Work-based anxiety and procrastination. Is it just me?

I have this.

I firmly believe its because our brains are not designed to prioritise office type work that we know is not really life or death. Our brains can't force us to consider that funding report or contract as essential or meaningful. Its too far removed from human needs.

For millennia human occupations were based around very clear necessary areas:

1. human needs - food, shelter, water, health
2. creation of things required for 1) tools, useful machines, equipment for storing and cooking food, transport , clothing. Things to make getting what we need easier.
3. pleasure - decorative arts, music etc

Now many modern office type occupations are so far removed from real need. If you don't do that report what really happens? Nobody dies. The world goes on turning. Our brains know this. Its not meaningful work so it doesn't switch on the part of your brain needed to prioritise it.

Yes I do this, it's horrible and has caused me so much shame and regret over many years, and has definitely held me back at work too.
I do the waking up at 4am to get something finished on the day too, then I'm wiped out by about 10am and don't get anything done after that.
I don't think I have ADHD symptoms outside of work or work-type situations so don't think it's that, more about anxiety and perfectionism. I went to high pressure schools and had a lot of pressure academically from my parents and I think this has left me feeling like nothing I do is good enough, I put things off and off for fear of not doing them perfectly.
There have been periods in my life when I've been better at not caring so much about the results - eg when my children were young and took up most of my home time and headspace, and I just wanted to get home to them, I think I managed better at just getting things done by 5pm. But problems are creeping back in again and having a terrible manager for a while didnt help.
As others have said, it helps me to be in the office or on a silent teams call with others to a certain extent. Also scheduling my time with quite detailed breakdowns of what I should be doing in every half hour block. And working with people I like and therefore don't want to let down.
But the most important for me is letting go of needing to achieve something brilliant and instead just getting it done... that's much much easier said than done, and also much harder when I'm already feeling stressed.

I think it's a really common issue.

As a pp said, just opening a relevant document is a start - and one of the hardest things, but once you do it, you've broken through a sort of barrier.

I don't know if it's an option, but if your work offers copilot licenses that might help. It's very good at breaking things down into subtasks and you can even built an assistant within it which can help organise a to do list, with smaller subtasks, and help you prioritise what to do first (or even "i have 20 mins until my next meeting, what should I do" things)

I’m the same, putting things off all week, staring at my computer or doing simple quick tasks, then Friday afternoon comes long, I work like a super human and achieve so much!

A big part of my problem is thinking I don’t know where to start the task, even though I’ll have done it before.

Unless I do the hard tasks first they never get done. I write a list, steal myself and remind myself how great I will feel when I actually get the thing done. When I have done whatever the bastard thing is I have a chocolate biscuit 🙂

We live in an age where everything has to be labelled, but I think most people are like this in some way or another 🤷‍♀️ There’s such a need these days to diagnose and label what are actually just normal human behaviours.

One thing which does help me a bit (I won't pretend it's a game changer!) is to have space in my task list to write down the next step that I need to take to progress that particular task. Sometimes it is as simple as "open x document" but I do find that having clarity about the next micro action that I need to take helps a bit with task initiation and not getting paralysed.

Fuck. Spent my morning procrastinating by reading this (helpful) thread. Time to get a wiggle on and start some work... But first... Getting dressed 😭

I know you said you're not seeking a diagnosis but ADHD medication overcomes this for me. It's life changing.

ETA that also you are not being unreasonable and you might find the book 'Laziness Does Not Exist' by Devon Price insightful. My response to struggling has always been to push myself harder and my understanding now is that's what leads to burnout. I think the shame of being unable to 'just do the thing' makes it even more difficult so it's like a self-pepertuating cycle that gets worse over time. So finding a way to feel less shame/frustration might help you move through the procrastination quicker.

I never procrastinated in school or university really either so for me it started as self doubt about my abilities crept in once I was in the workplace and expectations were less clear or unspoken. So maybe if you can build your confidence or do more of what you're naturally good at, that might help.

I've learned over many years to break a task into bite-sized chunks (whether a work task, or cooking the dinner). So I do a bit early on and then at least I've started and it's not so daunting.

I've also found that tasks you imagine are going to be a nightmare are often not as bad as you think, and just making a start is the key. Conversely, things I've sometimes thought will be a doddle have proved much more difficult and complicated - but you don't know till you take that first step.

Don't think of the whole task - just MAKE yourself take the first step or two and that helps enormously, I found. And start as soon as you can - that's better than fretting night and day about actually starting.

This is a strategy which has worked for me - I offer it humbly and I'm not suggesting it's the full answer.

Not necessarily, I’m very anxious and have (probably) cptsd from childhood stuff. I seem to display quite a few of the traits people attribute to Neuro divergence but it’s anxiety. Is this not pda? I used to put off stuff as a child/teenager - jobs my parents would give me and get terribly in trouble

I have this but I’m not neurodivergent. Mine stems from childhood issues. It isn’t automatically ADHD and there is substantial symptom crossover between the two issues, so make sure you actually see someone before you self diagnose.

AI has been enormously useful in breaking the back of getting going for me. I tend to say to it, I’ve got an hour to work on XYZ, search my emails for it, tell me what I can realistically get done and what should I do first.

This seems to kick me out of the initial loop of “oh there’s an email, oh there’s a Teams message, oh I haven’t replied to John about his invoice, actually I really need a cup of tea before I start this..” AI is actually very good at distilling the issues and making the first step easy.

Weirdly I also find a form of body doubling helps when WFH. I turn on reality TV and let it play through my headphones.

I have a professional and well paid job and similar academic path. It’s not just you.

I was the same, have ADHD and Autism diagnosis, i have to say the ADHD medication was a game changer...

Before the meds and diagnosis i fluffed through it by massive organisation structure 😂 im talking colour coded spreadsheets, breaking complex tasks down into a step by step instruction manuals so if my brain shut off i could literally just "do"

I would have jobs open on multiple devices and switch tasks constantly so a full on multi-task set up 😅

Working when i had my spurts at 1am...

But yeah, with meds that effort and hardcore managing myself isnt needed..i just can now switch to single tasks now 😅

I'm autistic. I don't struggle with procrastinating, as such, but it really impacts my mental health to have too much that's stessful on my plate - not because of the tasks themselves, mind, not at all... It's the transitions. I struggle with changing from one activity to another.

If I could somehow get a teleporter that would somehow take me from bed and plop me in the middle of my most difficult task at work, I'd get it done fine. I work hard and am good at what I do. Ditto plopping me in the gym, I could get a workout done fine. The teleporter would also have to make sure I'm dressed and presented properly, clean hair and teeth, etc.

It's not the big difficult tasks themselves. It's the bits around it and transitioning from one thing to another that I find stressful and too much. I make myself get up and do it, but I get true burnout from the most usual daily things and transitions if I'm doing it too much.

I know you don't want a diagnosis, but you have ADHD and medication is LIFE CHANGING.

This is me. I frequently do nothing all day, get into my work at about 5 and then essentially start a working day then. Leads to insomnia and the whole cycle starting again

A change of environment helps, if WFH I sometimes go to the library. Pomodoro moderately useful too

I put a timer on. I am going to do x task for 20 mins and then do something else.

This thread has been so helpful.

My main driver for all of this behaviour is lack of purpose. Its like I'm on a treadmill, I have no passion for my job and it's just bringing in a nice wage each month.

I find it so worrying that so many people assume it has to be ADHD. I personally think it's a million distractions of daily life and social media, working alone which isnt natural, and working in a corporate environment in which I lack purpose.

None of these things are normal things for humans, its a modern way of living which doesn't suit our brains (especially females dare I say).

This has been such a helpful thread, thank you OP and everyone. I’m in my late 40s and my entire life has been blighted by procrastination and under-achievement. I’m currently in a not very well paid job working with people (who are lovely tbf!) half my age who are just starting out on their careers but due to my inertia I’ve never got anywhere. Moved from job to job, town to town, relationship to relationship (although now have a young child so the nomadic lifestyle has stopped).
A few years ago, I did an integrative counselling diploma but, although I was pretty good at the practical side and attended all classes, I was simply unable to complete the written work/journals etc. I was given several deadline extensions before finally being kicked off the course and placement, etc. It wasn’t cheap and could have been something I’d really got into, a proper skill which I could use to build a career but, instead, I’ve continued to drift from one job to another. I’m hoping this current job will be good for a bit though but I do find it depressing when I have much more senior managers who are 10/15 years younger than me. One positive is I enjoy working with younger people and it keeps my outlook young, I think.
but procrastination has been the absolute bane of my life 🥴

I think it all gets worse if you’re not walking and exercising in some way during the day because then it’s impossible to sleep, so there’s that foo.

Some ideas (I have spent many years trying to hack my brain):

Write a Done List rather than To Do List - can help to recognise what you have done rather than haven’t done.

Pomodoro is brilliant but sometimes 25 mins feels too far much - so set a timer for just 10 mins to get started….

I read something the other day about “reverse pomodoro” - work for 5 mins then faff for 25 mins.

Change location. Sometimes easier to work on a report in a coffee shop than either the office or my home desk.

I have the same and have the PhD. I am trying to pavlov dog myself by putting loops in or coffee background noises on YouTube which signal "let's go" to get me to focus but it's so difficult. I've recently found dictating work is better for me.

ADHD - classic symptoms of task paralysis and needing the Dopamine hit of a pending deadline to act. I have the same.

Body doubling has been mentioned a couple of times. Apparently you can log into online body doubling spaces, where you all sit there in silence working. I have just learned dd can only access her education properly on a 121. She is doing her A levels now. Lockdown 1 she wanted me next to her and help her to do her work, year 7. Year 8 really worked for her, as she would study in silence whilst on the phone to a friend.

I have always been the same. Dh and I have been told we should both get tested for autism and ADHD.