Does anyone else do this or do I have issues?

[BoakBackMountain]

I have a very important work "thing" I need to do. The deadline is coming up. I could have done it weeks ago. But I absolutely hate doing it and every day I find an excuse not to do it. I put it off and put it off and put it off and then I know I'll end up scrambling around doing it right at the last minute.

In the meantime I'm plowing through loads of stuff that could wait for weeks. Why am I like this?! Surely I should recognise, at the age of 33, that it is better to do the things I don't want to do quickly, to get them out of the way?!

I feel like I have been like this since I was 12 years old. Anyone else?

It’s poor executive function, part of the autism/adhd spectrum. Becoming overwhelmed and an inability to prioritise are the norm for this.

I don't think that applies in lots of these cases though. People are clearly able to prioritise and complete tasks under pressure, often making clear and quick decisions without becoming overwhelmed.

I can prioritise and I don't get overwhelmed. In a pressured situation I don't flap about or panic in the least

Imagine being at university or school now, with all the digital distractions. I just would never have got anything done. I was bad enough writing essays late into the night, without Instagram, iPlayer, Facebook etc!

It’s not poor exec function! Output is top quality.

I get overwhelmed because I overthink everything!

Makes me good at my job in some ways because I can see the connections that others don't. In a crisis I can really quickly analyse things and come to rapid decisions because I can work through multiple different scenarios and understand the impacts. But if I'm not up against a hard deadline then multiple scenarios literally become millions with oh so subtle differences between them and I have trouble picking the best ones because theres so many of them.

On the plus side my organisations cv19 response worked really smoothly because I was asked to look at business continuity plans and came up with a scenario of every office closing which everyone else dismissed as vanishingly unlikely. So I did a plan myself just in case and pulled it out with a "told you so" in March

A few posters have said their husbands are the opposite of this. Mine is too. Is this an especially female phenomenon?

I really honestly think perfectionism comes into it, in the sense of it being a socialised female behaviour. (Not exclusively, of course.) My husband had a very swanky education and I really envy the confidence it's given him. I think that is the absolute main thing those private schools teach you - he's certainly not brighter than me, and whilst I'm sure the quality of education was higher, it doesn't show as adults. But I'm paralysed by fear of doing something poorly, so I never achieve anything. I fail by not trying. He just chucks himself at stuff and succeeds. It's maddening.