Is the procrastination forever?

[GoodThings2025]

I was dx with inattentive ADHD in 2019. I remember googling why can't I focus about six years earlier and when I read about it I just knew. Obviously did nothing then got overwhelmed at work eventually and sought diagnosis.

I used to run on adrenaline but around my 40s my body just stopped letting me do that.

I know that I just have to find the motivation to do stuff. Instead of last minute rushing I am trying to be more organised, prioritise and just do less or have lower standards.

But old habits die hard. Sometimes I think I'm just naughty, self sabotaging, I just fuck things up for shits and giggles, I'm bored, I'm used to the rush and it's a hard habit to beat.

The colossal effort it takes to get myself to do stuff these days. I feel like all I'm doing is staying afloat, just.

I don't know what I'm looking for. Either knowledge that the effort is going to pay off and I'll actually achieve a more organised life.

Or the knowledge that my mojo will sometime return (I'm 45) if I can prioritise a degree of exercise and good diet.

I just need things to feel less hard next year.

I'm in my late 50s and, though not diagnosed, am a textbook case of combined type ADHD, but it is the inattentive side that dominates and causes me most problems. Primarily that my home is a complete mess and I feel completely stuck in life.

Like you I used to run on adrenaline and it was only when menopause hit that the wheels really came off and I began to find it completely impossible to do things. In my case the procrastination has not got better, but then again I'm unmedicated.
What has helped has been the knowledge I've gained of ADHD and how it impacts me. Previously I just thought I was lazy and useless.

On a practical level, there's a book, The Mini ADHD Coach by Alice Gendron, which has been very useful. It's comprehensive but also accessible, attractively laid out and can be easily dipped in and out of. The last section of the book is a series of "life hacks", such as "habit stacking", which has helped.

Good luck!

Almost 50 and struggling here too. Will have a read thanks @TreesAtSea

Have you thought about medication at all? I find I need all of it - a reasonable diet, enough sleep, enough exercise/social contact but also medication to have the motivation to get moving on things.

If I let one of them slip I am struggling and with two of them gone it's really hard to claw my way back again.