I mean things like, deep clean the oven, the windows, the carpet. Run all the errands you need to, return the cans in the garage, purge your closet and haul things to goodwill…I feel overwhelmed by tasks. Every once and while I’ll get a spurt of energy and do it. But it lingers for a long time before I choose to tackle it, and I want to be more disciplined and motivated to not avoid all the time consuming tasks. Spring feels like a great time to reset and do a deep purging and cleaning, but how do you get started and keep motivated? Does anyone else struggle with this?
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I take adderall
Concerta
I have ADHD and I’d never get that stuff done otherwise. Or laundry.
I tell myself that if I don’t want to do it now, I definitely won’t want to do it later, so I may as well do it now so I don’t have to do it later. It’s a nice thing to do for future me
I make lists and work through them one at a time. Or I look at the list, get overwhelmed all over again, and do nothing.
For things where I have to take something somewhere else, I just try to put it on my calendar to do it on the way to/from somewhere else. So if I’m going for a hike Saturday morning, I’ll put the stuff in my car and take it to goodwill on the way home.
Other things I have on a list and just kind of plan for them around other things I have going on. I know I’ll never want to do anything like that on a weekend afternoon, so I’ll put it on my calendar for a weeknight after work when I have nothing else going on, or a Saturday/Sunday morning when there’s nothing else to do. FWIW, I always choose doing something more interesting than cleaning on a weekend. I’d rather have a dirty oven then skip a gorgeous Saturday hike.
I use my calendar and day planner. It get’s em exicted and I have some kind of treat or reward for myself after.
3rd for ADHD meds. This sounds very much like how I operate and vyvanse (via a psychiatrist) helps.
invite someone over
Girl watch the “how long does it actually take” series on TikTok.
I have small spurts of motivation, which is always fun, and I get things done. But you can’t always wait to be motivated to do things. This is where discipline comes in.
It helped when I accepted that I just have to do things even when I’m not motivated. I struggle with it still. Sometimes, I just have to make the decision to get something done and then shut off my brain and almost disassociate while I complete the task.
I set a timer for an hour and do as much as I can. Sometimes that’s all I can do, Sometimes having started I’ll do more. Depends on my energy and health.
Some days even an hour is too much so I find one small task and do that. Eg. I might not have the ability to clean the whole bathroom but I can manage cleaning the sink and bench. Tomorrow I can scrub the toilet. If I’m still not doing well I can do the shower the day after that. I’ve learnt to prioritise tasks- dust is annoying but it’s less important than clean dishes and a sanitary kitchen bench.
I struggle with it also. Some things I feel I “should” do but just don’t care. Some things I do, some things I don’t. I have no problem washing laundry, but I almost never put it away. I leave it in a pile on the chair. It’s an ongoing battle.
Create a high-energy playlist. Take a pre-work out gummy. Then get into it.
I really don’t wait for motivation- otherwise I would never do things. I just have a list and put it on the calendar. I’ll throw on an audiobook while I’m doing it.
Also, consider if you really don’t want to do it then maybe it’s not that important. Hire someone to do what you can.
I stopped working for free, so everything I don’t have to do, I don’t do.
Whatever the annoying thing is, I do that first. This works out pretty well for me. I know once I get the one annoying thing done, everything else is a cake walk. Also setting a timer helps. I hate when there are a few dishes in my sink at night. I want to walk into a clean kitchen and bathroom in the morning. So I set my timer for 9 minutes and clean what I can. This always is enough to finish my dishes for the night and wipe my counter. 10 minutes is some psychological time barrier to me so I use 9 because in my head I’m rounding that down to an insignificant block of time in my day. It just works for me.
Break down task to smallest thing possible.
I know that some days I just wont have the motivation. I listen to that. Let myself nap etc. the motivation comes back and it’s often connected to my cycle
Thinking about the task, walking past the undone task, is far more work than just doing the damn task. It’s truly incredible what one person can accomplish if you just do the things. Then it’s no longer on your mind. That’s plenty motivation for me because the mental load is more agonizing than accomplishing the ‘dreaded task’. And then after it’s done, I feel a sense of accomplishment instead of dread.
Balance app has been nice.
I like to put on music, set a timer and tell myself do shit for 30 min. If I want to keep going I keep going, if I don’t I stop.
Try to adopt a ‘put your shoes on’ mentality, it’s kinda hard to articulate but I’m going to try.
Rather than sitting there and thinking about all the things you need to do once you leave the house, just tell yourself you’re going to put your shoes on. There’s something about a small completed task that helps motivate you towards moving to the other things that need to get done. Once your shoes are on, you’re likely to find yourself more motivated to move out the door.
It works for cleaning too. “I’m just going to make the bed” > “Eh, I’m already up, I should put the laundry in the basket” > “Might as well start a load since I’ll be home this morning”.
For the irregular stuff, schedule it in your schedule. Rather than letting all those once a season tasks pile up as a task list you have to choose from, next saturday, block 2 hours to change out and sort your clothes. In 2 weeks, block out 2 hours to dust your baseboards and vaccuum your vents, etc etc.
As you get into more and more positive habits, you’ll find your motivation comes more often. It’s kinda like going to the gym regularly, the first few months are hard but after a while your brain learns how much better you feel when you get the task done and you start looking forward to it.
I set a 15 minute timer and tell myself that if I really don’t have it in me by the time it goes off, I can stop. Usually by then, I want to keep going, so I set another and another and another until it’s done.
It’s sort of like breaking it down into small chunks, and it gives me an out.