I just realised that I am undergoing a relapse into procrastination. I made a mistake in a project 2 days ago that requires me to go back and begin a certain element of that project over again, a clean start, rather than trying to repair it. I have been procrastinating for the last day and a half, not getting it done... I'm doing a bunch of other things like laundry, talk on the phone, write this up on this website, Oh! and look... Startrek is on TV!

This is the first relapse I've had since beginning medication (methylphenidate). I had actually forgotten what it feels like to procrastinate, since things were going so well. I guess it's not that bad since I've only been "off" (I'm still on medication) for a day and a half. I used to go a month without getting anything done, and I didn't even know why, and I'll I could do was get frustrated. Maybe this is all due to the holiday weekend, it's often hard to get back into the groove of work after taking an extended time off.

Anyone else ever have these relapses, and do you have any suggestions about how to get back on track? It occurred to me that this might mean that I've reached some sort of tolerance level of my meds?

I think most of us even those who really manage their ADHD very well still procrastinate. I know for me understanding why I am procrastinating or avoiding something is helpful. Somtimes I don't know where to start with a project and if that's the case making a list of steps helps me. Also remember that while medication is helpful for most people who choose to take it, it doesn't teach skills.

Motivation tends not to come in a pill or a bottle (ok, well if you're depressed then an anti-depressant can restore lost motivation, and we've all heard of Dutch Courage).

I suggest you put the project out of your head for a day or so, then go get some fresh air & exercise, then throw yourself at the project and remind yourself to focus on the goal and ignore the fact that you have to redo things.

I think most of us even those who really manage their ADHD very well still procrastinate. I know for me understanding why I am procrastinating or avoiding something is helpful. Somtimes I don't know where to start with a project and if that's the case making a list of steps helps me. Also remember that while medication is helpful for most people who choose to take it, it doesn't teach skills.

Exactly!

I still struggle with procrastination, and it's such a difficult thing. Tara is absolutely right though. Medication is only one half of the management of ADD. If you are relapsing into procrastination it might mean a medication 'tune up' is in order. But bear in mind, you have to ensure that you have the resources to help you finish projects.

Yes, you are all right. I'm screwed by my own hubris!. I shouldn't move to fast to blame the medication, it is a skills issue, and I am still learning.

Man...

I've been on the meds since last June and haven't conquered the procrastination issues yet, if that makes you feel any better. :o

In fact, if you've got some sort of tip about what worked for you (in addition to the medication), I am ALL EARS! :rolleyes:

Sandy

Asking for advice on procrastination, on a forum for people with ADD/ADHD while procrastinating! LOL - I'm doing it to! Sometimes I think I need a buddy like the guys at AA or the weightloss people have, that you can then phone when you start screwing around. Just some one to talk to that can then help you re-align your thoughts and get you working a little. Procrastination after all is a symptom of boredom and having some one to speak to and motivate you will help do something about the boredom anyway.

i have always been able to work under pressure better than when i plan ahead and have lots of time on my hands. hence, poor time management and procrastination!! i really need to kick this bad habit. i'm currently taking Wellbutrin but am going to see a doc about adding another like adderall or ritalin, hoping that will help - but these posts aren't very encouraging. i literally put things off until the last minute so i have no choice but to do it. but i eventually do it, thank goodness. i've always envied the people who are able to start writing a paper 3 months ahead of the deadlines. oddly, i am a medical writer so this is my life. but the good thing for me is that i have a boss and clients to answer to and give me milestones that i must hit, so it keeps things moving along. still, hitting each milestone means pulling an all nighter, or two...

i've always envied the people who are able to start writing a paper 3 months ahead of the deadlines. oddly, i am a medical writer so this is my life. but the good thing for me is that i have a boss and clients to answer to and give me milestones that i must hit, so it keeps things moving along. still, hitting each milestone means pulling an all nighter, or two...

...or.... uh.... five?

Yup. I hear you. I'm getting too old for it, though. The all-nighter routine doesn't work anymore...

I don't think that I procrastinate out of boredom, to be honest. There's something else going on with it. Writing is really the only thing that causes me to procrastinate. I do everything else just fine. It's getting the ideas out of my head and onto paper in a coherent fashion, and it seems to require hyperfocus and (really) hypomania, for me.

But no more. I'm almost 42, and my body's just said enough. So now I'm in a bit of a no-woman's-land... :(

Ah! I think my problems in a nut-shell come down to procrastination. It seems to go in "phases". When I change meds up or my dose, I seem to do great for a month or two. If I get a new client or have new projects, I do great. If I have a client "pushing me" for something, ie... setting deadlines and a squeaky wheel, I tend to be gladly able to render oil.

But... sometimes I get to the point I SHUTDOWN. I can't do anything I need to do, but can do other things I don't need to do or that are not in a related sphere of what I am avoiding.

What REALLY brings me to a halt is when I know I need to do project A, B or C... but I can't seem to focus or even start or continue those projects, but I have D-Z of things unrelated that need done, but have no bearing on my income or need to be done now. So... I feel BAD if I do D-Z items or some of them... knowing A, B & C are hanging their looking at me needing to be done. So, I tend to do NOTHING.

But, I have learned over time that doing SOMETHING on my TODO (Next Action) list IS BETTER than NOTHING at all. So, my TODO list does get shorter, just not shorter in areas it should be. But, that can be helpful in at least "feeling productive". But I constantly struggle with that, feeling guilty.

I WISH I knew what caused this FOG to set in. Although it always seems to be related to being 60-80% done with projects, the fog sets in then. I have the hardest time finishing the last bricks in the path to get it completed.

I have found that once I get those things hanging over my head done and just DO THEM... that I feel like a million bucks and ready to take on more projects to procrastinate again and start the cycle all over. :D

There are times with me when things seem to be going fine. Then all of a sudden I shut down and don't want to do anything but sit on the sofa and watch tv. Medication doesn't always seem to help either. Right now I'm taking some college courses that started in Jan 08. I started with four classes, now I'm down to two. I've known what my assignments are from day one. Now with about a month left of school, I'm about half way done with the assignments. I've had plenty of time to do them, but I seem to focus better when I'm in a time crunch. For some reason I've always been that way. I actually seem to do ok on tests when I study at the last minute. Then I always wonder if I might have gotten a better grade if I could have focused and made myself study earlier.

What REALLY brings me to a halt is when I know I need to do project A, B or C... but I can't seem to focus or even start or continue those projects, but I have D-Z of things unrelated that need done, but have no bearing on my income or need to be done now. So... I feel BAD if I do D-Z items or some of them... knowing A, B & C are hanging their looking at me needing to be done. So, I tend to do NOTHING.
That is SO true for me too! I have just become aware of this in the last year or so. If I have something I am procrastinating, even long term procrastinating over months, I cannot bring myself to do anything else, since I can't justify taking time to do one thing, when something more important needs to be done. Of course I don't go and do the more important thing. So - nothing gets done at all.

It's a crippling dilemma. Procrastination, for me, is the absolute worst part of having ADD. I always know what I need to do, what needs to get done, even if it means that finances and business ties hang precariously in the balance, and doing things last minute or playing catch up is never satisfying. Taking meds only helps half the time, because it's great for starting things off, but following through on them is entirely another story. I hate the way being medicated makes me feel. I might actually be successful if I could force myself to do these things in a timely fashion, and do them well. You know it's bad when even guaranteed money has trouble motivating you.

It's a crippling dilemma. Procrastination, for me, is the absolute worst part of having ADD. I always know what I need to do, what needs to get done, even if it means that finances and business ties hang precariously in the balance, and doing things last minute or playing catch up is never satisfying. Taking meds only helps half the time, because it's great for starting things off, but following through on them is entirely another story. I hate the way being medicated makes me feel. I might actually be successful if I could force myself to do these things in a timely fashion, and do them well. You know it's bad when even guaranteed money has trouble motivating you.


Are you my twin?

I am exactly that. Couldn't have said it better myself. I could double, triple and likely quadruple my income if I could just do the work as it comes in and not put it off, not sit and stare at it or whatever else goes through my head.

I have narrowed down my primary obstacle.

I get 80% done with a project, and I can't complete it. I enjoy the first 50%, and that steam rolls me through to about 80%, but then I'm done. I'd rather start another project, than complete the one in front of me. I can easily go get 200 paying projects, line them all up, start working on them all... but I can't seem to finish any of them - whether they pay or not. No matter how much I'd get paid.

Obivously, I will EVENTUALLY finish them, more out of guilt and trying to get over the "last 20% anxiety". I know that I feel like a million dollars if I finish up projects. But, I also need something constantly NEW to keep me going.

So, the very thing I need that keeps me going... is the very thing that stops me in my tracks and causes depression. My "inventor" mind seeks few successes because of my "slacker" mind.

What I like about my ADHD meds, is that I don't have the desire to get up and go all the time and "do something"... but I rarely "do anything" when I am in that mode by wonder around and move and think... I should be working. With ADHD meds, I just sit here and think... I should be working.

After a couple of days I realised that making a mistake on one element of the project and having to go back and start over again made the project boring to me. It was boring to have to back and have to redo the same thing over again. That in itself isn't surprising, it's boring to everyone to have to redo some mundane task.

I basically just skipped over that step, left it on the back burner, and proceeded with project. Doing so took some will power, and I wasn't really into it. I limited all extraneous distractions, no music, closed the blinds, no people around, and just forced myself to do it as best I could. After a while I just slipped into work mode and kept going. When I realised that I was on a roll I went back to the mistake and finished it. It was basically painless and I didn't think about it to much. So, I used some new and interesting work to get my mind in the "zone", and then I switched tasks, transferring the revived energy to the redo.

I hope that makes some sense.

that is so true, despite all the medication etc.. procrastination is still "a silent killer" and oh my god...im doing it now! Im at work and were moving the shop and although i should be packing stuff while everybody is busy at the new place im stuck on what to do so im drifting into procrastination land already. Damn, gotta get back to work!
Procrastination, i hate you!

It happens to me that I even procrastinate going back home from work ... seriously

I don't have anything left to do, I can leave the office, I don't like my job, I like staying at home, but I wait for the very last time .... isn't that weird?

Has anybody experienced the same thing?

It happens to me that I even procrastinate going back home from work ... seriously

I don't have anything left to do, I can leave the office, I don't like my job, I like staying at home, but I wait for the very last time .... isn't that weird?

Has anybody experienced the same thing?
Yes, I will procrastinate getting ready to go to dinner and I will be looking forward to it. I have it bad today, not a lot of motivation and only got about half the work I wanted to do, done. I will do a little work, watch tv/or computer, and repeat.

It's a crippling dilemma. Procrastination, for me, is the absolute worst part of having ADD. I always know what I need to do, what needs to get done, even if it means that finances and business ties hang precariously in the balance, and doing things last minute or playing catch up is never satisfying. Taking meds only helps half the time, because it's great for starting things off, but following through on them is entirely another story. I hate the way being medicated makes me feel. I might actually be successful if I could force myself to do these things in a timely fashion, and do them well. You know it's bad when even guaranteed money has trouble motivating you.

This is exactly how I feel about procrastination. the medication does not make me feel bad, but it does not really help either (tried Strattera and Concerta so far).