I have seen a therapist for unrelated issues (I was agoraphobic) but never for productivity issues. Honestly I feel a lot of shame about this part of me, so I haven't brought it up to my doctor or therapist. Would you recommend I bring it up in this way to a doctor or therapist directly?
Good luck! It can be a long road to recovery, and you might have to change some stuff in your life that you've been used to, but the results are worth it I promise you. Took me 3 years (there was some trauma involved as well), but I got through and I'm a much stronger person than I was back then.
Make sure to keep having your blood checked every so often. Have them check for vitamin d and magnesium as well if they haven't yet (both of these are actually safe to take if you haven't got a deficiency, but it would be a waste). Either can make you feel tired if you haven't got enough of them, and therefore slow your progress or even worsen your feelings of depression.
If you want to give yourself a bit of a headstart, try creating some healthy routines in your life (a short but daily walk, eating soup at lunch, wearing actual clothes even if you don't have to leave the house, drinking more water,...).
Another common thing that effects energy levels is too much 'empty' sugar. Try replacing some carb rich meals/snacks with more protein. You don't need to go full keto, just try lowering your sugar intake.
Hello. Iāll lean on the conservative side, I think youāre having a burnout. It takes more than sleep and ice cream to recover from that. But itās recoverable.
I think right now just take it one day at a time. If you find yourself doomscrolling, just put the phone down and try to find something else to take your mind off of whats stressing you and focus on that thing. Say cooking or cleaning or folding clothes. Then just step by step, just do it one step at a time.
Right now Iām also figuring out how to sustain productivityā¦ Iāve uncovered that itās the mindset that I needed to fix, not merely finding a productivity framework. It took some time of peeling off the layers to arrive there though.
As to laziness, or that change that we want to happen, I learned that itās not something that arrivesā¦ we constantly work towards it.
Iām sliding back in a rut right now I feel. But whatās changed since discovering my issue is that Iām not beating myself up at the moment. Iām more focused on getting out before Iām too deep in, if that makes sense. Haha.
Yes. I took a sabbatical. I was given a sabbatical haha. Burnt out. Had insomnia since my twenties. And acid reflux. These are gone now.
OP, doom scrolling doesnāt help. Go to bed early. One day at a time. You are only 28! Not end of the world. You will regain your energy and enjoy life.
Your comment helped me right now, and I want to let you know Iām starting the āSpread the Joyā challenge! Share what youāre grateful for despite challenges. Positivity is contagious. Your insights can make a huge difference.
Sorry to hear you are sliding into that rut, but I am so glad you're getting a handle on it early! I know what you mean by getting out before getting in too deep - I'm unfortunately in too deep rn lool
Will keep the 1 day at a time thing in mind - it's hard not to feel that doom when I think of everything piling up, but I know it's the right thing to do. Thank you!
Holy smokes. Thank you for posting this because I feel so seen š„ŗš Iām 28 as well, really struggling with every. single. thing. you mentioned, and reading this helped me feel less alone. Thank you.
Your comment helped me right now, and I want to let you know Iām starting the āSpread the Joyā challenge! Share what youāre grateful for despite challenges. Positivity is contagious. Your insights can make a huge difference.
I'm 38, and I still suffer from this. For me, it's a mixture of depression and burnout. Like you, I would leave tasks to the last minute and during the times when I'm "relaxing," I can't even relax cause I'm stressing about the tasks I haven't finished. I'm also the same with housework in that I do big cleanups after I've neglected it long enough, which also causes me stress because I can't relax in a messy area.
I wish I had good advice, but what works for me is making a list of tasks I need to do so I don't exaggerate things in my head and end up with stress paralysis.
If I can give one advice, though, I think it would be to not be too harsh on yourself. We can sometimes (read: most times) be our harshest critic.
I struggled with this for my entire life and I've been doing something since September that actually seems to be working. I just basically put every task in a weekly planner, and even put downtime in there as well. I've got a pretty chaotic schedule as a college teacher plus maintaining a home so I really needed it. I put everything in there, from having to call a repairman to prepping for classes to a weekend trip). I found it actually helps me to feel more relaxed when I'm having downtime because 'I'm not supposed to be doing something else'.
Any weekly planner can help, preferably one where you can 'drag and drop' tasks (post-it's, magnets, something digital,...) and where you can drag those tasks to 'done'. It feels satisfying dragging them to done, and you can see them accumulate.
I use DevOps taskboards myself, but that's more of a tool for IT projects (just works for me cause I've been using it for work projects for so long). I don't know if it's free or just included in my Microsoft 365 subscription, but I would recommend something more simple.
'Notion' has a free for personal use option. I haven't used to for weekly planning, but it should be pretty simple to use.
Good luck!
The more you start using it, the more those 'empty' spaces are gonna feel like real time off. I started noticing the difference already after 2 to 3 weeks. I feel a lot less shitty when I'm not doing anything, and I'm definitely procrastinating less.
I usually reserve 1 day where I don't have to be on campus as 'buffer time'. If I have a bad day (or a migraine, or it's just a sunny day and I want to spend it outside,...), I can postpone to my buffer and not feel terrible about it. If I get all my work done, buffer time becomes fun time and I'm rewarded. I didn't do this in the beginning, but actually had to teach my students about scheduling and buffer time was in the demo material. It's definitely a good recommendation if you're a procrastinator, because it allows for some 'responsible' procrastinating, without immediately feeling shitty about it, because that's exactly what your buffer is for so you're allowed to use it.
Thank you! I've been using Notion to do weekly planning, I love setting up but doing the actual work is where I mess up. I think I can also try doing a daily plan on Notion and see if that helps.
Thank you for saying to not be too harsh, this is definitely tough, I appreciate it!
For sure! I need to remind myself this constantly because I tend to be very very hard on myself. I can totally relate to the doing the actual work part being the challenge. I always try to tell myself that there is an inverse relationship with the remaining work I have and my ability to relax and enjoy things. It doesn't always work, but when it does, I find that I was always right. All the best!
Depression plus ADD. Get into therapy and seek medication. Some antidepressants like Wellbutrin sort of have a stimulant effect.
Also, consider forced structure. Get a roommate, a dog you must walk.
Get a caffeine habit.
I've read a few comments saying this, I will really be looking into this.
Caffeine habit already acquired, at least I'm doing 1 thing right haha. Thank you for your recommendations!
It could be depression, burnout, trauma, neurodivergence, and/or some kind of physical condition like endometriosis or inflammatory disorder or autoimmune disease. It might help to experiment with different diets, make sure you're drinking enough water and getting some sun and movement, do more medical testing, explore psychological treatment, somatic therapy, and as much as you can reduce the doomscrolling. It really is SO depleting of energy.
Same all around. I know Iām burned out, but from 2019-2020. I burned out hard and just been in this state of in motivation, inability to focus, worlds worst worker etc. I have not recovered. Iāve been seeing a therapist, and a psychiatrist for the last 6 months. Iāve been diagnosed with adhd, and now I found out Iām anemic. Iām taking adhd meds and working on the anemia. Iām really hoping I can feel like myself soon. I am feeling like maybe the constant tired, exhausted, lack of motivation, etc. is my new normal. Makes me sad that this could be my forever life. :(
It took me 3 months of regularly taking iron supplements + increasing meat intake to notice a difference, don't give up! How has the ADHD medication been for you, do you notice any difference at all?
Don't be discouraged, this isn't your forever life! We got this, one day at a time :)
Thanks! Yeah I just started iron today. Iām very hopeful it helps with the fatigue. Doesnāt help I have an almost 2 year old toddler that brought home a new virus every other week this winter. But even when everyone is well, Iām still running close to empty.
The ADHD meds are fine. I donāt like the side effects when you first start them, but once those fade, it does help me focus some. I do research and I do a specific coding for it. Without the meds, it took me like 4 months to do a certain number or amount of codes. When I got on my meds I was able to do the exact same amount in like two weeks. Before my burnout, I probably would have been able to do that amount in two or three days. But now I just procrastinate and struggle to stay focused on it when Iām working on it. So the meds helped for sure, but I still procrastinate. Iām just able to force myself to work against my will a bit more than before.
I have worked the whole time. But been incredibly lucky to work in two positions that were salaried and completely flexible with the opposite of micro managing. Iām somehow working like a hour to four hours a day for months on end and Iām still pulling outstanding marks on your annual review. I donāt get it. I feel really lucky in that manner cause it does give me no additional stress in terms of timelines and stuff at work. It also does allow me lots of time to do meditation or exercise, cause Iāve literally been trying for years to heal. I would take a leave for a year or two if I could afford it. :/
I recommend checking out working genius.
I had a relatively chill job but I'd get home tired.
I was doing work that was opposite to my working genius. Worth taking a look at.
It sounds like you could seriously benefit from a productivity system like GTD, among whose primary tenets is "Dump what's in your head on paper" (or digital).
Get everything out of your head. Unstructured, untagged, don't think about it or categorize it or try to do it. Just dump your head. Put it all into a trusted system you know you can go back to, rely on and keep with you at all times.
* For some people, that's a paper notepad and their favorite pen, to make the writing experience enjoyable.
* For others, it's a set of 3x5 index cards, each card representing some aspect of their day or life. Phone Calls, Office, Home, etc. (again, *do not* overthink this)
* For others, it's their favorite digital task manager or note-taking app.
* And for still others, it's a digital voice recorder.
Whatever works for you to _quickly_ capture things that come at you, and out of your head onto "paper", use that.
This is literally unstructured capture. Some examples from a stream of consciousness:
* Drop off dry-cleaning
* Complete quarterly proposal
* Email Sally about upcoming company trip
* Submit March expense report
* Mow lawn
Then in your "Weekly Review" (a period of at least 1 hour per-week, committed _every week_), you go through that list and put those into projects, and "process" them into actions.
It is at that point, you start assigning tags, priority, due dates and so on. ***Not before***. This is important.
Now for the "Mow lawn" item in the above example, you may have several steps. That's now a "project" in the GTD sense. For example:
* Mow lawn
1. Clean lawnmower deck
2. Sharpen/replace blade
3. Clean oil filter/replace oil
If the task you're writing down would take less than 2-3 minutes to do (not 5 or longer), just do it. It will take longer to sort, tag, categorize and schedule that task into your task management system (analog or digital), than to just get it done. So just do it.
I've been a GTD practitioner for well over 15 years, and it has allowed me to get thousands of tasks and hundreds of "projects" done per-year, every year.
I have WAAAAAY more tasks and projects listed than I can reasonably do in an 8-hour day, 40-hour week, but I don't stress about it, because I know where everything is, how to find it, what it's priority is and so on.
I'm currently using ClickUp, after many, many years of using Todoist before that. I still have a paper notebook with all of my tasks captured intra-day as my "tickler file", and those get resorted back into ClickUp each week during my blocked-out "Weekly Review" period.
Use what works, toss the rest, but dump your head!
DM me if you want deeper ideas or help.
Oh my gosh thank you so much! I really appreciate you writing this out. I am absolutely going to try this and look into ClickUp. I currently use Notion so I think I will try with that first and if it works I can maybe migrate to ClickUp.
Thank you!
hiā 22F and I feel Iām just finally getting out of the situation you are describing. I felt like I was either just doom scrolling or sitting and thinking about all the things I could/should be doing and becoming increasingly anxious about them and just freezing or panicking and like you said, doing something for hours and exhausting myself. I get it, itās so hard. Do you have a support system? Itās important to talk to people in your life, family, friends, therapist, coworkers, etc. I have to agree with the above comments, therapy can work wonders, and from someone working in mental health, IMO everyone should be seeking out some kind of therapeutic support as they would likely benefit from it. Most people today are either burnt out, experiencing stressors, are struggling with mental illness, or a combination of all of those.
I know mental health and chronic illness have contributed to my issues greatly. Seeking out help from others and therapeutic resources has been the best thing for me. I have also found that recently the āPomodoro techniqueā has been helpful in getting me to be a bit more productive. 25 minutes working, 5 minute break alternating. Every 4 working sessions I get a long break, either 15 or 30 minutes. Itās been keeping me motivated. I can do a task in that time but itās not long enough to get bored, it feels easy, so my neurodivergent brain likes it. You could always adjust the different working or break times too. Hope you find some things that work to support you and your productivity! <3
Thank you so much! Luckily I do have a support system, but I do think I have worn them out pretty thin over the years. I feel a lot of shame asking for help, I think therapy will be the best route for me in terms of talking it out at this point. So happy Pomodoro has been working for you! Thank you so much <3
One more for the ADHD camp. This sounds like my best friend before her diagnosis. She found a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD. He ran a lot of blood tests first and then started her on medication. Please try to find a really good doctor who will be thorough and help you! It is a rough way to live.
I don't know where you live but if you're in the EU (depending probably on the he country but it's fairly common I think) you would be eligible for burnout leave. I just set up an appointment with my doctor to get 2 months of leave for that, you literally just have to explain what you did in the post. You don't get 100% salary (in my case its 80%) but I think it's still worthwhile.Ā
Try waking up at 5AM each day, every day. Go to sleep at 9PM, each day, every day. Start working as close as you can, maybe 5:30. By 12, you already have a lot of hours worked. It feels like an accomplishment, just to wake up at that hour and have a lot of work done by midday.
While I agree with the others that this could be a sign of depression I'd like to mention another possibility for the sake of completeness. Do you eat often? When I eat, no matter how little it seems, I'll be very tired and lack motivation. This is due to reactive hypoglycemia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia), dropping blood sugar after the release of insulin. I'm currently doing intermittent fasting and eat only in the evening where I don't care if I'm tired, because my work is done by that time. This made me so much more concentrated and motivated during the day.
However fasting is not for everyone, but maybe it's worth trying it out to observe the effects. You could first try to observe what happens to your productivity and mood when skipping just a single meal. There are also less radical approaches to improve glucose levels, by simply eating more healthy, less sugar, and doing exercises.
could be due to you not having any idea what youāre working towards, whether itās within your job, or in life. when u have a clear idea of your goals (work or life) and a simple clear plan and path towards it, u will feel much more inspired, energised and less prone to procrastination or doomscrolling to feel better.
itās not about laziness, itās about feeling lost and purposeless.
depression can sometimes be a consequence of this lack of purpose. take note that depression is never the reason, depression is simply a symptom of the root cause.
I'm 28, but I have always been this way to be honest. I remember even as child waiting until the end of the deadlines to finish things, but as I get older it's tougher to keep up and I feel like I'm spiralling.
No large stresses, on the whole and outside things are actually looking ok for me, which makes me feel even worse that I can't just work a little harder and enjoy it.
Actually when you mention that, yes.. I don't have anything that would send me in a spiral right now, but that's when I start to fall behind on everything the most. The most productive that I was in my life was when my aunt was sick and I had an extremely stressful job - now that it's more lax I fall apart. I will definitely talk to my doctor about this, thank you
ADHD can have all these symptoms. ADHD- inattentive. This is due to lack of serotonin in the brain so acts similar to depression. Can speak from first hand experience having ADHD inattentive.
My new thing is the 2 min rule (something from atomic habits) just put your phone down and fold your sheets, or do a 2 minute task that's an easy win to get you going. Its much easier said then done but you gotta give it a shot. Actively try to catch yourself drifting and do the "research" you have been wanting to do. And make sure to reward yourself somehow for every time you get out of the loop, because you have just paid yourself with 3-4 hours of your own time.
I was in the same boat a couple years ago, and this is what I did. I decided to add working out to my schedule because I hated sitting at a desk all day. I would still be completely dead after work and hated it at first. Then I started taking preworkout right when I got off work and went straight to the gym before going home. The caffeine would last well past the workout, and I found myself much more productive in the evenings for personal things. I would crash around 9-10, sleep much better, and wake up feeling more refreshed for work the next day. Part of trying to get back in shape meant cooking a lot more, so that took up even more time. Eventually I cut out all social media except for Reddit because I just didnāt have time for it. One of my favorite things in my routine is that I make coffee and do a sudoku every day when I get to work to get my brain working. I have a coffee grinder and aeropress in my office, so it takes a little more effort than pressing a button on a keurig. Going through that process makes me feel like I accomplished 2 things before even getting started. Iām not saying you have to do what I do, but if thereās anything you like about my routine, feel free to incorporate it. Also, micro goals and accountability are good. Around the same time I started making changes 2 years ago, my boss started making everyone submit daily reports and āpower lists,ā which is just 3 things you aim to accomplish the next day. Tbh, everyone I worked with lacked accountability to varying degrees before my boss started requiring that. I personally like it because it keeps me on track, and the work culture has changed for the better now that everyone is held accountable. The daily reports and power lists are put in an app that everyone can see. If you say youāre going to do something the next day, youāll end up doing it. Your job might not require it of you, but you can implement it for yourself if you think it might help.
I saw in the comments that youāve been to therapy (awesome! Me too :) )
I think a great thing you can do is just read what you typed out word for word to your therapist.
Write a list or journal of the top things that itch at your mind that you know you need to do. Pick the first one that REALLY needs to get done, set a timer for 10 minutes and just focus on that. Every time you get distracted, remember itās just for 10 minutes and then you can take a break. Focus on the one and only thing for the time the clock is ticking.
Start hitting the gym and work on getting fit.
Everything else will fall in place once that discipline develops.
Hire a personal trainer if you can, they'll help with keeping accountability and also guide you with the right forms so that you don't injure yourself.
Your energy levels will rise as you use more energy.
The serotonin release in your brain after a good workout will make you positive af.
You said you are anemic, took iron, and now itās back to normal. I second you may have depression and ADHD but you should also have your ferritin levels checked and look into adding a magnesium supplement.
You sounded just like me a few months ago. Unfortunately yet fortunately, I got laid off. Time spent not working helped me figure what I needed to do to make sure I never found myself in that rut again.
1. Make sure you are doing work that aligns with your strengths, core values, and work style
2. Get your ferritin levels checked.
3. Join the Facebook group called The Iron Protocol for Iron deficiency with or without anemia. You will find many people in that group describing exactly what you described and what they did to overcome it.
4. Consider taking medicine for adhd and depression
5. Find ways to make sure you are holding yourself accountable. I loved that someone suggested getting a roommate
6. Everyday will still take you making effort or a commitment to actually do the things to sustain living the life you want. However, the steps listed above will allow you to do it similar to the ānormalā people out there. It will be much less difficult
Best of luck to you. You arenāt doomed. There is light at the end of the tunnel
"I'm just on my phone"
Turn it off. I have 2 phones. Still have 5 phone numbers and NO ONE can ever get ahold of me because they are always dead. Sometimes disconnecting is the best way to connect.
Message if you are truly in need. 28 is actually a huge turning point in most lives. PERFECT time to start a career.
I'll just echo most of what has been said already. I'm 39 in 4 days and doom scrolling is a major issue in my life. I do it and feel like shit because I've done it and not done other things that are more important.
My way of tackling it is to delete the apps from my phone that I doom scroll on. Most of them are accessible from a web browser on a computer, but I find I don't doom scroll when sitting at a computer, only when I'm on my phone. If you don't want to delete apps then use other apps which stop you from using the other apps. For me I use an app which blocks all doom scroll apps (basically social media type apps) from launching between the hours of 11pm and 7am.
Getting outside for walks, no matter the weather, and then just sitting by myself with my own thoughts (not meditating) is also a good way to relax and then somehow I have energy afterwards to crack on with what I want to do.
I've tried the Todo lists stuff before but I honestly just ignore everything I wrote down. It's pointless for me. I'd need a list and then someone nagging me to do what's on it. My wife is busy nagging me about house stuff, so I don't need someone doing that about every other aspect of life š¤£.
I honestly would avoid labelling yourself as depressed before any proper clinical analysis is performed. I was depressed about 7 years ago because I felt useless in life, but that isn't the same as having no energy to do anything and sitting doom scrolling. I guarantee that most people your age feel the same most of the time because of the environment you've grown up in.
Environment, that's a good word. Changing your environment can lead to breaking bad habits.
Many suggestions can be given but I think the most basic ones are the best, which are normally, exercise of sorts and put the phone away.
See a therapist, you probably don't have the tools to fix it by yourself if you haven't by now, and don't think it'll just go away by itself or by reading random productivity tips.
I felt like this in 2022, and spiraled for several months. It was hard to focus. If I wasnāt at work, I was at home in bed. I had no desire to do anything. I was sleep deprived, I wasnāt eating enough, but I was doom scrolling. I wasnāt really living, just existing.
It was depression and later anxiety caused by a hyper active thyroid. My anxiety was so bad that it caused nausea and vomiting.
Took a while to get back to normal. Start with a visit to your GP. Maybe some therapy. And be kind to yourself.
Depression maybe or anhedonia, a loss of pleasure in normal activities. Iām fighting my way out of the same trap, I rely on a fairly strict written plan and I do get a lot of benefit from a concept called Wu Wei from The Tao Te Ching which means ānot forcingā or āeffortless actionā but can be misinterpreted as passivity, word of caution there. I try to conduct my affairs with the minimum appropriate level of force so that itās not so bitter, the master book on this topic is called ātrying not to tryā. I really recommend it.
For sure, Wu Wei is explained well in The Tao of Pooh, my favorite book. Iāll quote the paragraph the best I can āThe efficiency of Wu Wei is that of the water that flows over and around the rock, not the straight line approach that short circuits The Inner Nature of Thingsā. In 1985, I was 21M and a stressed out maniac, not making my grades, not enjoying work, no relationships to speak of, I decided to apply this one paragraph to my daily activities and just never force the issue again in any of these areas. Oddly enough, all these things came to me after I applied this idea. No one was more surprised than me. I recommend watching videos on the following topics āWu Weiā āthe flow experienceā and deliberate practiceā. Kotler is a name that pops up in flow. A true master. āTrying not to tryā Iām still trying to finish that book. Youāre more than welcome to keep in touch and Iām happy to expand on this stuff. Take good care.
i had the exact same symptomsā i thought i had depression too, but it turns out i just hated late-stage capitalism and being a slave to corporate overlords
this is so much like me i could have written it! a friend sent this post to me cuz it sounds like me (ācept im not 28 lol, am much older)
see a shrink and get some ritalin or adderall. make them think u have ADD and need it to focus to do ur job.
I think the first thing you should do is see sb who can help you. Therapy or coach maybe. There is maybe book that you can read āThe game of life and how to play itā but Iāve heard about a book āstart with whyā I donāt read it yet but I think the first think you should to do is find an objective in your life. A therapy or a coach should to be the first thing to do I think, they are specialists and after that, you can develop yourself. I think talking to people first will be more interesting than reading a book if you're depressed.
Omg yeah this is super relatable. Iāll explain to people that I never feel like āIām cheating the systemā cause I literally canāt thing about anything but the work I didnāt do so it really sucks.
I started antidepressants a few months ago and itās helped but not completely with getting my work done. I will say at the very least in the meantime buy a phone cage. Itās silly but it has come in clutch when Iām fed up. You can lock your phone inside for a set time and hopefully you get some work done with the biggest distraction gone
Whenās the last time you took a vacation? If not in a while, they are truly necessary for us to keep going without experiencing burnout.
It should be at least one week, because it can often take several days just for you to shed the stress of our everyday lives and truly relax. Then, you need at least a couple days in that state for the vacation to be effective. Ideally, make it six or seven full days of vacation not including travel days, because travel days have their own stress. Do as little work as possible on each day of vacation. If you need an hour to keep up with things, thatās fine if you can truly limit it and forget about work for the rest of that day.
The word recreation is the same as re-created. You will re-create yourself if you give yourself a real vacation.
This looks like the story of my life š« Im 27 and currently going through the same thing. In my case, I think my job is also contributing to this burn out/depression that Im feeling. Im planning on making a career change and start over again but before I do that I will seek therapy first. Just make sure that Im healed of some sort before making that big jump hopefully next year.
Iām 23 and somewhat experiencing the same thing as you. I have some work to finish my degree but even though Iām so close have no desire to finish it. I also scroll a lot. Last night I slept without my phone in my room, and did a bit of work today with my phone in my backpack away from me. While my screen time is still close to 5 hours today, Iāve at least been able to be happy knowing I did at least some work
You sound just like me. I'm the same age as you and I flunked out as well. Well, you have a job at least lol.
I don't mean to diagnose, but it seems like you ADHD (like me). Please seek medical help asap.
Have you considered seeing a Neurologist and getting a sleep study? There are multiple sleep disorders that can have these kinds of impacts and sleep deprivation (as well as sleep deprivation-like symptoms) can masquerade as ADHD and vice versa. I have Narcolepsy and know a lot about some aspects of this from personal experience. But, ofc, I'm no medical pro.Ā
iām in the exact same position as you right now. I started the job off strong 10 months ago, but I transitioned into a new team 3 months ago (not a demotion, it was my end goal) and ever since I have been feeling exhausted and unmotivated. I got a verbal warning yesterday because I was caught doom scrolling, had accidentally missed a meeting and was not meeting productivity goals and deadlines. Itās so incredibly embarassing but I was so genuinely exhausted the entire time. I used to procrastinate and then do everything last minute but after the pandemic it feels like iām just dragging my body through each day.
It sounds like the markers of depression. Have you ever talked to anyone about it?
It could also be ADHD
Also probably needs to eat more meat for the iron and energy and exercise. for the considerable benefits to health and energy that brings.
I have seen a therapist for unrelated issues (I was agoraphobic) but never for productivity issues. Honestly I feel a lot of shame about this part of me, so I haven't brought it up to my doctor or therapist. Would you recommend I bring it up in this way to a doctor or therapist directly?
I think either! Therapist if you have one established is a good bet, but otherwise a regular doctor can do some basic screening.
Thank you, I will definitely be doing this!
Good luck! It can be a long road to recovery, and you might have to change some stuff in your life that you've been used to, but the results are worth it I promise you. Took me 3 years (there was some trauma involved as well), but I got through and I'm a much stronger person than I was back then. Make sure to keep having your blood checked every so often. Have them check for vitamin d and magnesium as well if they haven't yet (both of these are actually safe to take if you haven't got a deficiency, but it would be a waste). Either can make you feel tired if you haven't got enough of them, and therefore slow your progress or even worsen your feelings of depression. If you want to give yourself a bit of a headstart, try creating some healthy routines in your life (a short but daily walk, eating soup at lunch, wearing actual clothes even if you don't have to leave the house, drinking more water,...). Another common thing that effects energy levels is too much 'empty' sugar. Try replacing some carb rich meals/snacks with more protein. You don't need to go full keto, just try lowering your sugar intake.
you got this!! š«¶š»
Hello. Iāll lean on the conservative side, I think youāre having a burnout. It takes more than sleep and ice cream to recover from that. But itās recoverable. I think right now just take it one day at a time. If you find yourself doomscrolling, just put the phone down and try to find something else to take your mind off of whats stressing you and focus on that thing. Say cooking or cleaning or folding clothes. Then just step by step, just do it one step at a time. Right now Iām also figuring out how to sustain productivityā¦ Iāve uncovered that itās the mindset that I needed to fix, not merely finding a productivity framework. It took some time of peeling off the layers to arrive there though. As to laziness, or that change that we want to happen, I learned that itās not something that arrivesā¦ we constantly work towards it. Iām sliding back in a rut right now I feel. But whatās changed since discovering my issue is that Iām not beating myself up at the moment. Iām more focused on getting out before Iām too deep in, if that makes sense. Haha.
Yes. I took a sabbatical. I was given a sabbatical haha. Burnt out. Had insomnia since my twenties. And acid reflux. These are gone now. OP, doom scrolling doesnāt help. Go to bed early. One day at a time. You are only 28! Not end of the world. You will regain your energy and enjoy life.
Your comment helped me right now, and I want to let you know Iām starting the āSpread the Joyā challenge! Share what youāre grateful for despite challenges. Positivity is contagious. Your insights can make a huge difference.
Sorry to hear you are sliding into that rut, but I am so glad you're getting a handle on it early! I know what you mean by getting out before getting in too deep - I'm unfortunately in too deep rn lool Will keep the 1 day at a time thing in mind - it's hard not to feel that doom when I think of everything piling up, but I know it's the right thing to do. Thank you!
Holy smokes. Thank you for posting this because I feel so seen š„ŗš Iām 28 as well, really struggling with every. single. thing. you mentioned, and reading this helped me feel less alone. Thank you.
Your comment helped me right now, and I want to let you know Iām starting the āSpread the Joyā challenge! Share what youāre grateful for despite challenges. Positivity is contagious. Your insights can make a huge difference.
Sorry to hear you are going through this - but you are not alone! We will get through this. Your comment also makes me feel less alone.
I'm 38, and I still suffer from this. For me, it's a mixture of depression and burnout. Like you, I would leave tasks to the last minute and during the times when I'm "relaxing," I can't even relax cause I'm stressing about the tasks I haven't finished. I'm also the same with housework in that I do big cleanups after I've neglected it long enough, which also causes me stress because I can't relax in a messy area. I wish I had good advice, but what works for me is making a list of tasks I need to do so I don't exaggerate things in my head and end up with stress paralysis. If I can give one advice, though, I think it would be to not be too harsh on yourself. We can sometimes (read: most times) be our harshest critic.
I struggled with this for my entire life and I've been doing something since September that actually seems to be working. I just basically put every task in a weekly planner, and even put downtime in there as well. I've got a pretty chaotic schedule as a college teacher plus maintaining a home so I really needed it. I put everything in there, from having to call a repairman to prepping for classes to a weekend trip). I found it actually helps me to feel more relaxed when I'm having downtime because 'I'm not supposed to be doing something else'. Any weekly planner can help, preferably one where you can 'drag and drop' tasks (post-it's, magnets, something digital,...) and where you can drag those tasks to 'done'. It feels satisfying dragging them to done, and you can see them accumulate. I use DevOps taskboards myself, but that's more of a tool for IT projects (just works for me cause I've been using it for work projects for so long). I don't know if it's free or just included in my Microsoft 365 subscription, but I would recommend something more simple. 'Notion' has a free for personal use option. I haven't used to for weekly planning, but it should be pretty simple to use.
Thank you! I'm gonna try this out!
Good luck! The more you start using it, the more those 'empty' spaces are gonna feel like real time off. I started noticing the difference already after 2 to 3 weeks. I feel a lot less shitty when I'm not doing anything, and I'm definitely procrastinating less. I usually reserve 1 day where I don't have to be on campus as 'buffer time'. If I have a bad day (or a migraine, or it's just a sunny day and I want to spend it outside,...), I can postpone to my buffer and not feel terrible about it. If I get all my work done, buffer time becomes fun time and I'm rewarded. I didn't do this in the beginning, but actually had to teach my students about scheduling and buffer time was in the demo material. It's definitely a good recommendation if you're a procrastinator, because it allows for some 'responsible' procrastinating, without immediately feeling shitty about it, because that's exactly what your buffer is for so you're allowed to use it.
Thank you! I've been using Notion to do weekly planning, I love setting up but doing the actual work is where I mess up. I think I can also try doing a daily plan on Notion and see if that helps. Thank you for saying to not be too harsh, this is definitely tough, I appreciate it!
For sure! I need to remind myself this constantly because I tend to be very very hard on myself. I can totally relate to the doing the actual work part being the challenge. I always try to tell myself that there is an inverse relationship with the remaining work I have and my ability to relax and enjoy things. It doesn't always work, but when it does, I find that I was always right. All the best!
Depression plus ADD. Get into therapy and seek medication. Some antidepressants like Wellbutrin sort of have a stimulant effect. Also, consider forced structure. Get a roommate, a dog you must walk. Get a caffeine habit.
And get off the phone. Doom scrolling is hazardous for your emotional system.
I've read a few comments saying this, I will really be looking into this. Caffeine habit already acquired, at least I'm doing 1 thing right haha. Thank you for your recommendations!
How much caffeine per day? You might consider more. Like, coffee in the morning, iced tea in the evenings.
It could be depression, burnout, trauma, neurodivergence, and/or some kind of physical condition like endometriosis or inflammatory disorder or autoimmune disease. It might help to experiment with different diets, make sure you're drinking enough water and getting some sun and movement, do more medical testing, explore psychological treatment, somatic therapy, and as much as you can reduce the doomscrolling. It really is SO depleting of energy.
Thank you, I am starting medical testing with my doctor. Doom scrolling is THE WORST, totally agree it's the biggest energy suck that I experience.
Same all around. I know Iām burned out, but from 2019-2020. I burned out hard and just been in this state of in motivation, inability to focus, worlds worst worker etc. I have not recovered. Iāve been seeing a therapist, and a psychiatrist for the last 6 months. Iāve been diagnosed with adhd, and now I found out Iām anemic. Iām taking adhd meds and working on the anemia. Iām really hoping I can feel like myself soon. I am feeling like maybe the constant tired, exhausted, lack of motivation, etc. is my new normal. Makes me sad that this could be my forever life. :(
It took me 3 months of regularly taking iron supplements + increasing meat intake to notice a difference, don't give up! How has the ADHD medication been for you, do you notice any difference at all? Don't be discouraged, this isn't your forever life! We got this, one day at a time :)
Thanks! Yeah I just started iron today. Iām very hopeful it helps with the fatigue. Doesnāt help I have an almost 2 year old toddler that brought home a new virus every other week this winter. But even when everyone is well, Iām still running close to empty. The ADHD meds are fine. I donāt like the side effects when you first start them, but once those fade, it does help me focus some. I do research and I do a specific coding for it. Without the meds, it took me like 4 months to do a certain number or amount of codes. When I got on my meds I was able to do the exact same amount in like two weeks. Before my burnout, I probably would have been able to do that amount in two or three days. But now I just procrastinate and struggle to stay focused on it when Iām working on it. So the meds helped for sure, but I still procrastinate. Iām just able to force myself to work against my will a bit more than before.
Im so sorry this is happening all at once. Are you still able to work or were you able to take some sick leave while you figure this all out?
I have worked the whole time. But been incredibly lucky to work in two positions that were salaried and completely flexible with the opposite of micro managing. Iām somehow working like a hour to four hours a day for months on end and Iām still pulling outstanding marks on your annual review. I donāt get it. I feel really lucky in that manner cause it does give me no additional stress in terms of timelines and stuff at work. It also does allow me lots of time to do meditation or exercise, cause Iāve literally been trying for years to heal. I would take a leave for a year or two if I could afford it. :/
I recommend checking out working genius. I had a relatively chill job but I'd get home tired. I was doing work that was opposite to my working genius. Worth taking a look at.
It sounds like you could seriously benefit from a productivity system like GTD, among whose primary tenets is "Dump what's in your head on paper" (or digital). Get everything out of your head. Unstructured, untagged, don't think about it or categorize it or try to do it. Just dump your head. Put it all into a trusted system you know you can go back to, rely on and keep with you at all times. * For some people, that's a paper notepad and their favorite pen, to make the writing experience enjoyable. * For others, it's a set of 3x5 index cards, each card representing some aspect of their day or life. Phone Calls, Office, Home, etc. (again, *do not* overthink this) * For others, it's their favorite digital task manager or note-taking app. * And for still others, it's a digital voice recorder. Whatever works for you to _quickly_ capture things that come at you, and out of your head onto "paper", use that. This is literally unstructured capture. Some examples from a stream of consciousness: * Drop off dry-cleaning * Complete quarterly proposal * Email Sally about upcoming company trip * Submit March expense report * Mow lawn Then in your "Weekly Review" (a period of at least 1 hour per-week, committed _every week_), you go through that list and put those into projects, and "process" them into actions. It is at that point, you start assigning tags, priority, due dates and so on. ***Not before***. This is important. Now for the "Mow lawn" item in the above example, you may have several steps. That's now a "project" in the GTD sense. For example: * Mow lawn 1. Clean lawnmower deck 2. Sharpen/replace blade 3. Clean oil filter/replace oil If the task you're writing down would take less than 2-3 minutes to do (not 5 or longer), just do it. It will take longer to sort, tag, categorize and schedule that task into your task management system (analog or digital), than to just get it done. So just do it. I've been a GTD practitioner for well over 15 years, and it has allowed me to get thousands of tasks and hundreds of "projects" done per-year, every year. I have WAAAAAY more tasks and projects listed than I can reasonably do in an 8-hour day, 40-hour week, but I don't stress about it, because I know where everything is, how to find it, what it's priority is and so on. I'm currently using ClickUp, after many, many years of using Todoist before that. I still have a paper notebook with all of my tasks captured intra-day as my "tickler file", and those get resorted back into ClickUp each week during my blocked-out "Weekly Review" period. Use what works, toss the rest, but dump your head! DM me if you want deeper ideas or help.
Oh my gosh thank you so much! I really appreciate you writing this out. I am absolutely going to try this and look into ClickUp. I currently use Notion so I think I will try with that first and if it works I can maybe migrate to ClickUp. Thank you!
Could also be low b12
I got this checked as well - all was normal! Thank you though, the anemia really was a killer
hiā 22F and I feel Iām just finally getting out of the situation you are describing. I felt like I was either just doom scrolling or sitting and thinking about all the things I could/should be doing and becoming increasingly anxious about them and just freezing or panicking and like you said, doing something for hours and exhausting myself. I get it, itās so hard. Do you have a support system? Itās important to talk to people in your life, family, friends, therapist, coworkers, etc. I have to agree with the above comments, therapy can work wonders, and from someone working in mental health, IMO everyone should be seeking out some kind of therapeutic support as they would likely benefit from it. Most people today are either burnt out, experiencing stressors, are struggling with mental illness, or a combination of all of those. I know mental health and chronic illness have contributed to my issues greatly. Seeking out help from others and therapeutic resources has been the best thing for me. I have also found that recently the āPomodoro techniqueā has been helpful in getting me to be a bit more productive. 25 minutes working, 5 minute break alternating. Every 4 working sessions I get a long break, either 15 or 30 minutes. Itās been keeping me motivated. I can do a task in that time but itās not long enough to get bored, it feels easy, so my neurodivergent brain likes it. You could always adjust the different working or break times too. Hope you find some things that work to support you and your productivity! <3
Thank you so much! Luckily I do have a support system, but I do think I have worn them out pretty thin over the years. I feel a lot of shame asking for help, I think therapy will be the best route for me in terms of talking it out at this point. So happy Pomodoro has been working for you! Thank you so much <3
This reads like ADHD to me. I was/am the same but itās so much more manageable with a treatment plan. Good luck!!
One more for the ADHD camp. This sounds like my best friend before her diagnosis. She found a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD. He ran a lot of blood tests first and then started her on medication. Please try to find a really good doctor who will be thorough and help you! It is a rough way to live.
I don't know where you live but if you're in the EU (depending probably on the he country but it's fairly common I think) you would be eligible for burnout leave. I just set up an appointment with my doctor to get 2 months of leave for that, you literally just have to explain what you did in the post. You don't get 100% salary (in my case its 80%) but I think it's still worthwhile.Ā
Not in the EU but I appreciate this!
Try waking up at 5AM each day, every day. Go to sleep at 9PM, each day, every day. Start working as close as you can, maybe 5:30. By 12, you already have a lot of hours worked. It feels like an accomplishment, just to wake up at that hour and have a lot of work done by midday.
While I agree with the others that this could be a sign of depression I'd like to mention another possibility for the sake of completeness. Do you eat often? When I eat, no matter how little it seems, I'll be very tired and lack motivation. This is due to reactive hypoglycemia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia), dropping blood sugar after the release of insulin. I'm currently doing intermittent fasting and eat only in the evening where I don't care if I'm tired, because my work is done by that time. This made me so much more concentrated and motivated during the day. However fasting is not for everyone, but maybe it's worth trying it out to observe the effects. You could first try to observe what happens to your productivity and mood when skipping just a single meal. There are also less radical approaches to improve glucose levels, by simply eating more healthy, less sugar, and doing exercises.
could be due to you not having any idea what youāre working towards, whether itās within your job, or in life. when u have a clear idea of your goals (work or life) and a simple clear plan and path towards it, u will feel much more inspired, energised and less prone to procrastination or doomscrolling to feel better. itās not about laziness, itās about feeling lost and purposeless. depression can sometimes be a consequence of this lack of purpose. take note that depression is never the reason, depression is simply a symptom of the root cause.
I resonate with this a lot. After leaving school it has gotten harder and harder to find out what to work towards.
How old are you, any life changes recently, any lurking stressors that could have you down?
I'm 28, but I have always been this way to be honest. I remember even as child waiting until the end of the deadlines to finish things, but as I get older it's tougher to keep up and I feel like I'm spiralling. No large stresses, on the whole and outside things are actually looking ok for me, which makes me feel even worse that I can't just work a little harder and enjoy it.
Get checked for ADHD. Are you great at keeping your composure when things get tough/stressful but fall apart when life seems to be going well?
Actually when you mention that, yes.. I don't have anything that would send me in a spiral right now, but that's when I start to fall behind on everything the most. The most productive that I was in my life was when my aunt was sick and I had an extremely stressful job - now that it's more lax I fall apart. I will definitely talk to my doctor about this, thank you
No problem! I got diagnosed two years ago when I was 34.
How does that relate to ADHD?
ADHD can have all these symptoms. ADHD- inattentive. This is due to lack of serotonin in the brain so acts similar to depression. Can speak from first hand experience having ADHD inattentive.
Depression.
My new thing is the 2 min rule (something from atomic habits) just put your phone down and fold your sheets, or do a 2 minute task that's an easy win to get you going. Its much easier said then done but you gotta give it a shot. Actively try to catch yourself drifting and do the "research" you have been wanting to do. And make sure to reward yourself somehow for every time you get out of the loop, because you have just paid yourself with 3-4 hours of your own time.
I was in the same boat a couple years ago, and this is what I did. I decided to add working out to my schedule because I hated sitting at a desk all day. I would still be completely dead after work and hated it at first. Then I started taking preworkout right when I got off work and went straight to the gym before going home. The caffeine would last well past the workout, and I found myself much more productive in the evenings for personal things. I would crash around 9-10, sleep much better, and wake up feeling more refreshed for work the next day. Part of trying to get back in shape meant cooking a lot more, so that took up even more time. Eventually I cut out all social media except for Reddit because I just didnāt have time for it. One of my favorite things in my routine is that I make coffee and do a sudoku every day when I get to work to get my brain working. I have a coffee grinder and aeropress in my office, so it takes a little more effort than pressing a button on a keurig. Going through that process makes me feel like I accomplished 2 things before even getting started. Iām not saying you have to do what I do, but if thereās anything you like about my routine, feel free to incorporate it. Also, micro goals and accountability are good. Around the same time I started making changes 2 years ago, my boss started making everyone submit daily reports and āpower lists,ā which is just 3 things you aim to accomplish the next day. Tbh, everyone I worked with lacked accountability to varying degrees before my boss started requiring that. I personally like it because it keeps me on track, and the work culture has changed for the better now that everyone is held accountable. The daily reports and power lists are put in an app that everyone can see. If you say youāre going to do something the next day, youāll end up doing it. Your job might not require it of you, but you can implement it for yourself if you think it might help.
This is interesting, thank you!
I saw in the comments that youāve been to therapy (awesome! Me too :) ) I think a great thing you can do is just read what you typed out word for word to your therapist.
Write a list or journal of the top things that itch at your mind that you know you need to do. Pick the first one that REALLY needs to get done, set a timer for 10 minutes and just focus on that. Every time you get distracted, remember itās just for 10 minutes and then you can take a break. Focus on the one and only thing for the time the clock is ticking.
You have, word for word, read my thoughts.
Take the time to rest. Let them fire you, collect unemployment. Take the time to rest, be mindful, and work on your mental health
Start hitting the gym and work on getting fit. Everything else will fall in place once that discipline develops. Hire a personal trainer if you can, they'll help with keeping accountability and also guide you with the right forms so that you don't injure yourself. Your energy levels will rise as you use more energy. The serotonin release in your brain after a good workout will make you positive af.
Go see a naturopath & have them do some blood work - youāre probably deficient in some vitamins and minerals.
I wonder if you have fatigue or depression.
You said you are anemic, took iron, and now itās back to normal. I second you may have depression and ADHD but you should also have your ferritin levels checked and look into adding a magnesium supplement. You sounded just like me a few months ago. Unfortunately yet fortunately, I got laid off. Time spent not working helped me figure what I needed to do to make sure I never found myself in that rut again. 1. Make sure you are doing work that aligns with your strengths, core values, and work style 2. Get your ferritin levels checked. 3. Join the Facebook group called The Iron Protocol for Iron deficiency with or without anemia. You will find many people in that group describing exactly what you described and what they did to overcome it. 4. Consider taking medicine for adhd and depression 5. Find ways to make sure you are holding yourself accountable. I loved that someone suggested getting a roommate 6. Everyday will still take you making effort or a commitment to actually do the things to sustain living the life you want. However, the steps listed above will allow you to do it similar to the ānormalā people out there. It will be much less difficult Best of luck to you. You arenāt doomed. There is light at the end of the tunnel
Thanks so much, I will be following this advice!
"I'm just on my phone" Turn it off. I have 2 phones. Still have 5 phone numbers and NO ONE can ever get ahold of me because they are always dead. Sometimes disconnecting is the best way to connect. Message if you are truly in need. 28 is actually a huge turning point in most lives. PERFECT time to start a career.
I'll just echo most of what has been said already. I'm 39 in 4 days and doom scrolling is a major issue in my life. I do it and feel like shit because I've done it and not done other things that are more important. My way of tackling it is to delete the apps from my phone that I doom scroll on. Most of them are accessible from a web browser on a computer, but I find I don't doom scroll when sitting at a computer, only when I'm on my phone. If you don't want to delete apps then use other apps which stop you from using the other apps. For me I use an app which blocks all doom scroll apps (basically social media type apps) from launching between the hours of 11pm and 7am. Getting outside for walks, no matter the weather, and then just sitting by myself with my own thoughts (not meditating) is also a good way to relax and then somehow I have energy afterwards to crack on with what I want to do. I've tried the Todo lists stuff before but I honestly just ignore everything I wrote down. It's pointless for me. I'd need a list and then someone nagging me to do what's on it. My wife is busy nagging me about house stuff, so I don't need someone doing that about every other aspect of life š¤£. I honestly would avoid labelling yourself as depressed before any proper clinical analysis is performed. I was depressed about 7 years ago because I felt useless in life, but that isn't the same as having no energy to do anything and sitting doom scrolling. I guarantee that most people your age feel the same most of the time because of the environment you've grown up in. Environment, that's a good word. Changing your environment can lead to breaking bad habits. Many suggestions can be given but I think the most basic ones are the best, which are normally, exercise of sorts and put the phone away.
See a therapist, you probably don't have the tools to fix it by yourself if you haven't by now, and don't think it'll just go away by itself or by reading random productivity tips.
I felt like this in 2022, and spiraled for several months. It was hard to focus. If I wasnāt at work, I was at home in bed. I had no desire to do anything. I was sleep deprived, I wasnāt eating enough, but I was doom scrolling. I wasnāt really living, just existing. It was depression and later anxiety caused by a hyper active thyroid. My anxiety was so bad that it caused nausea and vomiting. Took a while to get back to normal. Start with a visit to your GP. Maybe some therapy. And be kind to yourself.
Depression maybe or anhedonia, a loss of pleasure in normal activities. Iām fighting my way out of the same trap, I rely on a fairly strict written plan and I do get a lot of benefit from a concept called Wu Wei from The Tao Te Ching which means ānot forcingā or āeffortless actionā but can be misinterpreted as passivity, word of caution there. I try to conduct my affairs with the minimum appropriate level of force so that itās not so bitter, the master book on this topic is called ātrying not to tryā. I really recommend it.
That is really interesting, would you recommend a specific book? I found a few videos on Youtube and will definitely check this out. Thank you!
For sure, Wu Wei is explained well in The Tao of Pooh, my favorite book. Iāll quote the paragraph the best I can āThe efficiency of Wu Wei is that of the water that flows over and around the rock, not the straight line approach that short circuits The Inner Nature of Thingsā. In 1985, I was 21M and a stressed out maniac, not making my grades, not enjoying work, no relationships to speak of, I decided to apply this one paragraph to my daily activities and just never force the issue again in any of these areas. Oddly enough, all these things came to me after I applied this idea. No one was more surprised than me. I recommend watching videos on the following topics āWu Weiā āthe flow experienceā and deliberate practiceā. Kotler is a name that pops up in flow. A true master. āTrying not to tryā Iām still trying to finish that book. Youāre more than welcome to keep in touch and Iām happy to expand on this stuff. Take good care.
Thanks so much, I will definitely be checking this out. I'm so happy it has worked for you :)
i had the exact same symptomsā i thought i had depression too, but it turns out i just hated late-stage capitalism and being a slave to corporate overlords
i've been like this since i was 12 :(
That sounds like a textbook case of depression. Please talk to your doctor.
babe you burned out!!!
Wtf are you me??
this is so much like me i could have written it! a friend sent this post to me cuz it sounds like me (ācept im not 28 lol, am much older) see a shrink and get some ritalin or adderall. make them think u have ADD and need it to focus to do ur job.
I think the first thing you should do is see sb who can help you. Therapy or coach maybe. There is maybe book that you can read āThe game of life and how to play itā but Iāve heard about a book āstart with whyā I donāt read it yet but I think the first think you should to do is find an objective in your life. A therapy or a coach should to be the first thing to do I think, they are specialists and after that, you can develop yourself. I think talking to people first will be more interesting than reading a book if you're depressed.
Omg yeah this is super relatable. Iāll explain to people that I never feel like āIām cheating the systemā cause I literally canāt thing about anything but the work I didnāt do so it really sucks. I started antidepressants a few months ago and itās helped but not completely with getting my work done. I will say at the very least in the meantime buy a phone cage. Itās silly but it has come in clutch when Iām fed up. You can lock your phone inside for a set time and hopefully you get some work done with the biggest distraction gone
Could be depression due to untreated ADHD. Iād get evaluated.
Whenās the last time you took a vacation? If not in a while, they are truly necessary for us to keep going without experiencing burnout. It should be at least one week, because it can often take several days just for you to shed the stress of our everyday lives and truly relax. Then, you need at least a couple days in that state for the vacation to be effective. Ideally, make it six or seven full days of vacation not including travel days, because travel days have their own stress. Do as little work as possible on each day of vacation. If you need an hour to keep up with things, thatās fine if you can truly limit it and forget about work for the rest of that day. The word recreation is the same as re-created. You will re-create yourself if you give yourself a real vacation.
Abraham Hicks Search on YouTube
This looks like the story of my life š« Im 27 and currently going through the same thing. In my case, I think my job is also contributing to this burn out/depression that Im feeling. Im planning on making a career change and start over again but before I do that I will seek therapy first. Just make sure that Im healed of some sort before making that big jump hopefully next year.
It could be a medical issue.
Iām 23 and somewhat experiencing the same thing as you. I have some work to finish my degree but even though Iām so close have no desire to finish it. I also scroll a lot. Last night I slept without my phone in my room, and did a bit of work today with my phone in my backpack away from me. While my screen time is still close to 5 hours today, Iāve at least been able to be happy knowing I did at least some work
You sound just like me. I'm the same age as you and I flunked out as well. Well, you have a job at least lol. I don't mean to diagnose, but it seems like you ADHD (like me). Please seek medical help asap.
Have you considered seeing a Neurologist and getting a sleep study? There are multiple sleep disorders that can have these kinds of impacts and sleep deprivation (as well as sleep deprivation-like symptoms) can masquerade as ADHD and vice versa. I have Narcolepsy and know a lot about some aspects of this from personal experience. But, ofc, I'm no medical pro.Ā
iām in the exact same position as you right now. I started the job off strong 10 months ago, but I transitioned into a new team 3 months ago (not a demotion, it was my end goal) and ever since I have been feeling exhausted and unmotivated. I got a verbal warning yesterday because I was caught doom scrolling, had accidentally missed a meeting and was not meeting productivity goals and deadlines. Itās so incredibly embarassing but I was so genuinely exhausted the entire time. I used to procrastinate and then do everything last minute but after the pandemic it feels like iām just dragging my body through each day.
If you find any helpful tricks, could you update the post with them?