AddLemmus
I get 0 done without lists. People laugh about my lists, because every tiny detail has to be on it. So let’s say I’m in the situation you described, and it’s 10:30 am. What I’d tell myself is: There isn’t even a list, so let’s make a list, and if it’s the last thing I’ll do before lunch.
The list is quite often as detailed as:
- decide which task / ticket to work on
- ask coworker for advice what is suitable
- assign myself to the task
- read the task start to end
- understand the task
- reproduce the problem (if it’s like a bug that needs fixing) … and so on
Then, even in my worst state, I can tell myself: You can check off just the next item. That’s not overwhelming, that’s not too much.
Stainless steel for me, too. For most dishes, sticking isn’t much of an issue, and where it’s a bit harder, such as sunny side up eggs, I rather have that little challenge than to deal with cast iron. Or non-stick, which scratch and poison the entire family if I ever pet it with the wrong side of the sponge.
Btw, it actually was kind of complex:
- have a small, 0-installation one delivered
- many pain points, though: 5 litres have to be filled in at the top slowly and painfully, and it can just hold plates, bowls and glasses for 2 people. still doing pods and pans by hand
- to fix the first pain point, got a water tank with a tap. there is mould every 3 - 5 months though from the constant moist at the bottom that doesn’t pour out completely
- after that one broke, finally got a “real” one delivered
- the delivery guys were not able to install it, although that was part of the package
- I did my own research how to do it properly, measured stuff, ordered parts and did it myself. They should really bring a variety of parts and adapters, even at inflated prices, when they deliver!
- happily ever after
When I’m in my own messy kitchen, I can’t find a starting point. I feel like I’d have to be this big octopus creature that stands in the middle and does a thing with each tentacle simultaneously: Threw this into the garbage, put that into its place, start a heap of things that need to go into different rooms, clean neglected things such as the area behind the sink, clean the floor and main surfaces (but there is too much stuff on it even if I had the 10 tentacles), do dishes, put clean dishes away, throw out expired food from every shelf and the fridge, complex sequences such as bagging the garbage -> put new garbage bag in …
Dishwasher was also my first thought. I “tried” to get one for over 20 years, but finally did it less than 2 years ago.
The complexity of getting one threw me off for 2 decades. Which model? How to deliver? How to install? How to get an extra water-in and water-out installed? Make appointments with technicians? Same company that sells & delivers the dishwasher or a different one?
For singles, a simple small one that requires nothing and can be filled with water manually is a good hack to get started. These can often be installed properly later for less hassle.
Yes, weird with the teacher relationships. A kid from my class, strong on the hyperactive side, was really hated by some teachers. One threatened to beat him up in front of the whole class, another (of the super nice relaxed ones) just threw him out with a book to study on his own in the hallway. I suspect that he never did a single line of homework or studying at home, but his test grades were too good to let him fail.
I don’t have hyperactivity. The best teacher I had really hated me, because he was all about punctuality, reliability, discipline - totally not my approach to math. His teaching was great, I didn’t forget a single lecture to this day, and it allowed me to get all the math course certificates for a STEM field later, although I never finished the degree. A few STEM teaches though realised that my obsession with electronics and programming was really getting somewhere and tried to motivate me to put in the time in related fields, but I never put any work in, and only for computer science was that enough to still ace it.
My own son is even stronger in the extremes. He is barely old enough for his grade, but already has to take math in the grade above. Can’t skip, because his reading & writing is just on par (although in two languages). But he is extremely disruptive. His teachers seem like they understand that he puts in the same mental effort to focus and sit still, just with worse results than the average. And they support my suspicion that he has ADHD and should get tested. Well, will probably take 4 - 6 months to get an appointment, and another 4 - 6 months until there is a diagnosis.
Amazing about the comments is that while a majority seems to “deliver” when the pressure is on, they split 50/50 on whether they feel great during it or suffer greatly, no middle ground.
I’m definitely in the 2nd group. I can get it done if the alternative has horrifying consequences, but it’s not a good feeling.
Maybe two things are mixed up, though. One is like a thing where not doing it is horrible, such as vet appointment for the pet, crucial last deadline at work, kid’s birthday party. The other is like working in a high stress environment, like a project where everything is on fire and under pressure, it’s not about our condition, or an emergency situation like a sinking ship.
I, personally, suffer greatly in the former, but less than the average person in the latter.
This is certainly very helpful as it is. The way I had to live below my potential, I need only like 50 good days in a year. If things don’t work out as I hope, I could use Methylphenidate 50 times per year to achieve that.
Overall, I thought there is not such a clear separation between the euphoria and fixing the ADHD symptoms, as both are caused by noradrenalin, among other things. However, after some reading today, I realise that the intended effect of the medication works with such neurotransmitters in the prefrontal cortex and can very well do so over years, while euphoria is caused by the same neurotransmitters, but elsewhere.
Definitely a good approach, maybe for people like ourselves even more so. But for it to work with my chaotic finances, I’d probably need a business account and pay myself a regular wage. If I’d do things in such an orderly fashion, I’d probably not be here in the first place, and we’d never have met :-)
I was afraid it might be like that. Also quite possible that the euphoria does part of the job, so I actually need more. Low dose opioids have a similar effect on me - I’m euphoric, I get things done. So currently, it might even be like 60 % euphoria, 40 % noradrenalin, explaining that I need only 12 mg when the lowest child dose even is 20 mg. I might end up with something like 30 mg.
The danger I see is that I think I need to up the dose to match the euphoria from the start, while I actually need to get to the point where it’s 0 % euphoria, 100 % noradrenalin.
Very much simplified, if not wrong, as noradrenalin might be a main contributor to the euphoria.