Do you ever get TOTALLY overwhelmed by wanting to do lots of things, yet end up doing nothing?

[Howmanyblanketsdoiwant]

Honestly, I drive myself mad. I have ADHD and my Mum died recently and I am grieving or depressed or a bit of both.

I have so many things I want to do...and end up doing nothing. There is so much jostling around in my brain, I can't prioritise what I want to do most. So I eventually just slump with exhaustion and do very little.

For example, I signed up to go to a lecture tonight that I ended up cancelling. I spent the whole day consumed with things I should be doing and want to do, did nothing, and it's like I couldn't find the enthusiasm to go to the lecture this evening then.

I have so many things I'm interested in, realise I don't have enough time and get exhausted and overwhelmed, is anyone else like this?

I genuinely love yoga but yet again, have signed up for a monthly membership to Classpass and haven't gone - because my two favourite studios can't be booked for some reason, so I'm overwhelmed and haven't tried anywhere else.

Even fucking Netflix and other streaming services - I can't prioritise what to watch. Loads of stuff looks good, and then I can't choose and get drained and watch nothing.

If you relate, have you found anything that helped you prioritise? Could ADHD coaching teach me some tools to work with this?

I'm the opposite in that it has to be "my" music - if it is on and the world is blocked out I can achieve tons. If I don't then I achieve nothing, nothing at all!

Like other posters have said I tend to do multiple things at once and go off on tangents however if I have headphones and a deadline (school run on my day off normally) I can get loads done....with the magic headphones lol.

I’m exactly the same ! Lists and timers are my friend . I do a list that is a priority at the top and then set a timer of 10 mins do as much as I can. Then I will sit down for 10 mins and put a timer on and do another 10 mins . This really works for me when I’m overwhelmed it’s amazing what can be achieved in 10 mins

Me too - I can't work at a normal speed, I'm ultra efficient or a vegetable.

This resonates. I often describe myself as borderline adhd but I wonder if I actually am.

I can generally get shitloads done and it's a strength in terms of productivity but today my head nearly exploded with how many plates I'm trying to spin.

I can't let myself be at rest.

I think an important aspect is to find a square hole rather than trying to be the square peg squashing yourself into a round hole. I work in the construction sector and never get bored or clock watch as I'm always on the move.

I have long suspected I have ADHD for many reasons and this is one of them. If I have any time to myself, I often waste it with flitting about from one thing to another or prioritising some ridiculous non essential task that takes ages but I've decided that it must be done before I can "relax" and do something I actually wanted to do. Usually then don't have enough time left to do the thing I'd actually planned to do that day. It's infuriating.

Also often have lots of hobby projects I like to do in spare time but often doing none of them as always struggle to get started. Same for TV, will waste so much time trying to decide what to watch, I end up not really watching anything.

Omg 😭are you me?

I struggle with this, including the minor tasks or huge tasks on lists.

Two things that help me are FlyLady. I find doing her routines incredibly difficult but the usefulness of setting a timer for to do a task really useful. Do some tasks like that then head off to do something else.

Also a YouTube channel with helpful advice is HealthyGamer/Dr K. Just don't find yourself watching it for hours!

@Zoologydragon I have an instrumental playlist I’ve been curating since university and it’s the only way I can get anything done. It’s why I haven’t been fired, I’m convinced. Has to be instrumental tho

I used to listen to a lot of soundtracks when I was a bid manager, but truth be told office work bored me to tears.

Yes I am exactly like this, all the time - could have written every word!

I don’t have ADHD but really struggle with getting organised - I remember as a teenager always running late for school & coming out to DF’s car with my hair not brushed, uniform half on, trying to juggle all my stuff etc. My house is a tip, piles everywhere, and it needs a thorough clean (DH & I just do the basics). I do have time to do at least some of it but end up doing none then I feel really fed up & guilty. I love lists but need to do what’s on them! Also struggle keeping in touch with friends & rarely socialise anymore, although that’s a lot to do with our family situation & DD14’s mental health crisis 😢

This advice is often trotted out but it doesn't work in all situations. For some people it helps to do a little thing first. So for example, I do an online ballet class and sometimes have no motivation to do it so I tell myself I will just do the warm up and usually (not always) complete the whole thing. If the bathroom badly needs cleaning I tell myself, I'll just clean the toilet and sink, so I clean half a room and the other half another day. Doing anything even a tiny little thing is better than nothing.

Same, although I never used to be like this but have got worse and worse. I can't even seem to do a simple task like send an email or make a phone call and have so many small tasks I just can't start. I do manage to work although find it painful now to. My brain is frazzled and have started getting headaches 😩

Take a look at goblin tools app. I downloaded it for my ds who has ASD and ADHD. We've not had it long but are both really impressed with the way it breaks to-do lists into more manageable stages.

This is me. I can't afford to go private for an ADHD assessment but I'm 99% sure that I have it.

I am exactly the same, OP. A billion things to do, and then get so overwhelmed by the thought of there being so many of them that I go on MN instead.

Doesn't sound stupid. Sounds likes standard ADHD.

OP, have a look at this Procrastinator's Planner. Particularly, check out the layout and organisation of the lists.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Procrastinators-Planner-Organiser-Productivity-Procrastination/dp/B07NWVFHKP

I feel your pain OP. I’m also diagnosed with ADHD. Currently unmediated and lurching from manic busy-ness to torpor and back. I feel exhausted and guilty by turn.

I have a white board in the dining room and every time something comes into my mind I write it before I forget, then when I need something to do a gaze at it.
It's full of stuff I will never do and duplicates and all the rest but I do clean stuff off once it's ticked. I put massive squares next to each item so I can physically tick them.
It does help make sure I'm doing something useful, regardless of whether it's the highest priority. And it also helps when I feel I need to do something but no idea what.
For me I like big projects I can carry on with, and lots of itty bitty tasks are a nightmare.
Good luck!

Have you looked up any time management and prioritisation methods online, specifically for people with ADHD? I have many techniques but not sure how they work for you.
I make some fairly specific, but complex goals for the start of the year, they vary how specific. For example this year included: "being competent in a kayak" so every at week during the main season I chose paddling it.

4 or 5 of these were high priority aims for the year. They fit within a lightly structured week with a lightly structured week. I have an ideal set of weekly things I do. I most of them most of the time, with spontaneous things around them. I will cancel those regular weekly things, like paddling, very reluctantly to fit in something else

I do life admin stuff as and when. I'll make a list only when I'm stressed, aiming to list only urgent stuff. Sometimes stuff on there turns out not urgent, its fine not completing a list sometimes.

The hardest things are decisiveness, and accepting you won't do some stuff, no-one can do everything they dream about. It takes 2 mins to dream of a thing or buy something, hours/days/weeks/years to achieve the goal. There's no magic method, it takes discipline. I want to be reasonable paddling SUP, kayak and canoe. That's 3 years dedication, one craft for a season each year. For one dream. My ambition to be good at growing stuff is in its 3rd year, a long way to go but improving

Yes this is me, I have bipolar and am currently going through ADHD assessment. Music helps as pp’s have said. For me planning ahead helps, I use an app called time finder; you can block time out for tasks/activities and move them around. These things help but don’t solve the problem, i don’t always remember to use the app and sometimes i make my list and forget to refer to it. I have started to reward myself for the things I’ve done, just small things like once I’ve done abc i can have a coffee break/glass of wine/leisure time. I’ve also recently started to time how long it takes to do stuff so when i think ‘omg that’s going to take most of the afternoon’ i can say to myself ‘actually it’s only going to take about 20 mins in reality’

there’s lots of different ways of doing it, you need to find out what works for you. Most of the usual advice hasn’t worked for me/only works for so long…. So I’m still working on it.

i do find leaving things till the absolute last possible minute works, although not ideal.

Undiagnosed but this is me every damn die.

Five item lists. Tackle stuff five items a day.

Story of my life.. but I am awaiting diagnoses for ADHD so..