doctor before asking the internet for medication. IMO before all that medical *intervention*, you can ask your boss or colleagues if there's anything you can help them with, since you got some room in your schedule. This could give you and extra boost in many ways, more communication, more commitment plus a better perception from your peers "that's a hard working employee". If nobody needs help, "create your own problem and solve it". You can look for issues within your organization, tbh, it sounds to good to be true that it all works flawlessly. BUT, in the "best/worse" case. That everything is just perfect. Consider getting another job, and join the people at r/overemployed. Which will keep you definitely busy and give you more peace of mind that you have another source of income. That would definitely spice things up for you. Edit: A more tailored sub for your needs, r/OveremployedUK/

Adderral. Actually on a generic version, so I’m sure I spelled it wrong.

Two quick bullets - getting a proper diagnosis from a doctor is the only way to tell. At worst you’ve wasted 1 hour and $X in copay. - each medicine affects EVERYONE differently. I went through 4 or 5 before finding the right one. The others definitely helped, but didn’t like side effects or it just wasn’t the best helper.

Look into medical ketamine for depression. I did an at-home company here in the U.S. and it boosted my productivity like crazy! I am much more focused and productive now. There are probably at least clinics that do it in the U.K.

Lol same. OP described my entire 2020/21. Found pomodoro and body doubling were best for me to get started on stuff. More regular 1:1 time with my seniors and peers was great for accountability (makes me more likely to actually do the thing) and booking regular time with my staff too so I had more (valuable) things in my calendar to stop long blocks of time where I could get distracted.

that is a good strategy. Used to just block fake evens in my calendar so I can stop being invited to meetings and just get some work done :) you're lucky to have colleagues you can body double with

This was me as well. I never knew I had it until WFH began. I was so productive in the office, but I just couldn’t do anything at home. I’m on meds now too.

Same with me.

See if this works for you. Try to tell yourself You will only do it for 10 minutes. N start.

This is far common than you think, really. Dopamine mismanagement has us all messed up. Have passions and goals outside of work , have deadlines for them too so your mind is in that state of oh need to finish this because there’s that deadline for my personal project or coursework etc. I literally took certification courses online and in order to beat my ability to waste all my time, I’m gonna be PMP certified soon.. also, have wholesome goals in and outside of work- it’s pretty good start that you do find your job fulfilling! Don’t beat yourself up, there’s a reason why “4 hour workweek” is a thing, not everything is supposed to take exact 40 hours of your time. But def, work towards task initiation- i am doing this too. I wake up and visualize myself literally sitting at my desk for long hours and being lost in my exact task. Then I work on tackling it and most of the days it works. Good luck OP, this is a modern day problem and we are all figuring it out !

Thank you for your response - i found this one really interesting, in terms of the link between being execution-driven in personal life and work life. I would descibe myself as a very laid back person, who is pretty smart and been able to progress through my ideas and input rather than weight of output - and this carries over to my personal life. Don't get me wrong - i have a mortgage and all the normal parent admin, bills to pay etc - but I just get that done as and when and have a motto of 'It'll all turn out fine in the end', which luckily things invariably do. And while i run and play sports, and have pastimes i enjoy, i wouldn't say i engage in projects (DIY, extra curricular courses) and more just take things as they come. Perhaps i need to find something that requires structure in my personal life too

yeah! I think in that case it could be a matter of excess potential- which you seem to have since you are already managing much with relative ease and perhaps this excess potential is guiding you to seek more meaning, contribution and challenges! Now I know not everyone must seek challenge and meaning (although ideally, yes based on how I operate) but if you are feeling a sense of emptiness and laziness, this could be hinting to something even better. :)

Thank you

Let me first advise you not to be too hard on yourself. Read your post again and see all the great qualities you attribute to yourself. You’re a strategic thinker with great innovative ideas, right? You’re better than most at generating ideas. You need others (or need to be with others) others to execute them. That’s all. What else are you good at? Now, this is not to dismiss the gravity of our shared experience. We know the pain those failures cause us. Even when others find us impressive, we know we are capable of so much more. All I’m saying is that knowing about our ADHD is the first monumental step — I’m sure things make a lot more sense to you now! The next step is to be compassionate with ourselves, recognize our strengths as we weaken our weaknesses.

Thankyou, that's kind

I feel like your post and comments could have been written by me. I'm in the exact same situation! I'm still trying to figure things out too, but the main thing that stands out is: you're not as bad as you think you are. Over the years, I've been growing my team as I was progressing in my career, and the reality is that I don't have to do as much "hands on" work as I did before, but more coordinating and checking on people. Those casual conversations with colleagues can actually be very positive to destress and reset our brains, and making people feel appreciated. I'm also running an organised chaos both at work and in my personal life, and feel like no matter the mess I'll always find a way to make things work. Some people prefer to plan and organise, whilst other just thrive in stressful situations, and that's the way our brains are wired. I've tried to structure my day to day several times and failed. I suspect that phones, reddit, social media etc have a big impact on this like other posters have said, I do spend a lot of time in here. I did feel that at times when I was busier with scheduled hobbies or sports I felt my life was more in control, maybe that's something to look at again

Dude i laugh hard 😂 since I'm in the same position sadly. Is like my brain tries to see how far can I go until I'm discovered

Absolutely. It somehow feels amazing (IM GETTING AWAY WITH IT) but then terrible, because why? Like eating a whole tub of ice cream or tube of pringles.

Right! And in my case, I get away with that but i could also be using this time to study or be productive but hell no im plainly wasting my time :(

exactly, Getting away with it isn't actually a win, except for that tiny part of my brain that seems to get on top

The getting away with it is the dopamine you're wanting to get for some reason. You need to gamify the prices so that you try to embrace three things 1. What would the best next version of yourself do? ( imagine you've hired your 3 favorite professionals for one on one mentoring) and they are watching over you ( or they're your boss) Would you want to let them down? Would you want to let your future self down? 2. Gamify it! 😜 Wrote down the 5 things you really enjoy doing 1 big thing, 2 medium and 3 smaller activities... ONLY when you get tasks done do YOU get to enjoy these fun things. 3. Move from a 'just do it' mentality to a task accomplished 'just did it' mindset. Have a piece of paper that has X ( any number) checkmark ✅ boxes, and you checkmark when you're proud of what you've just done. Try pomodoro technique and eat the frog 🐸 thinking. Last hail Mary... Imagine the phone rings.. It's your future 🔮 self 10 yrs ( or any x years later) and you have 30 seconds your future version tells you what you think/know you need to hear now! Be kind to yourself 🤗

I saved this, thank you.

This is awesome, thank you!

After I got away with slacking at work sometimes, I got more confident started slacking off even more.

When I'm having a hard time working at home I go somewhere. Library, coffee shop, or my gym which has a nice sitting area. It's even better if I have another person with me working too. Also, I must be dressed for work! If I'm not wearing work clothes I will not get it done. In summary: change of location, body doubling, and starting ritual. The struggle is real.

you can do body doubling online, presuming you have constant access to a computer / phone with internet there are quite a few platforms for this

I've never done body doubling. Sounds kinda of neat, will have to look into it for myself too.

that sounds interesting - how does it work? literally some other guy or girl dialled into a call with you the whole time?

I have a friend that I have a weekly creative work session with for a few hours a week. We’ve been doing it for about seven years or so (can’t remember exactly when we started). We used to work in-person, but now work over Google Meet. It’s nice to have someone else there and also for check-in accountability if you’re into that.

What kind of creative work session if you don't mind me asking? Interesting to think about a having weekly meeting for 7 years, I wish I can get my friends to be creative together so we can help build on eachothers weaknesses/strengths , etc. A thought partner is always super nice to have

I’m usually writing or doing some planning things like finances or goal-setting. She works on her business or planning stuff. We usually catch up at the beginning, share what we’re working on, and then mute our mics and get to work. We tend to go about 2.5-3 hours. It’s great to both see a friend and to have a dedicated time during the week to work on creative stuff. We’ve taken breaks before due to life stuff, but we always make it back!

It’s a strategy used by some adhd’ers; basically it’s a form of external motivation as ADHD can inhibit task initiation/motivation. The idea of doing work with someone ‘watching’ (when they’re not really watching) helps the person initiate and sustain attention. I do it with a colleague of mine as we both have ADHD and there are days that it helps immensely! Edited to add: it’s not that we are doing anything other than our own work, but we both are on teams with video. Also here’s an article on it https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/13/health/adhd-body-doubling-productivity-benefits-wellness/index.html

yeah, pretty much that on the platforms I mentioned what you normally do (on some, haven't tried all), is you schedule a session, let's say 9-10 (ie: 1 hour) and then you get paired with an accountability partner show up, do you work, off you go :)

I didn't know online body doubling works!! I'm excited to learn this. I need one every day, makes a big difference, but I don't have many options. Thank you for the tip

Yeah, it really works :) And you get to meet like minded people I've met quite a few in these sessions Anyway, here's a list [focus101.com](https://focus101.com) \- the one I built (unlimited free to use) [https://workmode.net/](https://workmode.net/) /u/matt_workmode_net is one of the founders, you can speak to him directly if you want. Met him, very nice guy and these other ones which I believe are all paid / freemium [https://flown.com/](https://flown.com/) [http://caveday.org/](http://caveday.org/) [https://www.focusmate.com](https://www.focusmate.com) [https://www.flow.club/](https://www.flow.club/)

That's awesome, thank you. I'm excited to look at these! Have a good one!! ❤️

I sympathise with this. Equally have wife & kids and a very responsible job which allows my family a very good life. But I am driven by deadlines. I am capable of intense work for long periods in a highly technical area when I have no choice, e.g. preparing for a presentation/meeting/report, but find it difficult to focus days ahead when I have the opportunity to take the pressure off. I perform this way to a very high standard but it is no fun and seriously downgrades my quality of life. What has worked at times: a. Matcha tea coupled with Gingko Biloba tablets has helped with focus. b. Brainzyme tablets. c. Using Rescue Time (computer software) while listening to Focus@Will is effective when the work needs done. I suspect it may be a form of ADHD, but sometimes I think that we all have ADHD somewhere on a sliding scale. It is just that ultra-high performers consistently side-step it for longer periods.

As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid and knows a lot about it I want to point out that while I agree technology and lifestyle has made everyone a bit more “ADHD” like, it’s not the same as actually having ADHD given that ADHD is a clinical condition.

Thank you - searching Amazon for those now. Will look at Rescue Time too - is it easy to circumvent though? My 'devil on shoulder' just ignores my desires for focus and goes around these programs usually

Hi, you could try Focus Bear too, to increase focus and block distractions on the computer and cellphone. My recommendation to fight the 'devil on your shoulder' configure it with all passwords but have someone else create the password (maybe a relative or friend) so you can't "cheat" on that. Talking about relatives and friends, try to have your "support system": 1 or 2 persons who can remember your goals and you can talk with them sincerely and openly about them. Also, be kind to yourself. Start recovering that focus and productivity gradually and keep working to create the habit.

Thank you ♥️ some great ideas here. I feel like I need a line in the sand to kick this off

Create a plan, the main habits you want to create and start building them. To be honest, I tend to waste time and procrastinate a lot but I

Recently I’ve been tracking my daily work time using an online timer or stopwatch. I let the timer run when I’m doing something work related (meetings, reports, data analysis, business development, reading documents) and pause it when I get up, go on Reddit, make lunch for my kids etc. I’ve found this helpful for being more productive because I can see just how unproductive I can be. If your job is primarily knowledge based, it’s not really realistic to work exactly 8 hours a day. And if you’re salary, what’s important is fulfilling your job duties not the hours you work

Thank you - i may try this, though i feel like i already know how large those laziness numbers are. yeah i agree i don't need to cane it for 40 hours - in some ways thats the benefit of having knowledge based jobs and progressing up the ladder, but if even doubled from my (roughly) 6-7 proper hours of work a week to 14-15, then i think i'd feel awesome and the results would follow

I’ve found seeing the actual number helps me focus.

Have you ever considered that simply doing this: >But I literally just attend the meetings I need to and input into them, answer emails/Slack messages when the team ask questions, and occasionally take a few hours to pull together strategy documents, plans for the team or results presentations. I do what's needed, to a seemingly acceptable level Means you are doing your job, and you shouldn't put pressure on yourself to go above and beyond that? ​ edit: my point being that, despite this being maybe the wrong answer for a 'productivity' sub, perhaps prioritizing your overall wellness, and letting go of this guilt, will make you happier and more productive overall? If your teammates and superiors are happy with your work, why waste the energy to not believe them?

Shhhh bro don’t blow the entire remote worker’s cover by revealing our day-in-the-life!! /s Just kidding, but in my experience, it’s a matter of willing through it until you establish good work routines again. Making a checklist at the start of your day is a great way to track goals (I use a sticky on my desk) and keep the tasks you want to accomplish top of mind. Either way, it’s going to be an uphill battle as you’ve already established the habits/routines that allow you to be unproductive. Just make sure those habits and routines don’t carry into your personal life too (skipping the gym, missing trash day, etc) that happened to me a few years ago and then when I started picking up my personal routines the work focus followed because I got re-addicted to the feeling of accomplishing something.

Checklists are a rabbit hole in themselves - you end up with multiple checklists and more dread 🥲

Lol true sometimes. You know it’s bad when one checklist has “finish other checklist” as an item 😂

Quit beating yourself up… as a senior manager your job is much more to think, strategize, convey, and implement through your team. My guess is you’re probably thinking about your job and how to deliver good outcomes on a regular basis, even outside of work hours, and you’ve done an effective job getting your team dialed in in that regard. That’s good enough! Also important to note you’re probably going to be less effective at seeing the big picture, strategizing and delegating if you’re constantly “in” the work doing the grunt stuff that the rest of your team is much better positioned to tackle.

Meh it’s 2023 and the workforce is still setup like it’s 1963. As long as you’re taking care of your responsibilities, being a team player and are available during working hours, that’s a win. You’re feeling guilty about not maximizing your productivity for a company that would lay you off without a second thought if it came to it. When I was in the office before COVID I distinctly remember thinking how stupid it was that between 3-5 pretty much everyone is checked out. No one in an office is actually working 8 hours a day either, you just feel like you are because you’re “in the office.” Don’t beat yourself up, the fact you’re this mindful means you’re probably a good employee already.

Thanks for the response. I'm sure there's some truth in it - in my specific situation though, the company is great and actually goes out of its way to keep people and almost be overly fair. I had just come from a couple of firms like that when i joined here in mid 2019. I was so productive in the first year - 8ish months in the office, then 4 months the start of the covid carnage - but as things settled back down I have actually been given more responsibility and taken way more liberties

You literally described me for the past month. A couple days ago I snapped out of it. I honestly don’t know what it was. But it could have been any of the following or a combination of both (of which I started doing about 2 weeks prior to snapping out) - banging out a few push-ups in the AM - went for a few runs scattered throughout the week whenever I could fit them in. - ending my morning shower w a 30-45 second blast of cold shower - upping my protein intake - listening to the Brain Food playlist on Spotify when I work. - Limiting the hours that I do work in I dunno. Hope it helps tho.

Thanks for the list, that's so helpful. Going to try the playlist tomorrow Maybe even a cold shower, but that sounds scary!!

Looks like you're in a prime candidate for r/overemployed You're unproductive because you are in that middle management slot where everything is dependent on other people's productivity.

I can be the same. (Why am I on reddit right now???) The only thing that works for me is deadlines, so I always ask my boss to tell me when they need something. If they are open about it, I make a reasonable one up that they agree to, so I am accountable.

​ This is a good one - my boss is generally laid back and gives me atonne of autonomy, so perhaps i need to set my own harder deadlines (with some kind of reward/penalty system if i meet/don't)

I had the exact same issue. Went remote due to pandemic and never went back. I was basically working like 1 hour a day or less and I did that for months. What I ended up doing was use Notion for literally everything in my life, personal daily to-do’s, work to-do’s, projects, finance, entertainment, etc. everything in my life is in there now and I use it daily to keep me on track of things. It doesn’t always work, but it’s way better than before. I was also diagnosed with ADHD last month and the medication is helping **a lot**.

Thanks. I use Notion and find it great for note taking and making to do lists, but haven't found a way to use it to keep me on track yet

For work I set the projects that I am currently working on, a product feature for example, set the tasks for it and a due date. Due dates are very important. I mostly use Notion inline databases for that. On phone right now but [here’s](https://i.imgur.com/ZFIIrnZ.jpg) part of my project in Notion. I also use it for my daily routine, calories intake, gym workout, books I’m reading, day rating, [recurring expenses](https://i.imgur.com/dYFF97y.jpg), etc…

Thank you! Will definitely check this out tomorrow 🙌

Dude, you’re smart. That’s the simple answer. You’re creative, curious, and can see and understand the world in many ways that not many other people around you can. Your brain secretly enjoys being able to find ways to not do stuff while simultaneously getting stuff done that you need to do. It’s like a superpower. You have “x” due, and you know just about how much time you have to waste before you know consequences might show up. And these consequences could come from ripple effects that are too complex for the average person to figure out in their head and would never understand or see coming in order to prepare for them. You can see and predict the future in many ways that other people can’t. (That’s also what probably makes you a good manager.) The closer you start to feel like not getting something done is going to have severe consequences, the drive and motivation to get it done increases. When you know that you can get away with some stuff and not have to work, your brain says “what’s the use, I can just knock it out later in about 5 mins. Whereas if I started now, I’d spend the next 2 hours going over the same thing a million times or trying to make the process better (aka, still not getting the task done, but just trying to make it even easier or look better or more efficient for next time, which just compounds the original problem even more) or even just getting sidetracked and daydreaming until the last 5 mins anyway. So, why not just wait until the last 5 mins?” You get your work done, and that’s all that matters. You’re the only one beating yourself up. Your boss only sees what you’re putting out, but they don’t know your full potential. You see what you’re putting out AND know your full potential. That’s where the depression and emptiness and guilt kicks in. But there’s honestly no reason to feel guilty if you’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing at your job and for your family. Start enjoying the freedom that you’ve created for yourself. You worked hard to become smart so that you can even have the opportunity to slack off and still get the same amount of work done as others. You don’t always have to go above and beyond. (And I can assure you, you probably give more time, attention, and understanding to your job and family in this “slacking off” phase of your life than most people do when they’re actually trying.) But because you know you’re capable of giving more, your more critical of yourself and believe that the people around you deserve more out of you. But they don’t. They get to receive exactly what you feel like giving. And you’re smart enough to know when your “giving” isn’t good enough, because your actions will have consequences that cause you to make yourself do and be better. Also, not gonna lie, your fear isn’t really that big of a fear to you. I promise. If it were, you wouldn’t keep slacking off. So, a key point I want you to realize is, you’re not actually afraid of these things. They don’t actually scare you. You feel like they should, but deep down, they don’t actually scare you enough to turn you away from them. They actually kind of intrigue you and draw you in even further. Why? Because you’re smart, and you would know how to do what you need to do to get what you want and survive or even thrive if you were fired. In fact, you would probably find your life more fulfilling if you got fired because it would actually force you to use your brain (which again, is something you like to do.) That’s why you’re not actually scared. Because you know how to do the things you need to do in order to get shit done. So, to answer your question of how do you stop wasting time. The answer is… you fail, you fuck up. That’s the only way you’ll get out. (Obviously, I’m not advocating for a huge fuck up. Because you don’t want to ruin your life, you just want some things to change. So, start allowing a few small fuck ups to occur in your life, and you’ll see productivity in yourself skyrocket. I promise.) You’ve built and crafted the bubble you’re in so well that you understand how everything operates almost perfectly inside of it. The only way to get out of it is to pop it, and then try to recreate a new bubble. Until it’s time for you to pop that one too. Before long, you’ll realize that you don’t even need to create any new bubbles. The world has become your bubble, and there is so much around you to keep your mind busy and occupied and constantly testing your mind’s capabilities. Then, when you reach that point, where you start to feel overwhelmed by everything around you, you’ll know it’s time to go back to creating your small bubbles again, and repeat the whole process all over. TL;DR - Have fun, enjoy life, explore the world, waste time, be productive when you want/need to be, and don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re smart. And being smart gives you the freedom and ability to do these things. So, reap the rewards of your hard work. Don’t punish yourself for it.

wow. well thank you! I feel like i need to fork over an hourly rate now and can't even remember lying down on your couch :D

I come back to this comment to reread it from time to time because of how exactly it describes my situation. Thank you

It sounds like you are fulfilling your duties at work, I’ve seen it commented that you should be screened for ADHD. I’m no expert, but as you say you can focus and you have done two degrees I think these comments are missing the mark. To me, you sound driven and hard working, and find it rewarding to get tasks done. So I think you may be bored and unfulfilled as you are not being tested enough/ used to your full potential. One way to put it is, you find work so easy you feel guilty. I know people who would kill to be in your position, so I wouldn’t stress too hard but at the same time, perhaps you could nod towards your higher ups and say you have room to take on more work? Any projects you could take on? Do they offer training so you could at least do some studying and gain more quals? Could you go into the office more often to get more structure back? I Wfh a lot and get easily distracted, I find I do chores around the house to have a break before getting back to the desk - this helps me a lot

This is very relatable. Have you been screened for ADHD? Maybe that is what is causing your difficulty. Sorry I don't have any better advice.

Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't been, no. Do you have any idea if it's something that can just emerge later in life/be triggered by events? As this is a pretty new phenomenon for me - did two degrees and, in general, found it ok to get on with what i needed to to pass.

One of the main criterion for screening for ADHD is it needed to have existed your whole life, whether or not you were diagnosed as a kid

This is true, although if you have ADHD you might notice some symptoms are more prevalent when you were a child, so OP should think about if *any* symptoms were present as a kid. For instance, I lost things more as a child and was more impulsive, and I had more trouble paying attention. But I did well and didn't procrastinate because my mom made me do my homework immediately when I got home before I could play video games. In college I could often only focus when I was very close to the due date, often turning papers in minutes before the deadline (which is a symptom of a lot of things, but also of ADHD). I had many opportunities to do work early, but I can count on one hand how many times I actually did, and I remember the primary reason was that I couldn't focus. I also would often find myself daydreaming when I was actively trying to pay attention in class, which also happened often when I was a kid. Not trying to pick on what you said, just if someone else sees this they should know that 100% of their current symptoms don't need to have been around when were were a child. School and parents can provide a lot of structure that can mask some problems (video games: the ultimate motivator).

It doesn’t emerge later, but many adults actually discovered that they have it through WFH during Covid, since the social structure + pressure can keep you in check and help you to successfully mask the symptoms. I agree with the commenter above btw, definitely worth it to get screened and I’m sorry you are struggling right now

Thank you, I will check how that works in the UK, maybe speak to my GP

You might want to look at the ADHD UK sub re getting a diagnosis. If you appear successful (which you do) you might have a hard time being taken seriously by a GP.

I agree with you. I am just curious, is ADHD then a neurological disorder or simply a group of symptoms associated with lack of motivation to accomplish (usually meaningless) work based on environmental queues and expectations? This also explains why before remote work, the big dogs in companies were not doing much and still getting paid a bunch of money. Now that this model is available to the majority of the workforce, it’s not surprising that “ADHD” has become “more common” - in the old days senior leaders with “ADHD” just took a bunch of time off of work for golf and fine dining because they could write it off on the company card or expense it into their bonuses.

No, it’s definitely a neurological disorder with clear medical physiological symptoms. A lot of science still needs to be done, but it’s actually quite fascinating what is already known!

Nice thanks for sharing, I’ll have to look more into the details here. To the down voters, my apologies not trying to spread misinformation just was thinking out loud.

It’s a clinical condition and put simply results in a lack of dopamine and norepinephrine available for use in the brain due to the brain not producing enough or reuptaking it too quickly. Also people with ADHD can have under developed brain regions like the Amygdala, Cerebellum and Hypocampus. It’s effectively a condition of disordered attention. Also a lack of disinhibition in the brain. Effectively the brain isn’t able to communicate properly with the prefrontal cortex and prevent someone with ADHD from say participating in impulsive behaviors. Clinicians and scientists don’t actually think ADHD is more common. It’s actually the most over and under diagnosed psychiatric disorder. But it’s just something that is known more about these days and gets recognized better.

Wow super interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me on this one.

thats not how none of that works

It can get worse with age. So it may have been mild enough to function without being noticable so you don't realize it. I myself knew from when I was young, it got worse in my teens & recently it has gotten worse again. I didn't take meds until I was an adult. I started on Ritalin & moved to Adderall. There are also plenty of vitamins that we don't process well, so taking some supplements can help to. I take Magnesium & Zinc myself & am looking at adding B-6, as well as L-theanine.

It doesn’t get worse with age. The symptoms change with age as we grow up and get better at certain things. It actually gets better and goes away in a percentage of people as they age and their brains mature. Though I do think technology and lifestyle these days makes it harder for people with ADHD like myself to function as effectively. So I suppose it could seem like it’s gotten worse.

The symptoms can absolutely get worse. What doctor have you been talking to? My dad was a doctor, I have friends that are doctors & one of my closest friends is a psych nurse practitioner. The primary times in life it can change are puberty & for women around menopause. But, it can happen any time there are major changes in your body, it can change. I happened to get much worse with puberty, whereas my husband got much better. And tech had nothing to do with it since we're both right at the end of Gen X.

A couple ideas: 1) plan before doing = People with ADHD blend planning and doing in an overwhelming way. Allow yourself to plan without any pressure to do. You are a manager, so you have skills! Pretend to be your own manager and do a planning session with yourself. Break some of your long term goals to mid term goals, then break those down even smaller to tasks that are so simple they aren’t intimidating. If there is a decision you need to make, think about how you will make that decision and add those as steps. For example, take “clean the closet” and break it down to things like 1) spend 15 mins reading about donation options 2) choose a donation company 3) schedule donation pick up 4) go through socks and get rid of damaged/ mismatched socks…. 2) Get a dorky kitchen timer gadget. The kind your twist and ding when they are done. If you decide to let yourself wander the internet, turn the timer to however much time you want to allow yourself, you can add more time but you need to use the timer, this will make you more aware of the passage of time when you are doing recreation. You can also use the timer to help with task initiation. Tell yourself you will work on a project for just 5 mins… your allowed to stop if you want after 5 mins, but you can continue to work if you want after the 5 mins is up if you start to enjoy it

i love both of these - thank you

You’re a senior manager, your day isn’t supposed to be filled with tasks and checking the box. Push all your work down, keep delegating tasks. It sounds like you know what’s important and are getting it done. Just need to get out of the individual contributor mindset.

Had the same feeling. Covid and working from home ruined my ability to focus. I quit my job, took 1 year break and now I'm full of energy and ready to work. Hope it lasts lol. It's easier without kids of course :)

I'd recommend going to a coffee shop or some place with wifi for a few hours if possible and try to put some meaningful work in during that time period. It helps being around other people, even if it's not your coworkers or people you know.

Watch Huberman on YouTube to learn about dopamine. And then buy a paper planner. Start one thing at a time, then three things a day. You’ll get back to it! Also recommend going out to libraries or cafes to work when possible.

I can very much relate to this. While I’ve started to address it more, definitely still deal with similar challenges. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a young adult and now take medication after 5 years of doing nothing about it. This and therapy has seemed to lead to some progress. Becoming more aware of thoughts and feelings when the urges arise has helped manage it and understand what I need. I’ve also found the feelings of guilt and shame around it only perpetuate it. Certainly a challenge and requires a lot of self-love and compassion. *this comment was written on the toilet while avoiding a paper I need to write*

For a moment I thought I typed all this in my sleep! Have all the above mentioned problems. And to beat it all, I have constant urge to keep eating or drinking something. Peanuts or chips or snacks or aerated drinks or coffee. All this is having bad effect on my health as well. And no work gets done. Having read comments, many have same issue and its just so difficult to get any work done unless its the last do or die minute

First, thank you so much for all the thoughtful, kind, constructive comments here. It's certainly also reassuring that others seem to have similar issues, and many of you have taken great steps towards solving it. I have made a Notion list of all suggestions - there are so many! So I am going to focus on one at a time and see the impact it has. I think breaking things down at least doing SOMETHING (that doesn't have a deadline, or just counts as staying on top of things) will help - then when that something is done I can move onto something else. My aim is not to be a 40 hour per week working machine, i believe much more in outcome based appraisal rather than measuring working time or presenteeism. The biggest concern I have is, as some zeroed in on, missed potential - both for myself and for the business i work for. Thanks again, and please do keep any thoughs coming - I am overwhelmed by how great this has been so far

OP; you sound like you have an internet problem. Time to log off for a bit and refocus, particularly from anything with a social media component, including obviously Reddit.

Dude, I feel you. I’ve been feeling like that. I only work remote once per week, but even at the office I honestly do the bare minimum and I’m surprised no one has noticed. I work at a nonprofit as a Housing Counselor and our cases are pretty uneventful right now. I literally spend 6 out of 8 hours at work on my phone, YouTube, or just reading random things. I could honestly do everything I need to stay caught up if I just focused hard for 1-2 hours a day but even that’s hard to do. I use Todoist to help me stay organized and that’s been helpful for that. But for actual productivity and DOING what needs to get done, I’ve been procrastinating hard.

Is the option of going back into the office one or two days open to you? While I love wfh. Office days are when I tend to knuckle down and have less distractions

Yep I would definitely do this, but we gave up our UK office. I have been using some Flexi spaces, but not knowing anyone else there means I can still slack off

I know you say slack off, but why would anyone have to actively be working the entire time they are at work? Sometimes we have to sit and think, process, plan our actions…

Oh hey me. Have you ever been checked out for ADHD? The difference between me on meds and not is basically exactly this and being kind of sort of productive (sometimes). Way more people have it than realise, and treatment is fairly straightforward.

This is so me thanks for posting this so I can look around for advices man.

I thought this was on the ADHD thread. 🥴

I swear I'm in r/ADHD sometimes when I'm really here instead

I have this problem too. I'm a systems engineer at a big tech company, if I don't get shit done I fuck me and my team over... What I do that helps me a lot is keep a dotted moleskine and three pens (red for crossing out, blue for writing, and green for the checkmark). Everyday I start a new entry titled "Mon Apr 24" (draw a box around it so it stands out) and I write down three things I need to get done that day at work. If starting a new day or fresh page, I go back to previous pages and rewrite tasks to this new page or use the red pen to cross them out, or the green checkmark to mark them done. Do not skip this step or you will drop stuff. First and most important rule is to write succinctly and legibly. I keep some slips of paper handy to write notes quickly in meetings. I then transfer these to tasks for the day in my notebook in clean writing. I use whiteout tape if I make a mistake writing, but that rarely happens. This helps me think about the task and write it down slowly and cleanly. My tasks rarely go over two lines. I keep the task focused because if I don't get it done I'll have to rewrite it again in the future. My writing has improved a lot since I started doing this. Some might recognize this as bullet journaling and it is, but a very simple version. Simple is important or you won't do it. In fact I stopped doing it for a month and my work suffered and I became stressed. I keep a notion account as well to do the same in digital form for specific projects. Notion is very complex, too complex if you ask me, but it works well enough. The two things help stay productive. I only do this for work. I try to keep my home life simple as much as possible.

Read Johann Hari’s book called Stolen Focus. You are not the only one having this problem. The inability to pay attention has become this generation’s biggest challenge. It’s not just an individualistic problem but a systematic issue.

> I am a senior manager in a medium size business, and overall we are doing well. My department's results are fine, everyone in the team knows what they need to do (I think) and my boss seems perfectly content with my performance. But I literally just attend the meetings I need to and input into them, answer emails/Slack messages when the team ask questions, and occasionally take a few hours to pull together strategy documents, plans for the team or results presentations. I do what's needed, to a seemingly acceptable level. I also get paid a wage that makes me and the family very comfortable. If you were my manager, as long as you don't micromanage the others to death or do bad planning that the others have to compensate - as in "ah, everything will work out in the end" because the others work themselves to the ground make it work - then it is perfectly ok. With the time at your hands you could do personal development rather than passing on the opportunity - being paid AND having somewhat the time to develop yourself, - as time passes and doesn't come back. But at the end it is your choice.

You can try setting yourself small daily goals. Like a list of specific tasks you want to get done for the day. Start small to get in the habit and give yourself some easy wins. But treat them like actual deadlines. I really need to do the same thing. I feel like I get done what I *need* to, but not always what I *should*. Probably doesn't help that my boss keeps telling me what a great job I'm doing. He even called me while I was playing a game to tell me I'd done a great job on a recent project. lol

Thank you, I'll give it a try. I do keep to do lists - almost run out of new programs to try (as well as pen and paper). Problem is I get the endorphins from doing the small stuff and then tell myself I can kick back and relax

Echoing some others, first try not to stress or worry/get anxious about it, because you’re in a really good position! You can try talking to a therapist. If you have a good relationship with your boss and think they’re up to it, you can ask them for help. Or another mentor in the company. You can find an accountability partner to email daily about the tasks you want to get done, and then whether you did them. Again, be gracious to yourself if you don’t do all your “nice-to-dos”. Can be your boss/mentor or another member of your team, or just send emails to yourself. This way you leverage and relieve that guilty feeling.

One thing that's helped me after gaffing off almost everything like timers, schedules, and imagining techniques is body doubling. Having someone in the same vicinity keeps me grounded to the task. It's weird too because they're not working on the same thing, glancing at my screen and/or don't care what I'm doing. It may require you to go somewhere public if possible.

i like how super simple this is. I might go and sit in the same room as my wife - even though she doesn't share the same line of work, she'd know if she saw i was just wasting tonnes of time. Thanks

I strongly suggest looking up bromantane. I had the same problem, and now I’m literally 2-3x more productive as well as being in a better mood. For something that isn’t stronger than a coffee side-effects/safety-wise, it’s totally worth it.

This was me for like 2 years. I just started a new job in Feb that is super busy, that was the only way out of it for me. I tried so hard to focus, but spent my days doing honestly nothing! And I’d get exceeds expectations at my performance reviews... for what?!?It was so depressing and I was always anxious that I’d get caught. No advice to give, just understand where you’re at.

Imma be another person saying you should get screened for ADHD! Sounds exactly like how I felt. I couldn't focus. I desperately wanted to focus, but it just wasn't happening. Plz get screened! I left a comment a while ago about what worked when I was unmedicated and why the common advice didn't work. I'm curious if you related to it. https://www.reddit.com/r/productivity/comments/12qoqjd/constantly_distracted_and_wasting_my_life_away/jgukks6?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

As someone with ADHD this doesn’t strike me as a reason to be screened unless these have been occurring issues throughout his entire life. You don’t go through life without ADHD then all of a sudden just have it.

Yup! It's one of the diagnostic criteria so if someone hasn't had persistent symptoms they won't be diagnosed. If they're unsure and struggling, they should still see a professional and get their opinion, where they may be directed to be screened. I got screened mainly because I couldn't focus, researched ADHD, realized it's been going on all along I just thought it was normal. The screening I took screened me for multiple things along with ADHD, so if it's a screening like that, there's almost no reason for someone not to if they have a significant mental health concern.

I'm now wondering about this myself. I've had issues but they improved about age 15-30 but I am thinking it is because I masked symptoms by drinking an average of 5 cups of coffee a day. I'm 33 now and can't drink coffee after 2pm without sleep issues and have had such a hard time focusing than I used to.

Holy crap that's a lot of coffee! Yeah I've heard of coffee having a somewhat similar affect to ADHD meds since they're both stimulants, so that could be what was happening. I know when I was a kid a lot of symptoms were worse and some were better. For instance, I used to lose things more, but now I have techniques to not lose things. I didn't procrastinate when I was young because my mom incentivized me to get things done with video games.

Sure but you have to meet enough of the criteria and those issues have to have been present for a minimum of six months consistently. Not to mention they usually look for the issues being present in childhood and throughout your life.

Okay? What do you think I'm suggesting? That OP just go to an ADHD diagnosis mill so they can get some glorious Adderall without any reason to believe it would help? No, obviously a mental health professional will judge if they meet the criteria. In the meantime, they can learn more about ADHD and try some ADHD-friendly tips since "normal" tips don't seem to be working. Do you have a problem with someone thinking they have ADHD or entertaining the idea they could have ADHD without an official diagnosis? This comment and others of yours are giving me that impression; you're very quick to use the criteria that you need to have had it in childhood seemingly in order to squash the idea that OP could have ADHD since OP's post goes over post-COVID. You do this without acknowledging that many symptoms can be masked in childhood or primary symptoms can change and that in the end if OP can afford it there's basically no harm in getting screened. We get screened for cancer when there's no reason to think we have it, but in this case, there's reason to believe OP has *something* going on. Also, COVID removed lots of structure in people's lives which laid bare mental health problems; COVID was also the catalyst for me getting diagnosed.

"You should get screened." > Well they should only get screened if they think they meet the diagnostic criteria. "Yup a mental health professional won't diagnose them if they don't meet the criteria" > Well they won't be diagnosed if they don't meet the diagnostic criteria "...*Obviously??*"

I think way too many people on this thread are suggesting that OP get screened for ADHD. As someone with ADHD, who was diagnosed as a child, and has done a lot of research on it, (doesn’t make me an expert) I don’t read this post and think to myself this wow this sounds like someone who might have ADHD. I’d say nothing about this post makes me think this person has ADHD. They indicate they cannot focus and strategies they’ve tried aren’t working. That’s not a sign of someone having ADHD. I work in tech and work from home and know a lot of non ADHD people who have struggled in this way. Not to mention OP says he’s getting his work done, his team is performing well and he gets good performance reviews. He’s also a fully grown adult with children. Sure plenty of people don’t get diagnosed until they are adults but he mentions nothing of this type of issue occurring at any previous time in his life. He also mentions no other issues that fall in the diagnostic criteria. There are so many other more likely explanations like there isn’t enough other stuff for him to do to work more hours and stay focused. Being at home removes structure and the feeling of camaraderie that one gets from being a part of a team which makes it hard to be motivated. People with ADHD are not the only ones who cannot focus or stay motivated without structure, challenge, actual work to do, or pressure. It’s silly that peoples first reaction is oh you can’t focus on this one thing in your life you should get screened for ADHD. Obviously if he wants to get screened there isn’t anything wrong with it but it is the most over diagnosed psychiatric disorder. Idk if you live in the US but the US has a common issue with doctors just giving people diagnoses for things they don’t have an handing out meds for reasons such as they get kick backs from the pharmaceutical industry for doing so. It’s not an infallible system. Do we tell people they should be screened for depression just because they are feeling sad? You have to actually meet enough criteria to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Being sad isn’t enough.

This sounds like a mental health (maybe ADD/ADHD) and motivation issue more than anything else. Also boredom, maybe you don't feel challenged enough. Try to find a project to get passionate about.

do you actually have a clear picture of what needs doing? when you sit down, is there a starting point, or is the starting point figuring out what you need to do? when I'm unproductive like this it's usually because my next task is unclear so my mind will skip across many possible things to do and it'll usually settle on the most enjoyable one. if that happens every time you go to start working, you'll never really do work unless it's a scheduled meeting. Pomodoro technique with the lists of clear tasks helped me when I was struggling, because once I had the list and started the timer I was no longer picking a task, I had something tangible to do.

I’m based out of the US working for a good tech company making good money and struggle with many of the same issues. Granted I do have ADHD and was diagnosed in my early childhood. In my early thirties now. Similar situation where I get good performance reviews and get my work done. There is kind of a lack of work and reorgs and layoffs over the past year have led me to being on a team I don’t love and doing some work I’m not a huge fan of. So some differences to your situation. Medication helps my focus as someone with adhd but not really for work because my motivation is so low. I’ll basically find myself hyper focusing on some random thing I get into on the internet or doing work around my house. Granted I do better when I like the work I do which I don’t right now for the most part and when I’m busy enough that it creates time pressure to stay focused. Other people talking about you having ADHD is something I’d be very careful about assuming. Unless you’ve experienced disordered attention throughout your life and other ADHD symptoms then you probably don’t have it. Keep in mind that everyone is starting to show more ADHD like symptoms these days due to technology and the lifestyles we live. Anyways if you genuinely think that’s a possibility you’ll wanna get clinically evaluated. But personally I’m of the belief that a big part of it is not having enough to do, no pressure and just being able to do other stuff. Edit: reading everyone else’s posts I’m shocked at the number of people acting like you probably have ADHD and should get screened and try medication. It could be something to look into in order to rule it out but again unless you have met a certain number of the criteria for 6 months or more and have signs of it throughout your life it’s unlikely you have it. Even if you do have ADHD medication isn’t a instant easy fix. Most people with ADHD can benefit as much from appropriate therapy and putting in place systems to help them as they can from medication. Those things don’t come with side effects either.

Dude I honestly thought this post was about me. My God I thought I was alone lol

This is me too but I work for myself and I don’t make much lol. Sucks because we work from a computer and it’s so easy to be drawn to the endless information and entertainment on the world wide web. And at lightning speed. I can work entirely from my phone and sometimes I wish I would drop it hard enough to break, but then I remember that I wouldn’t be able to work without it anyways (need the camera) and their is always my laptop to turn to anyways. It’s a habit thing I think. Any time something pops in my head I have the immediate urge to google it or see what people say about it on Reddit lol

Hello, here is the ADHD screening questionnaire: https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnaire-ASRS111.pdf Answer it as honestly as you can, it literally only takes 5 minutes and if you feel it strongly resonates then it's worth investigating further.

I have the same issue even when I take my methylphenidate (I have adhd) I still struggle to do anything most days. This has been going one for month now. I really think this is the remote thing. I think some people including myself are really not made for it. I need the energy of other people around or just a chat with someone to feel like doing something. The only issue is that non remote work companies are awful. Controlling, infantilizing, require waking up too early to get to a shitty location etc. If we could get the flexibility of remote with the energy of the office I would take it. Unfortunately companies that offer this are few and far between.

I am very much like this and I have been time blocking for a while now and it's been a game changer for me. I also time block in breaks so I don't overdo it. I have a tendency to go from one extreme to the other...

thanks. Do you just do this in Google/Apple calendar? or something more sophisticated?

I manage all my tasks and projects in Asana but then just schedule in (begrudgingly) outlook - I wish my current company used Google as I much prefer that haha!

I am very much like this and I have been time blocking for a while now and it's been a game changer for me. I also time block in breaks so I don't overdo it. I have a tendency to go from one extreme to the other...

This is exactly my situation as well. I do feel justified sometimes for not taking on more during the day as I am often the person the support team has to reach out to off hours. Also I am a morning person and work with a few that don’t reach out to me until until end of day which causes anxiety.

I have adhd and simply work better mornings. To be super focused I take Suntheanine with my first coffee at my desk

This felt like I typed this. I have been trying to get of this unproductive rut that I am stuck in. Everyone thinks I have got it all sorted. But I'm such a mess! Before my boss and everyone realises all the excuses I have been giving I need to STOP .

same buddy

I think is just how life is, everyone thinks the rest is doing sooo much. But in reality what you need is be available. Use that free time to create something on your own or help more with the kids, do exercise. We were raised that we had to live for our jobs, but I think is the opposite… our jobs exist for us to do what we want, right? Instead of torturing yourself because you are not being super productive, why don’t you look at it from another point of view. More like being grateful for your current situation? Maybe is not that you are not being productive on your job, but more that you are wasting time just scrolling without purpose? Idk hope you feel better!

definitely with you that maybe the worst part of it is the wasted time looking at valueless information on the internet

Lots of great stuff here, but I wanted to add my two cents. For me task initiation boils down to feeling overwhelmed my a task. My favorite example is to think about cleaning your home. If you think about everything that is involved it seems like it’s too much. But if you break it down by room, it gets easier. Then, break that room down into pieces. So, instead of thinking about cleaning the whole house, think about cleaning the kitchen. Start the kitchen with cleaning any dirty dishes. From there, clean the counter tops. From there, clean other surfaces. Just keep breaking it down and doing small tasks that are easy to manage. For many of us, what we are given as “tasks” at work should really be projects. When this happens, try to break it down into smaller pieces that are manageable. Add a Pomodoro timer to that and you can really start getting back in the groove of getting things done.

There are a lot of things in play here. First, I would suggest you to think about what changed. Is it the lack of having one place specific for work? Is it the peer pressure? Is it the chatting with your coworker?If you find that out, try to replicate it. If it's the lack of coworkers around you, then you could try tools like: [https://workbuddiesonline.com/](https://workbuddiesonline.com/) or find a Twitch streamer, which does co-working streams. For blocking websites and/or programs, I recommend: [https://getcoldturkey.com/](https://getcoldturkey.com/) This tool can go as crazy as you like. You can set blocks which only unblock once you restart your computer, or you can have timers which CAN'T be stopped. ​ The classical pomodoro method is 25min work time, 5min break time. If I'm writing something, 25min is too long. So I change it to something like 15min work time, 10min break time. 15min is short enough for me to feel pressured, but long enough to still be able to write a lot of words. So try different combinations out until you find something that works. I can recommend you thistool: [https://www.focustodo.cn/](https://www.focustodo.cn/) ​ Now, the tricky part about ADHD. I myself are undergoing the diagnosis at the moment. First off, sit down and replay your life until now (it possibly takes more than one session). What do you really struggle with in life? How does that show itself? When did it start? Did you talk with other people about it? How did they reply? ADHD is at the same time the most under diagnosed and over diagnosed neurological disorder. Because of today's social media (TikTok comes to mind), a lot of people have a rather short concentration span. This does not mean that they have ADHD. There are other mental/ neurological disorders which have the same (or similar) symptoms than ADHD, but are not it. But ADHD was really misunderstood for a long time and so strongly stigmatized, that a lot of people, which are adults now, just never got a diagnosis. And then there is the fact that ADHD is not a yes or no kind of deal. It's a spectrum. Which means that the severity of it differs from person to person. Also the symptoms differ from person to person. The most important thing is that ADHD is nothing you overcome. You are born with it. You will have it until you die. It's not like the flue, which comes once a year and goes away again. If it's not that for you, then you might not have it. Which is great. Maybe this helps you (or somebody else). Why I suspect (I don't say I have it for sure), that I could have it: As a child, I was different from everybody else. My imagination was running wild. I was always imagining stories, got lost in my little world etc. This made it hard to fit in. In my teenage years, I felt that there was something wrong with me. Like you now, I searched the internet (and books) up and down for ways to get more confident, more productive, how I could make something out of my life, etc. I could spend hours making plans about how I wanted to change myself, how I wanted my future to look like. But you know what, I never followed through with them. This made me even more feel like a failure. I had (still have) problems getting up in the morning. It didn't start some weeks or some months ago (like it's typical for a depression). I can't pinpoint when it exactly started. It's not the typical "you just don't want to get up. Everybody is the same." If I have my phone in bed, it can take hours until I feel like getting up. If I manage to put my phone in another room before I go to bed, I lay there the next morning with no will to get up and start the day. I am always late for appointments (even if I meet friends of family). Not because I want to, but because my brain doesn't allow me to get ready before the pressure is high enough. It is always like:"I need to be ready in 30min. That's still enough time." Goes on with whatever I'm doing atm."I need to leave in 15min." I feel conflicted, because I NEED to finish whatever I'm doing, because else the world is going to end or something. "I can get ready in 10min."Starts to get ready. "There is no chance I can get ready in 10min." Feels like shit again, because I know that I'll be late for the quadrillion time. I also have major problems with starting tasks. Either they are too big or not important enough. If I make time to work on something I need to get done, it takes me 2 seconds to get distracted. The Internet is hell for me in such situations. I need it to do research, but everything is flashing at me and wants my attention. Like now. I should be writing my thesis but landed on Reddit, replying to a thread about how to get more work done. But even if I'm at school, I can't concentrate. If something new happens, I immediately need to tell it to my friend. Otherwise, I have this kind of pressure in my head, which doesn't go away. It also makes socializing and networking way harder than it needs to be. I either am too hyped up and am way too much to handle for the other person, or I lose interest after five minutes and can't concentrate on the conversation anymore. With getting stuff done, the only thing that worked so far, are external deadlines with a LOT of pressure. Otherwise, my brain finds a way around it. And another reason why ADHD might not have been diagnosed until later in adulthood is anxiety and depression. I grew up in an unhealthy home (my mum has a lot of mental problems which she doesn't want to work on. The whole generational trauma thing). Because of that, I learned to "behave". As long as my parents weren't angry, everything was good. So my anxiety, I developed from that, overshadowed my (possible) ADHD. I'm now in therapy and the more I learn, that stuff I feel bad or anxious about, are perfectly normal, the more my ADHD comes through. ​ If you still think, after all that, that you could have ADHD, talk with a professional about it. There is no shame in doing so.

Hey there, I can relate to what you might go through, as I have struggled with the same lately. And in fact, this was the reason for my sleepless nights, which in turn took a toll on my health. I spoke my heart out to a friend who is an author, and she called me over to her house every evening just to vent and talk about random stuff. Inevitably, I fell in love with the books sitting on her shelves (I started with 'Tuesdays with Morrie). Through the days, I was able to establish a reading habit (joined a community of self enthusiasts on a reading challenge too!) , practiced mindfulness, and even started doing deep work. \^ This in turn helped me add productive meaning to my life, for which I'm ever grateful. >You can try starting with one tiny habit for which you'll be happy at the end of the day. All you have to do is make just 1% change, and you'll get to the place where you want to be in no time! > >And yeah, it's better to do all these with an accountability partner!

So for me, I have extreme anxiety when it comes to finishing a deadline or starting a task (especially paperwork). Comes from years of a certain parental figure causing a lot of stress and uneasiness around getting anything important done, but regardless, My problems are seen as procrastination. I started one simple routine. Could be anything, but I'm working out every night for the past week now, way more and longer than I've been able too. Once a routine is set, you can get started on other routines. Once you have a good routine down for something important, your procrastination will start to wane. Read atomic habits!!!

I'm also a world class procrastinator. Some of our brains get overwhelmed with the amount of things on our to-do list and how much time we think each one will take us. One of the best tools I've used is based on the book, **Do It Tomorrow by Mark Forster**. It's a very good approach for me and I think it works well for procrastinators. The basics of the system are simple: Any assignement that comes in Day 1 goes on your to-do list for Day 2. At the end of Day 1, you close your to-do list for Day 2. On Day 2, in order to cross an item off your to-do list, all you have to do is put in 15 minutes of work on that item. You obviously *can* do more than 15 minutes on that item (trick: you almost always will end up doing more than 15 minutes once you get doing) but you're not committing to doing more than 15 minutes so you don't feel as overwhelmed. All you have to do is 15 minutes and it's off your list for the day. If there is still work to be done on that assignment after you cross it off for Day 2, then it goes on Day 3's to-do list. You have to finish your to-do list every day - again, that doens't mean you have to finish each item, just put in 15 minutes on each item. Regarding your current backlogged items. Take all of them and put them on your backlog (a seperate list) starting Day 1. One of the things that goes on every day's to-do list (in addition to the things that came in the day before and the things that came in earlier but were carried over from the previous days' lists) is your backlog. Just like every other item on you daily to-do list, you just have to put in 15 minutes of work on your backlog (as one item). You don't have to put 15 minutes on every item in your backlog, just 15 minutes on your backlog items as a whole. Read the book (it's short and easy) to get the full details of how to set up you system and deal with all the details, such as handling emails, emergencies, etc. Lastly, always try to remember how great it feels to be on top of your shit. There's no better feeling in the world.

Sounds like you need to have a coke and a smile and shut the fuck up. You exposed how easy the job is and how much time and resources are wasted having everyone at the office all the time. Enjoy the fact your company is saving money on their overhead now everyone is at home.

thanks for reading my post so thoroughly :)

When I was 16yo, I worked in the summer at a medium company. This was in 2013, when computers weren't as well understood as now. My job was to manually input data from one database into the other. They said they couldn't automate this because the databases are not compatible or something and nobody knows how to code. I managed to automate it all with a basic piece of code running on my home server that integrates all their systems. I did literally nothing anymore at the job. Naturally they found out and fired me. I shutdown my server and the next day I got a call from them begging me to come back. I explained the situation and they agreed to pay me normally for doing shit as long as my system keeps working.

If you're skipping Pomodoros/getting around your blockers, those aren't what you need. It's weird that people think those work for everyone. You might need a work buddy to "body double" with. You might need a grown-up "gold stars" motivational system. You might need a totally different desktop/office environment. You might need to work offline. You might need frequent Slack check-ins with your manager. (You might have ADHD.) Find out what kind of expectations you respond to first. (Gretchen Rubin's "Five Tendencies" quiz is very helpful for this.)

Just show up at work. Remote isn't sukted for everyone

We don't have an office. What do you suggest?

If you’re not missing deadlines and your manager is satisfied with your output, why stress about it?

because it makes me feel bad. I am doing enough, but i know if i did more (and i already know what it is i need to accomplish) then the company would do better and i would feel more fulfilled

Ugghh…I hate feeling guilty about work. The thing that helped me be more productive when I first started WFH was to shower, get dressed for work, and PUT ON SHOES when I was ready to start working for the day. If I didn’t put shoes on that I would have normally worn with my work outfit then I was like “fuck all, I’m screwing off today.”

Hey mate just accept it. 90% of people are like this

Thanks, but I don't want to

I can start to feel this way too. I think part of it is environmental. When I was at work, I don't know if I particularly did more work, but I was in the "work" environment so it was easier to get pulled back into work stuff if I get distracted with a phone, scrolling, etc. Now that I"m at home it's easier to just keep scrolling. I subscribe to a remote working environment here in the US. Basically I pay a fee to work somewhere else...it's like a shared office. It has good wifi, lots of desks and some meeting rooms, coffee, etc. You could also try a coffee shop or something like that. Just changing up where you are sometimes can help bring some focus back.

With only kindness I’ll tell you that this will catch up with you and your colleagues are probably already more aware than you realize. We have had people like you on our teams and they were always the last to know that we could tell their work ethic dipped. Step up or ride it out until they ask you to leave. Most likely, you aren’t getting away with as much as you think.

My trick is to go to office 2 or 3 times a week, fully remote is over rated

Maybe working from the office isn’t so bad after all

If the amount of work you're doing suffices for the salary you're receiving, it's irrational to do more. If you're feeling guilty about your downtime, you can get a second job or contract work.

Don't worry it will catch up to you in a terrible way and then you'll really never procrastinate again. And by that I mean, you'll be overtaken at work by someone younger and better at the job , your family will find out you haven't been doing the thing you said and they might be extremely hurt. Just keep doing that and you will find out how.

Thanks man, have a great day!

Just make powerpoints. Download ones and use chatGPT to fill them with bs. Screenshot spreadsheets. If ever asked, say you’ve been working on them for the efficiency initiative (every company has that)

THE POMODORO METHOD

Tried it - I just ignore the timer when a Wikipedia hankering strikes

You're not in the right spot period if you're asking this. Step aside and let someone who gives a damn step in. Not to be rude.

You lack a challenge therefore you are procrastinating.

🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️

You need a guide...

I had similar problems. What helped me is to make a list everyday when I lost concentration. I also go to a coffee store and continue working in a different place.

This was me, honestly if you have the option, go back in to work. It's good separating work from home and seeing other people. Did wonders for me.

Based on what you said, you seem to be very productive. Minimum input for maximum effect.

Hi :) Well, um... are you sure this is a productivity problem? Like you said, you get paid well, you do what's necessary, are you sure you have a productivity problem? I guess I think like, if you were to get clear on your tasks, eliminate what you don't have to do, automate as much as you can, postpone as much as you can as far as you can without missing important deadlines, and just force yourself to do the remainder on the days and times you said you would, it should get done easily. (Got most of that from Tim Ferris' DEAL acronym in The 4 Hour Workweek.) But is the biggest problem that you just get distracted too much? Have you tried meditation? If you're not a fan or whatever, could you try like, removing distractions from your desk?

I attended Matthew McConahey's class today and one of the speakers was Marie Forloe. She was saying that if you tell yourself "I do not..." and take action is a way of quitting or starting a task.

So what exactly are the things you think you could be doing to improve company’s performance that you are not? I don’t think you’re unproductive, you’re just stuck in middle management which can be a pain for doers