This is tough with big projects. Even if I manage to face my task paralysis and get started once, a big project is going to require that I can do it again and again until the project is done, and it seems to get more difficult each time. Too many of my projects are left half-finished, and if a lot of time passes from when I last visited to the project to now, I feel like I've completely lost track of where I was and what I was doing. I often end up scrapping all that previous progress and starting over.
There are some words that Ali dropped in this video that I went straight to Canva and created those works on a simple graphic and used it for my phone lockscreen and homescreen saver. Whenever I look at that statement, it keeps me going and more productive, so far today I feel good about myself
Would this be why I want to go to bed at a specific time but my brain is like heck with that lets watch more RU-vid.....untill I am actually physical tired?
How can you tell what 1% of a project is going to be if the project isn't complete yet? What is 1% of writing a novel that you need to research, create characters, a world structure, plot, etc? How can you know what the steps are and what constitutes 1% of a finished project? And how do you prioritize if you have ADHD? That is literally one of the deficits. Being told to assess priorities is like being told to buckle down and focus... okay. How? I am waiting to hear the tools
The first part is semantics. 1% is just an arbitrary number they’re using to say “define a small chunk of your task - even really small is perfectly fine - and be okay with “only” completing that chunk today with the knowledge that after doing this consistently over time, you will have completed the whole task.” In the case of your novel, 1% could be just hashing out a semi-important supporting character’s personality, the next 1% could be their background, and so on. The point is just to define a chunk of your task that’s so “unreasonably reasonable” to achieve that you would be hard pressed to feel like you couldn’t complete it, or at least make some substantial progress on it. Prioritizing can be challenging, but in my experience it can be done either by narrowing down to either the fundamentals (What’s the thing that if I do it, it would make doing everything else easier to do? Of all of these important tasks, which are the ones that need to be done soonest or will need the most time to do and so should be started sooner?) or the quickies (little things that you could do just to build some productivity momentum, or things you know will nag at you and possibly derail you later if you don’t get them out of the way first, like paying bills or making important phone calls). Sometimes you have to remain vigilant, and sometimes you have to be flexible. A recent change that I started implementing today is that I know that I personally have to start my day with the big important task, or I’ll end up on a completely different train and accomplish way less than I intended to, if anything at all by the end of the day. So in the morning, my priority is to put in an hour on my project before I even eat breakfast, because I have a habit where I like to watch something while eating meals, which often becomes a huge timesink by accident. In the afternoon however, provided I did that 1st hour, my priority might actually switch from the task to eating lunch, because as long as “it’s past noon, I should eat lunch” is bouncing around in my head, it will be hard for me to focus. Working through lunch isn’t necessarily something to be applauded for anyways, so it’s okay to make it a priority at that time (instead of burning all of your willpower anyways trying to resist it because you feel like you haven’t done enough of the task). The key is to be honest with yourself about your habits and cues. Enjoying a complete breakfast while watching stuff is a relaxing way to start the day to be sure, and making sure you’re eating well should always be a “priority”. But if it comes at the cost of wasting the rest of the day because you started off on the wrong foot, then maybe it shouldn’t be THE priority, and maybe just a banana and coffee is fine enough to get you started on the right path for the day. Assessing priorities might actually be a lot easier than you think - the biggest priority is often the thing we’re looking forward to doing the least. Be real with yourself, and question whether or not your trouble with prioritizing is not in fact an elaborate, unknowingly self-devised scheme to try to justify doing anything else BUT the thing(s) you know you need to do but are avoiding for some reason or another. As said in the title of Ryan Holiday’s book on stoicism, “the obstacle is the way”. This might be another way to sniff out what your highest priorities are at a given time.
Just...do it. And when you feel that inner uh I hate this FEEL THAT & let it pass. When I was working I always did what I hated to do FIRST. Then a) I got it out of the way & didn't dread it all day & b) I ended up not bothered by it at all. I don't know...for me I have only so much energy...to spend 8 hours a day 5 days a week at a job that pays less than 15 an hour is JAIL...why pay a grand a month for a place I'm only in 2 days a week? Eight-hour days are really 9 hours, I'm ready for sleep at 6:30 or 7. I wish there were realistic takes on how quickly add ppl burn what little energy they have. Also I'm EASILY bored, and 4 or 5 hour workdays make a lot more sense for me. I really resent the whole BS situation. This is what happens when the wrong people are running things.
Yeah, but what about when you’re a mother a wife and you work and you’re the only one that cleans you’re the only one that does chores you’re the only one that cooks when you’re trying to further your education to to do some thing to start a little side hustle -a business idea that has come as a result of my hobby, which is also the only hobby I’ve ever had honestly, but it’s also some thing that helps me with the other issues that I deal with which is low self-esteem, and body image issues, body dysmorphia, possibly because I often feel like a giant you know unless I am like bone skinny because I have that body type that is a smaller upper body and a larger, lower body and I feel like I have like big bones compared to a lot of people and it’s not always there but sometimes when I’m comparing myself to others I feel like a giant neither a literal 7 foot giant but I like a large woman my daughters are very athletic build also when people say that about them. Oh they’re so tall and athletic. They’re so strong. But what about someone like me when 24 hours is not enough it feels and I end up staying up all night long unproductive time don’t get anything done and then it spirals into me never living up to my full potential and it’s not 70 things on my list, but everything is time consuming
Thank you guys! This was very intresting Im just founding out about this whole paralisis thing. Wow Im a perfectionist that doesnt achieves! This is crazy! I though that it wasnt possible an Oximoron. Why does navigating life is so difficult?
But how many people are working on a dissertation?? The average adult with adhd isn't having problems in college... they graduated college, got their degree but their life becomes unmanageable and they arnt successful bc they never hand In that application, they don't pay their bills on time even tho they have the money, they don't get dressed sometimes until 5 pm bc everything gives them anxiety or they don't have a concept of time. Just saying. Sorry if this was mean
You just do it using strategies or by automating the process. Set up an alarm to pay bills/ sign up for autopay. Choose clothes night before/ at the beginning of the week.
It’s almost like we’re all different…I have diagnosed ADHD and followed this video perfectly, especially since me understanding/processing is kinda delayed.
