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Executive Dysfunction - Blog Posts
(wakes up) I should be writing
(in class) I should be writing
(having lunch) I should be writing
(waiting for the bus) I should be writing
(at home) I should be doing my homework
(not doing homework) I should be writing
(opens laptop)
(stares at empty Obsidian page)
(thinks about a Concept for some time)
(scrolls through social media)
(gets ready for bed)
(in bed) I should be writi
When I first opened this account as a student, I was 21 years old. I tried to post one or two times but soon realized that I was taking arranged photos that weren't enough for my motivation/productivity.
Now I'm 24. I can't grasp all of the change three years have brought. But I grew a little more, and I know myself a little more.
This is the first day of the year. My one goal was to practice doing everything imperfectly in all areas of my life. So this is the beginning of archiving my study-life journey. 01.01.25
Where I go when I have to look at my bank account
the joy of AuDHD and executive dysfunction 😅
anybody else in the club feeling this one
Dealing With Executive Dysfunction - A Masterpost
The “getting it done in an unconventional way” method.
The “it’s not cheating to do it the easy way” method.
The “fuck what you’re supposed to do” method.
The “get stuff done while you wait” method.
The “you don’t have to do everything at once” method.
The “it doesn’t have to be permanent to be helpful” method.
The “break the task into smaller steps” method.
The “treat yourself like a pet” method.
The “it doesn’t have to be all or nothing” method.
The “put on a persona” method.
The “act like you’re filming a tutorial” method.
The “you don’t have to do it perfectly” method.
The “wait for a trigger” method.
The “do it for your future self” method.
The “might as well” method.
The “when self discipline doesn’t cut it” method.
The “taking care of yourself to take care of your pet” method.
The “make it easy” method.
The “junebugging” method.
The “just show up” method.
The “accept when you need help” method.
The “make it into a game” method.
The “everything worth doing is worth doing poorly” method.
The “trick yourself” method.
The “break it into even smaller steps” method.
The “let go of should” method.
The “your body is an animal you have to take care of” method.
The “fork theory” method.
The “effectivity over aesthetics” method.
Omfg yes I feel like its almost all the time
yall with adhd or autism or such ever just get…. bored. like so Painfully bored. like its not “oh hehe i was so bored and i made this” to flex or “oh im so bored bc i have nothing to do” but like a “i am physically incapable of ending this horrible understimulation with any activity i might attempt” and its genuinely fucking painful
Not to be a hater but I genuinely hate the fact that people get disability checks for stuff like autism when I'm here, suffering crippling depression and dysphoria, as well as a health condition that makes endurance and stamina incredibly hard, juggling college classes, a job, and general life maintenance because I live alone, relying on financial aid for college students that disappears the moment I graduate(or get kicked out), and then my minimum wage job.
Idk, it just almost feels offensive to be juggling all that, when there's people who claim disability checks because they just find it so hard to talk to people, or because they're unable to focus on anything, and then they just sit on their ass and play videogames in their childhood bedroom all day, or in the free housing apartment they got.
People will call me jealous, and, well, yeah? Of course? Like wym somebody is getting free housing, free insurance, and free income while just sitting at home all day, when I'm constantly managing all the aforementioned and I get told to "just man up"
Fuck all the way off. I'll never support neets no matter how much they claim they're "fighting the system". You're an adult baby, and it's time to grow the fuck up.
I love talking with neurotypical people about my executive dysfunction because I'm like "yeah there's this invisible wall in my head that I'm incapable of getting past no matter what I do and it stops me from doing things" and they're like what the actual fuck
Meanwhile other neurodivergents are like
Are you trapped on tumblr right now?
Is there something you planned to do before you got trapped in the endless tumblr scroll?
Are you yelling at yourself to get up and do the thing, but you can’t, because you’re trapped in the endless tumblr scroll?
Consider this your save point.
Put tumblr down, stand up, stretch, and go do the thing you planned to do. Future you will be incredibly grateful.
Heya y'all, you ever start doomscrolling and ur like "NO, BAD! BE PRODUCTIVE!" and you're acutely aware that you should be, but you just- Can't?? And then you've been browsing Youtube videos and Tumblr posts for the better part of 3½ hours and remembering the most random things and you're like "Oh! I should check on that!" And you've barely done anything with the free-time you had and while you're upset about that happening you don't let it get to you because negativity isn't healthy and should generally be avoided when possible?
Oh right. I have ADHD, welp. Take this as you see fit.
people who dont experience it cannot comprehend how awful executive dysfunction is. I WANT to do the task, i have the resources TO do the task, i will feel better having DONE the task
but i cant fucking do the task
By the way, you can improve your executive function. You can literally build it like a muscle.
Yes, even if you're neurodivergent. I don't have ADHD, but it is allegedly a thing with ADHD as well. And I am autistic, and after a bunch of nerve damage (severe enough that I was basically housebound for 6 months), I had to completely rebuild my ability to get my brain to Do Things from what felt like nearly scratch.
This is specifically from ADDitude magazine, so written specifically for ADHD (and while focused in large part on kids, also definitely includes adults and adult activities):
Here's a link on this for autism (though as an editor wow did that title need an editor lol):
Resources on this aren't great because they're mainly aimed at neurotypical therapists or parents of neurdivergent children. There's worksheets you can do that help a lot too or thought work you can do to sort of build the neuro-infrastructure for tasks.
But a lot of the stuff is just like. fun. Pulling from both the first article and my own experience:
Play games or video games where you have to make a lot of decisions. Literally go make a ton of picrews or do online dress-up dolls if you like. It helped me.
Art, especially forms of art that require patience, planning ahead, or in contrast improvisation
Listening to longform storytelling without visuals, e.g. just listening regularly to audiobooks or narrative podcasts, etc.
Meditation
Martial arts
Sports in general
Board games like chess or Catan (I actually found a big list of what board games are good for building what executive functioning skills here)
Woodworking
Cooking
If you're bad at time management play games or video games with a bunch of timers
Things can be easier. You might always have a disability around this (I certainly always will), but it can be easier. You do not have to be this stuck forever.
having adhd is like "fuck, it's half past noon. that pretty much means it's one o'clock. that means it's lunchtime. that means it's pretty much three. that means it's almost five o'clock, and that means the day is pretty much over and i don't have time for any of the things i was going to do today :( time to scroll aimlessly through social media until bedtime"
adhd executive dysfunction sucks bcuz im just sitting there and my brain is like
YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME
no work done no rest gained. literally no point of this at all
(to everyone who reblogged, donate and share @olagaza's initiative!)
Being asked to rate your pain on a scale as someone who has had chronic pain for several years is so difficult. Like how am I supposed to rate the pain I am experiencing from 1-10 when I have no idea what it feels like to not be in pain. Like what is 0? what is 1?? what is even 10???? What am I comparing it to???? My 5 can be someone else's 10 and their 10 can be someone else's 2, and how is a doctor or anyone else for that matter supposed to tell the difference? Maybe it's because I'm autistic and I'm just overthinking it but it literally makes no sense to me.
There’s no such thing as work-life balance for neurodivergent & chronically ill people.
This is because everything in my life requires work:
maintaining friendships
keeping up with my hygiene
managing bills
making money
remembering my basic needs
sleeping regularly
outputting creatively
All requires some aspect of work for me.
And when everything in your life requires work, your balance goes out the window.
If you're neurodivergent and overwhelmed — I see you.
If you're chronically ill and overwhelmed — I see you.
You're not dysfunctional.
You're not incapable.
You're doing your best.
graph of what being hungry is like with adhd
Executive dysfunction
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