Extreme procrastination

[AnotherGreyMorning]

I really want to do things like go to the gym, retrain in a new career, study new things.

I sign up. I pay for courses. I lay the foundations.

But I never do it. I just feel safer in my bed or at home doing nothing beyond the basics of housework, employed work, cooking and ferrying my DCs to their activities and friends.

I do get frustrated and upset that I seem unable and unwilling to change. I want more. I just can’t get onto it.

I feel like such a loser at 54. Everyone else is achieving and moving in and up. I am not.

Is it a mental illness? Having all these intentions and not doing anything.

Even now, I should get up, make soup, go to the gym etc but I am in bed rot after a crap night of sleep with an unwell ds.

Anyone else a chronic procrastinator but frustrated by it. I will be 65 one day and nothing to show for it.

Do you spend too much time on social media? I think it’s SM that’s fuelling this, making people feel inadequate.

No. I deleted FB and insta six months ago. I go on MN, a newspaper app and Wordle.

Just choose one thing and do that. Give yourself a time limit to sign up. Even if it's a month. Get a diary and write your long term goals in that. Maybe try that bullet point system. I've got books on it but it's quite complicated and takes a bit of effort to set up. So I didn't get on with it but might give it another go some time.

yep, this is me. I’d say we could form a club but neither of us would ever get round to establishing it….

i am 40 and I’ve been like this since school.

i find “getting started” very difficult

Everything is an impossible
mountain to climb, or my stomach sinks, or I just “can’t”. The conditions are never right, i am not in the mood, i cant face it. i will leave everything to the very last minute, or worse, leave it past the deadline.

Often, if i feel I “have” to do something, it makes it worse. It can make me feel angry, anxious or just totally overwhelmed and shut everything down.

sometimes, it could even be something nice I “have” to do, like plans I’ve made with friends.

It does seem to be worse if i know getting started/climbing the hump if doing the task is going to be difficult, cognitively. Eg) if I have to make decisions or figure something out. That’ll make me put it off for longer.

why? I don’t know! I do suspect I have ADHD though. I do experience anxiety, so could ne related? Just plain bad habits/terrible coping mechanisms too, perhaps.

a lot of people say perfection and potentially failing is another reason people procrastinate

if you find any cure do let me know 🤣

I’m even at the point where ChatGPT can’t help because I’ve spent 15 years trying to figure this out, tried everything and all it’s suggestions are amateur hour!

Massive procrastinator here.
no answer's I’m afraid.
I am in awe of “action” people- the ones that just think about a job then do it.

I'm a terrible procrastinator. Can't even get round to doing anything. I've done a list of things to do. The more time I have to do something the more I procrastinate.