Autism

Just do something, even if it's a terrible idea.

Example: I need to put up this shelf. I'll get my tools. But first I need to find the right position, measure, make sure it's level, line up the guide holes...well, before I pick the position, I should check for studs. Where's the stud finder? Oh, I need a pencil too. And those magic sponges. Do I need to buy more of those? HOLY SHIT, IT'S BEEN TWO HOURS AND I'VE DONE NOTHING?

Drills hole in wall.

Ok. Now there's a big hole in the wall. I need to resolve that before my wife comes home in an hour. That's motivating. Let's see if i can cover that with a shelf.

Tell someone something is already done and that you’ll show them later.

Panic is a wonderful motivator.

today I wanted to sew up a hole in the shirt I wanted to wear so I sat at the sewing machine shirtless so that every time I would try to get up to go do something else, my tits being out would remind me oh yeah I want to sew this fucking hole in the shirt before I do anything fucking else.

unfortunately I wasn't able to finish setting up the sewing machine before my roommate needed me for something, so I just put on the shirt. it still has a hole. 😑

Mentioned it before but: Watch a show with crazy but functional characters until mirror-neurons/code-switching/whatever-the-hell-it-is kicks in and you start being able to act and think like them. Then do the task as that character. The more unhinged the character the better because then it’s just fun to kinda larp them in your head as you do your task, and it takes your mind off of the task itself but still gets you to do the task.

Also very helpful for writing essays btw. Like if normally you write essays “like a robot” just pick someone who speaks with charisma and write the essay in the way you think they would. I’m not joking, it really helps

I just don't eat till the evening.
Hunger triggers a caveman response of "you need to work to get food" which keeps me productive.

in college, I made a separate user that had no video games installed and knew none of my passwords. I made myself go to the library at a set time and had to stay for a set duration of working hours. I also used a social media blocker. Eventually it stopped working though and I would sit there and do nothing versus start.

Blasting my brain out with really loud music usually helps.

Besides that, my brain is a lot either/or.

I am not great a eating balanced, getting a balanced amount of exercise, or doing anything else balanced.

When I went to university, I either studied 10h/day every day, or I did not study at all.

As soon as I start slacking on my own extreme goals for specific task, I lose almost all ability to get that thing done.

It's extreme or nothing, it is now or not now.

I read a book that convinced me that anything I thought I 'should' do was completely optional. I did the 'had to's as I'd always done, and if a 'should' came up I did it if I felt like it and was able to not worry about it if I didn't. It was a pretty nice week. Therapist laughed at it when I told them, and that was the end of that.

Not getting stuck in the first place. From the moment i wake up i keep going until everything is done or it's evening.

Sitting down for too long and taking a rest is a good way to lose momentum.

Getting arrested.

I wasn't arrested, but held for questioning because my car was near the scene of the incident. So I had to wait there for 30 minutes and give a statement.

Those 30 minutes, I was having a ball thinking creatively.

Induce panic. Just spiral out of control about that shit until you get the adrenaline, then start doing coping mechanisms to get the anxiety to a level you can function but you can only function on the thing you're specifically freaked the fuck out about.

It ain't good for you, but it works in a pinch

Buy absolutely miniscule amounts of food so hunger drives me out of my house to get things done.

Jokes on you (well, actually me), I don't have one! I'm just stuck and the only thing that helps that is another person making me do it.

ketamine. Doesn't work anymore, don't try it

but there has been at least three times I took some k and for some reason I got this primal, savage and wild urge to clean my house

why? idk

I saw alcohol mentioned a few times in the comments and I get it, but please be careful with it. Neurodivergence and alcohol is a match made in hell. (For me it was. I have no right to speak for anyone else, TBH.)

Thankfully, it's just the standard doses of amphetamines and caffeine for me these days.

(Alas, I am stuck in a hell of an anxiety loop right now, and can't get some super important stuff done and can't crack out of this, for whatever reason. Booze has crossed my mind a few times, but I am fairly positive my next bender would be my last.)

Stare at a wall for 15min. At some point I actually tart tripping

Back in school, like secondary and high school, I used to drink to get my homework done and essays written in time. A sip between pages, or when it started to get hard to think. I quit drinking to smoke herbs and suddenly dropped out because I fell too far behind with all the essays, "weird."

When cleaning and organizing, no breaks. Break means I sit down until I head to bed, so the only option is to push until everything is done and/or I crash. Drinking plenty of water and not going to bathroom also helps, like "I can go to pee once I do this.. Okay I forgot, but I can go once I get this other thing done.. Oh, well after this.."

Also blasting fast music helps, I can dance and daydream while getting stuff done without thinking too much. But that might backfire and cause me to zone out too, slip into the daydreams and dancing. But that's good for my head too, so ehh.

I misunderstood this as hacks to get adhd people stuck.

White lithium grease usually does the trick.

Bad part is that it leaves residue everywhere.

I wake up at 2 am to get things done, because everything is quiet and I can peacefully zone out to music on my headphones. My problem now is that both my awake cat and my sleeping husband want me to stay in bed and it’s a lot harder to convince myself to get up anyway.

This isn't a hack, but I try to do one thing at a time now.

If I'm cleaning the house and I'm tempted to deep clean a drawer or do some side quest that isn't actually the thing I should be going, I'll take note, say out loud "damnit focus, that isn't going to help right now" and regroup.

It's frustrating, but giving into my impulses is usually what makes shit take forever and never get done.

Also lots of caffeine and THC seems to help (?).

One of these days I'm going to try getting diagnosed for ADHD and get medicated, but making phone calls to do that and talking to someone sounds like a nightmare. That would be a truly unhinged solution for me.

Have a child. They'll remind you when you're getting distracted again.

Micro dosing THC, like if a dose is 10 (mg?) I eat 2.5. Not enough to feel the effects at all, weed usually makes me so stupid and totally unproductive, but weirdly, a small amount focuses me. I'm like just zoned enough to not over think anything, but totally present enough to complete everything i need to do, well.

Beyond that, no breaks, no eating, just coffee. I can get a ton done, the bit of hunger also focuses me. In this mode, I just let the productivity flow, and don't try to necessarily stay on exact task. If half way through organizing all the toys in the house I remember to write a thank you note, I just get the supplies out, push a clear space in the toys and bang it out. Trying to ignore the impulses and stay perfectly on task just burns me out. Anyway, I get right back to the toys, and the letter is addressed with a stamp, so I end up with a bunch of tasks done.

I absolutely crash at the end of the day, feel sick from not eating with the caffeine, and my body hurts from zero breaks. But if I eat or sit at all I'm done for the day.

I offload some mental responsibilities to husband. I tell him what I want to do so if I forget he reminds me. It also makes me feel bad if I don't do them cause he knows what I wanted to do so I'm like...10 percent more likely to finish.

I had a period of extremely productive work a while back when putting on late '90s early 2000s teen comedies in the background. I got so much done while 10 Things I Hate About You and Can't Hardly Wait were playing in the background.