HN Explorer

Ask HN: Is it 'normal' to struggle so hard with work?

802 points by throwawayqdhd ↗ HN
This question might come across as dumb, especially for a 30 year old, but I come from a culture where this aspect of work was never emphasized and at this point, I don't know who to ask.

Basically, since as long as I can remember, I've had issues motivating myself to work and focusing on a single task.

I've used everything from rewards ("If I work for X hours, I'll play a video game") and punishment ("If I don't work for X hours, I'm a complete failure") to get myself to work.

I have to come up with elaborate new schemes to get myself to focus. I've tried awarding myself "points" for doing a task, turning my work into a virtual RPG. I've tried keeping elaborate spreadsheets of my work habits. I've tried the Seinfeld method of mapping out my "win" and "fail" days.

Essentially, I come up with a new tactic to motivate myself every couple of months. If I don't do so, I find myself struggling to meet my goals and distracted.

Part of the reason for this is perhaps the nature of my work. I'm a freelancer and have been one since I graduated from college. I make a decent enough earning because I've acquired a niche set of in-demand skills. But I struggle to meet deadlines and never have enough dedication to meet any of my long-term tasks (such as building an app or starting a business).

For years, I thought this was "normal". But I'm now starting to think that maybe I just don't have a regular case of procrastination.

Does anyone else feel this way? Is work such a complicated endeavor for you as well? Am I suffering from some form of undiagnosed ADHD?

381 comments

[ 5.0 ms ] story [ 323 ms ] thread
montrose
It's normal to struggle this way with work you don't love sufficiently, which (unless you're lucky) tends to include the work you do for money. Companies have techniques to motivate employees. E.g. your boss or peers will be upset if you don't do something, and happy with you if you do. As a freelancer you don't have that, so the struggle is more visible to you.

Some people can sometimes find types of work that they love so much that this doesn't happen. I have often managed to.

nukeop
If you are over 18 years old and your motivation to do a job well is the threat of being yelled at, then you have some growing up to do. Equally so if keeping some guy happy is positively motivating for you.
m_fayer
I'm in my mid 30s and I think I'm in the middle of the pack as far as productivity/focus/procrastination go. From that perspective and from your own description of yourself, I would put you below average, and much more importantly - your performance is making you unhappy.

I think this calls for a self-diagnostic. I would definitely see a therapist and maybe a doctor to make sure there aren't any subtle undiagnosed issues holding you back. This could be mild depression, ADHD, or heck sleep apnea. Or maybe you're completely in the wrong field for yourself and a counselor could help to quickly suss that out. Or maybe you're a wild perfectionist and don't even know it. There's a million possible explanations that could be completely invisible to you but accessible to a trained 3rd party.

If you were in your early 20s I'd say... muddle through, no one starts off awesome. But by your 30s I think it's reasonable to expect more and appropriate to get proactive about getting to the bottom of this.

MIKarlsen
I think you are right about the mild depression. In my own post further up, I suggested Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as a possible solution (possible to do as self-study and self-practice)
downandout
I had a long period of time where I couldn't get motivated to do anything after a business partner screwed me out of millions of dollars from an acquisition. I would try and try, but I just couldn't get started on things, or I would start and never finish. I later learned that after this incident, I was suffering from "learned helplessness" [1]. This is a phenomenon where after experiencing a trauma that you were powerless to stop, the brain generalizes that powerlessness and applies it even to situations where you do have control. Essentially, you no longer believe that your efforts can yield positive outcomes, and you stop trying.

Learned helplessness is believed to be a major driver in depression and obviously is a source of issues with motivation. It's a really interesting and treatable condition. If anyone reading this believes this may be an issue for you, you should look into a therapist that is experienced with CBT, as this can be an effective treatment for learned helplessness.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness

thenaturalist
Whoa, thank you so much for sharing this. I never heard of this concept before, it's an unknown unknown for me. This explains a lot of my personality.
baby
Sometimes it's also a bad self-diagnosis, we tend to forget that a few months ago we were the most productive. People have ups and downs.
andybak
> Am I suffering from some form of undiagnosed ADHD?

It's worth looking into this. I know people who found a diagnosis extremely helpful - even those who chose not to avail themselves of the medications available. There's several online questionnaires that would give you an idea of the kind of questions you'd be asked if you went for a consultation. Some of the traits are quiet distinct and you'll have an immediate sense of familiarity. If you find yourself saying "Gosh, I thought that was just me" then it's probably a sign. :).

Feel free to msg me and I can pass on a bit more info.

virtzzz
As someone who suffers from ADD... This. I got formally diagnosed and medication has been nothing short of a miracle worker.
thecatspaw
based on this comment I took a questionaire. 9/11 points. Called my psychiatrist (which I shortly got for a burnout, but that is fine now). His reaction was something along the lines of "yeah, doesnt sound wrong"

Thanks a lot. You may have changed my life

Checking out the r/adhd subreddit was like staring into a mirror

zinckiwi
I'm familiar with this. There's no magic solution, sadly, but I'll share one thing that has helped me and may apply at least to some of your situations.

I realised a while ago that my main issue was with nebulous tasks -- that is, the more concrete, defined, and _meetable_ a task was, the less trouble I had with it. So I started to break down large tasks, which never got started much less finished, into smaller ones, in the same way you might break a scrum-poker 20-pointer into a bunch of 3s.

You want to go from this:

- I should really write [some great app idea]

To this:

- I'll make a list of technologies that I want to use

- I'll read the docs, like a book, for the ones that are new

- I'll write a single api endpoint

- I'll flesh out the api for the rest of a feature

- I'll MVP a UI for that one feature, without any concern for design

- etc.

In my case, a combination of the size of and amount of ambiguity in a task is inversely proportional to the ability I have to both get it underway and get it finished.

wjnc
I'll second this and on top of that would advise you to try to get some more insights into your personal drivers / personality (I fell for Meyers-Briggs or MBTI, but have to be honested that personality science feels somewhat hand-wavy.). It might be that being a freelancer is not the best fit for you and perhaps being on a team or in a team-lead role would fit your personality better. For me external demands and a corporate environment where there is quite a lot of appetite for thinking outside the box gave me a lot more energy than my studies and first job(s).
bennyelv
This is exactly what worked for me - thankfully I learnt it while doing my university dissertation and before I started my career.

You can't start the task "start a business", but you can start the task "determine the market size for x".

ashtube
100% this. Break down the tasks into smaller and smaller chunks, use an app like Todoist to track it. So create a project for each major task, and have all the todo's inside that project. You'll feel achievement as you complete each small task, and within no time you'll find you have completed the project, AKA, one big task.
tigerwash
+1 for Todoist.

It's awesome to structure tasks into more and more subtasks.

taneq
Any recommendations for something like this that's local-only or self-hosted? I've been on the lookout for such a thing for a while but they all seem to be SaaS web app type things.
zingmars
I just keep a text file around that I sync using NextCloud. From what I've seen self-hosted TODO list solutions are generally pretty bad. I tried OpenTasks[1] on Android using NextCloud's DAV backend, but the app doesn't support proper sub-tasks (subtasks are handled as Markdown text in task's notes). And there doesn't seem to be any good Desktop app that that I found that works well (or is cross-platform) either.

[1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.dmfs.tasks...

pyrophane
I use index cards and a pen! I like to have something that is physically in front of me all the time. It works great.
hypertexthero
Paper and pen or pencil or crayon or chalk on paper. Preferably with some color.

Our senses of touch, smell and sound are important and inspiring.

davidjnelson
How would you compare Todoist to Trello? Would you recommend switching?
arbie
I think they serve orthogonal purposes (task-tracking vs Kanban project management). There is heavy overlap between them, and you can certainly use one over the other, but their original intent is clear.
ashtube
What arbie said. Todoist is great for a Todo/task management software, and I use Trello more in a business environment to visually see an overview of current projects and track next steps.
greendesk
This approach has helped me significantly.

Another aspect that is also useful has been my experience of Pomodoro technique. At a job where we were practicing Pomodoro technique, I realized I don’t struggle with concentration anymore. The minimalistic explanation of the technique is to work on a task inside 45 minute intervals; then walk away from the computer for several minutes.

wizzzzzy
+1 for pomodoro technique.

I find one of the additional benefits it has is that it gives you a means of quantifying your day. Often I can't remember exactly what I've been working on but knowing that I've completed x amounts of intervals leaves me way more satisfied at the end of the day and makes me feel much more confident that I've been productive.

I find it can also reveal how long some things take to complete. Rather than thinking 'uhh I couldn't even complete that task today' it can often lead to 'wow, I worked on that task for x intervals and it still wasn't complete - I definitely underestimated that one!'

tlrobinson
I've been wondering, is there a todo / task tracking app that can somehow aggregate tasks across multiple applications?

Currently my tasks are spread across emails and email drafts, Github issues, iOS reminders, Slack, my head, etc. It's a lot of work to keep track of them all.

Maybe I should just carry around a paper notebook and make that the authoritative source of tasks.

marenkay
Paper notebooks are great since writing down tasks turns them into something real because of the haptic feedback from touching paper.

Note apps, task apps, etc. all can not handle to that considering the brain simply considers things with haptic feedback more memorable and actionable.

josephjrobison
Hubstaff takes screenshots while you work and you can jot down notes when you feel like it.

I also find myself reviewing my Chrome history sometimes if I have no idea all the things I had been working on all day.

pronoiac
That feels kinda familiar. My experience might or might not be helpful.

I read about Getting Things Done, and I worked to track everything in one place, but I find that task tracking in two places work best for me:

1. Something like Evernote or Simplenote, for capturing notes on any device that's handy: phone, tablet, computer, etc. Being able to search really easily is crucial, to avoid duplicate topics.

2. Something like Trello for easier prioritizing and categorization. Moving around the index card analogies is much easier than moving text.

Using email as an issue tracker is an anti-pattern. It means your work to prioritize can get casually jumbled, and for me, that flow can get interrupted more easily. Ditto for Slack.

I like paper notebooks - I used one at work so I wouldn't drop any of the tasks I was juggling - but they're less portable than my phone. Before that, I had a Hipster PDA (index cards and a paper clip - http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-... ) but I had lots of notes, and searching was awkward, meaning "just write it (again) before I forget it, sort it out later," meant there was curation involved, and that using 1. above was lower-friction and just overall better.

beejiu
Sounds like you need a process, rather than a tool. Personally, I jot down everything that gets mentioned to me on paper and, within 1-2 days, it will end up in the project management system (if it is something to be worked on). Once it's there, I strike it through in my notepad. So basically, 99% of my notepad is a scribble - only 1% that I need to think about remains un-struck.
dageshi
Strongly recommend

https://tiddlywiki.com/

Use it well and it'll serve as both a todo list and your own personal instantly searchable, super fast knowledge base.

nthj
I pipe emails, GitHub, etc into a private Slack channel, and use starred slack messages as my inbox.
dboreham
Designing productivity tools is one of my favorite procrastination activities ;)
tigerwash
Problem Slicing is the key; Kent Beck wrote an article about "Master Programming" and I'd like to take his advice whenever I encounter a problem in programming, but also in real life (e.g. coordinating tasks in work or private life): https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/4n3s7c/kent_be...

> Slicing. Take a big project, cut it into thin slices, and rearrange the slices to suit your context. I can always slice projects finer and I can always find new permutations of the slices that meet different needs.

arconis987
This approach is immensely helpful to me as well. Started practicing problem slicing after watching a lecture from Don Knuth. He started by writing down a problem and underlining it. He then solved small bits of it and worked through many examples that seemed almost trivial. Eventually, some amazing results began to emerge after the many trivial examples were worked through. Impressed on me the power of breaking a large problem down into small, simple parts and working through them one at a time. I think problem slicing is one of the only ways to actually solve some kinds of big problems.
jseutter
Do you have a link or title to the video? I'm interested in watching it, but searching isn't turning up likely matches.
aaronm14
I'm also curious to see this. I think a lot of the really strong programmers I know do this instinctually where as I have to be more deliberate breaking things down. Perhaps some of it is that they are able more more naturally hold it in their minds than writing it out on a piece of paper like I do. Maybe they "learned how to learn" in that way better than I did when they were younger.
moltar
Second this, please link, really want to see it! Also couldn't find it.
arconis987
It was from a video where Don Knuth recreated one of his first lectures.

https://youtu.be/jmcSzzN1gkc

At one point around 20 or 30 minutes in, he says something like, “We’re going to start easy and slow and then work harder later on.” He exhaustively writes out a large number of different combinations of possible runtimes of an algorithm. It seems quite tedious, but eventually some cool results emerge related to Sterling Numbers :)

At first, I thought it was somewhat annoying that the lecture was methodically going through so many examples. Since then, I’ve realized that methodically going through small sub-problems patiently is often the way you eventually get to a giant leap.

davidjnelson
Problem slicing is awesome. I suspect its effectiveness has to do with preventing overwhelm which makes starting easier, as well as providing more completion rewards, which provides an upward spiral of momentum.
piracykills
Yes - I basically use indented lists of tasks like this for everything. Indented because often times you realize you didn't quite break that down enough and need more steps underneath it for them to be approachable.

Lots of tools are great for this too, I've used Tomboy, OneNote and org-mode, all of which do this very well.

dabernathy89
Unfortunately, often I feel like the more mundane & straightforward tasks are the ones that I find the hardest to get started on. But i think this is still a great idea for tackling large, daunting tasks.
FeepingCreature
A specific version of this is just writing a single connected "skeleton" of app, stubbing out absolutely everything that isn't needed with 'if (input == this) return that; assert(false);' and just getting something from input to output. Then it's a lot easier to go and add more meat.
llarsson
What long-term goals do you have for yourself, really? Do you have any? And if you say you do, do they actually motivate you?

Building an app or starting your own business sound like typical HN crowd goals, but do they actually apply to you?

It seems to me that you right now struggle with seeing the effects of your work, and how they relate to whatever long-term goal you may have. Because there seems to be a disconnect there, you do not feel motivated. But this will not change until you: (a) have a clear long-term goal that you actually care about, and (b) figure out how to work on tasks that help achieve the goal.

Why are you doing whatever it is you are doing?

pieperz
I always thought I was ADHD, then I started a business, turns out I just like to do things my way and lead not follow. I've struggled to "focus" my whole life I'm a jack of all trades and master of none.

When you find the right thing you'll know. I would do what I do now for free or if I was worth 100 Million because I love the game.

riekus
And what is it that you do?
latexr
I’d also like to know.
hungerstrike
Are you working by yourself most of the time? I forget where I read it, but I think it was Joel Spolsky that said “Don’t be a guy in a room” because even if you can do whole projects by yourself, it gets boring and feels unfulfilling compared to working on a team.
ajeet_dhaliwal
The exact opposite is true for me most of the time. The open office ruins it, working on my own or limiting contact is productive.
4ndr3vv
Think the GP isn't talking about "open office" environments but rather having a team to work with vs being one person development team (and apologies if you are too!) I find the latter much harder, and without people to bounce ideas off or discuss priorities with, i find myself quickly demotivated.
bluehatbrit
Spolsky has always been an advocate of private offices, I don't think this quote is intended to be literal. I think it more means being the only one working on a project can suck after a long time, especially if you've got ideas you want to bounce of people and can't.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
Joe-Z
I'd suggest taking a look around you and maybe ask that question to people you know in person. I know this feeling myself, especially when starting out with work after college. Always beating myself up over how I don't have any side-projects, if I'm going to cut it at work and basically why I'm not on the same level as Linus Torvalds, or some other genius programmer already.

I think the truth is that I was heavily influenced by e.g. sites like HN, where it's always touted as the ultimate virtues to have these side-gigs and basically be working all the time. When I looked around though I realized that this is just not the reality for the overwhelming majority of people. Most people are happy just working their 8 hours and then _do something else_

So, my advice would be to 'stop trying so hard'

therufa
this is the best comment so far.
Joe-Z
Haha, thanks. I was a bit surprised how the 'ADHD'-hypothesis took off (many comments responding to it), as opposed to, you know, just not wanting to program all day.
stuaxo
I've often felt similar. As well as peoples other suggestions that are useful, I've found wearing glasses helps, I don't usually, but when I do concentration is definitely easier.

Only first had to wear them from a few years ago so the prescription isn't strong.

But yeah, do tend to flit between tasks a bit.

mwidell
I just read a book about ADHD, and what you describe is exactly what the book says work can feel like for someone on the ADHD spectra. (the book is a Swedish one, called "Fördel ADHD" by Hansen)

Read up on ADHD, and learn good "tactics" to cope with work, such as regular workouts (increases dopamine and makes you able to focus for longer periods), short term goals (just 2 hours into the future perhaps), varying your tasks and work setting often, etc. Something I have found very helpful is the Pomodoro technique.

iovrthoughtthis
This is basically medical advise too right?

I would encourage reading about potential afflictions but I would strongly suggest getting a second (beyond your own) opinion from a medical professional.

closeparen
I always felt this way about schoolwork, and never about professional work. You mention that you're a freelancer - do you have a home office? I found that the context switch of physically being in the building and at my desk made work the most natural and effortless thing in the world, while I struggle with "work from home" days. Is there a way you can create this kind of "work mode" context switch for yourself?
contingencies
Things to try:

- get more sleep

- time off to recharge / re-motivate

- meditation / yoga / exercise

- try to stop using stimulants (includes caffeine/nicotine/sugar) or try using different stimulants (eg. arecoline)

- absolutely do not smoke marijuana, it is known to make many people lazy and demotivated

- control your environment (quiet, no phone, phone off, offline)

- clean your environment (zero clutter)

- change your environment (fresh space)

- remove all distractions (visual, audio, etc.)

- try different times of day (eg. sleep early, wake then work early AM before sunrise)

inglor
I agree with everything bug

> - absolutely do not smoke marijuana, it is known to make many people lazy and demotivated

This is largely a myth whereas I can easily find citations and scientific research to back every other advice. Smoking a lot of marijuana is bad because it messes with your pleasure cycle but overall motivation is hardly effected (citations provided upon request - please do ask or look at pubmed yourself).

Also:

> - try different times of day (eg. sleep early, wake then work early AM before sunrise)

Messing with your circadian clock is dangerous (as in cardiovascular desease dangerous) and I would not recommend anyone to do this. The other advice (like sleep more) is important.

> - meditation / yoga / exercise

This a million times, meditation and exercise are great at motivating you.

iovrthoughtthis
> - absolutely do not smoke marijuana, it is known to make many people lazy and demotivated

This irked me too. I think it's because it's basically medical advise.

I don't want to tell people that they can't comment on the use of chemicals etc but the way they effect people varies considerably and unless you're a doctor with experience in prescribing marajuana then your advise is... hard to trust I guess.

This is regardless of popular opinion. Lots of people can be wrong at the same time.

Stick to personal anecdotes? E.g. I used to take marajuana and I found that it blurred my thoughts and made it hard for me to be motivated so to for me, stopping taking marajuana allowed me to focus a lot more.

Broken_Hippo
absolutely do not smoke marijuana, it is known to make many people lazy and demotivated

This is the stereotype. Sure, some folks get lazy, but same for lots of drugs, including alcohol. How many potheads have you known? I've been one at different times, probably qualify, and would rather work with a pothead who is stoned all the time than a drunk. Lazy isn't due to marijuana, but rather the person smoking and to an extent, their reaction and tolerance level.

With me is the opposite. I don't clean house more or lesse, for instance, when I'm stoned constantly, but I don't mind doing it as much. I eat less. I enjoy my work more. I start enjoying going for actual walks. Now, if you are getting so stoned that you can't walk, that's gonna be an issue. But for me, at least, it isn't what you say. It might be worth trying occasionally. It might be worth cutting down. And if you just do it on weekends occasionally or smoking in the evenings after things are done, it probably isn't going to make little difference.

I am slightly more forgetful. But only slightly. I've sat here and learned stuff, like a langauge (not fluent, but can do simple jobs and speak lightly about politics with it). Not that big of a deal.

[dead] ataturk
No, I've been to Colorado before and after legalization and I can tell you that shit is bad for you! Colorado was never the bright center of customer service, but now every retail establishment and restaurant you visit there is full of the most irritating no-load asshats you can possibly imagine, all of whom seem to think Cheech & Chong are national heroes to model their lives after. It's so bad I didn't go there skiing this season. I really love Colorado, but they need to level off and re-think their priorities in that state. What's so sad about it is that they all think they are acting normal.

As far as the OP goes, the only thing I can suggest is quit the video games--that's an addiction the same as anything else. My programming career took off when I quit playing games and started being a man. It's like all the advice from previous generations actually works or something, weird huh? It doesn't help that everything marketed to us is one way or another designed to infantilize and distract, but you can rise above it.

piceas
Managing distractions, clearing, and changing your environment are particularly effective for me. I was reminded of the following study skills lecture, some of which is applicable when trying to get going and keep going in a work context.

Marty Lobdell - Study Less Study Smart ~60 min. Study environment commentary from 10:15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0

[deleted]
(comment deleted)
MIKarlsen
Without blowing this out of proportion, I think this can also be a slight case of depression. At least, lack of motivation (perhaps from some sort of "non-joy" in your work-environment and tasks) and "there's just no point in doing it" along with your negative self-thoughts, are all part of depression as an illness.

The "I'm a complete failure"-part resonates with me, and perhaps, it could be something as simple as being so afraid of failing, that you never even try.

I don't know if this is helpful advice at all, but it might give you an idea of what you can do to help yourself (CBT for instance).

modernerd
I have felt the same way. Some things that helped me:

1. Do the “Productivity” sessions in the Headspace app. I was really skeptical about guided meditation, but have found them very useful in maintaining focus. It teaches you to be aware when your mind wanders and helps you bring focus back to the task at hand. https://www.headspace.com/

2. Force yourself to break big tasks down into tiny chunks. When things seem overwhelming, it's easy to put them off.

3. Consider using an app that divides your working day into chunks that you can work on in 30-minute intervals. I use http://focuslist.co/ to set my agenda for the day early on, then work through the list.

4. Read “Deep Work” and “So Good They Can't Ignore You” by Cal Newport.

5. Reduce social media. I dropped Facebook and removed all twitter apps from my phone. This is a good guide: http://humanetech.com/take-control/

6. Exercise for 20 minutes every morning. I bought a speed rope from http://rpmtraining.com/ and now skip every morning while listening to podcasts / audiobooks.

7. Consider getting a full-time job, or a contract with one company for 20-30 hours a week. Having co-workers to compare yourself with and managers to be answerable to is a natural motivator.

inglor
> 1. Do the “Productivity” sessions in the Headspace app.

If you haven't done so already - do the "Motivation" pack too - it literally teaches you how to summon motivation which is phenomenal.

superasn
Never heard of headspace until now. Just heard the basics, it's a very cool site. Thanks for sharing.
mNemoN
Start to exercise! Literally, destroy yourself physically, it could help. ;-) I think you can't fix your mental problem only with mental toolkit. It's important to keep your balance of mind and also body. I'm not an expert, but it works for me.
Chris2048
I'd vouch for this. It can make things worse at first, but if you are healthy and exercise regularly, it can help increase your focus and energy levels, then you don't have to fight your body so much to preserve them.
quadcore
I think you've not yet found what you love. Try new things and wait until you think about these naturally in the shower. You should force yourself to assume you dont know who you are. It could be surprising. Maybe you should be, say, a hair stylist. Maybe you would dramatically love that. Finding what I love to do worked for me.
xstartup
You work alone right?

I am hyperproductive when I work in a team because I want to show people who stuff is done within deadline with minimum efforts.

But when I work alone, I lose all motivation. I achieve much less. Even after starting 5 companies.

ci5er
People are funny. I am the complete opposite. (Not that I don't get lonely working alone)
xstartup
Hey! I am an introvert and love staying alone. I like to think that staying alone helps me solve problems creatively but my major problem is that when I plan things they don't go well. For me, most of the success has come from flowing along tide when I wasn't eyeing the end or reward when I was going insane with the group.
ci5er
I don't understand the last half of your last sentence, but the rest sounds about right.
altvali
Try meditation. It is proven to increase productivity. I'm not talking about finding spiritual balance and all that hocus-pocus, I'm talking about actively destroying the thought threads that pop up in your head for 5 minutes at the beginning of the day. This will help shape your mind to prevent distractions throughout the day. Some other things that help are planning your next day in the evening, exercise, a good sleep, a good diet, showering, but meditation is the single biggest improvement that you can make.
mseebach
I used to feel that way, but I finally came to terms with the fact that my work-life was a mess, and I was basically lying to myself.

I was working (and struggling, hard, in the way you describe) on a project I was telling myself would become a startup, and even though I felt I was being realistic about the limitations, in retrospect even that was insanely optimistic. I was burning myself out.

Once I had this epiphany - triggered by going to Startup Weekend and having a ton of fun (and no motivational problems!) working on a project, I pulled the plug and eventually got a fairly regular job in a fairly normal company (in an excellent team, though).

The epiphany and pulling the plug had a huge effect. It didn't fix everything overnight, but I did get into a habit of introspection, especially when I'm facing tasks that I struggle to get motivated for. They're still hard, but I am generally able to organise things around them in such a way that they don't get me down.

mamadontloveme
Try to work on projects that are more interesting for you. I almost always have better focus if I work on a job that includes at least one thing, which I am personally interested in.
mattmanser
I have always had the exact same problem, sort of dealt with it by doing crazy sprints of work, but recently had a revelation. And I'm in my late 30s.

Try the free course "Learning How To Learn" by Barbara Oakley on Coursera.

It teaches you how to deal with this in the procrastination section. Roughly speaking, it teaches you how to recognize and effectively counter bad habit as well as change your mind set to focus on the process, not the product. For me the process/product bit was the big revelation.

Also, it sort of teaches you that your zombie mode can be used for good, I realized that by trying to have an incredibly flexible life and not have a set routine, I was actually working against one of my best "allies", habits for simple stuff are good, the mind likes routines as it can switch off. Use it to your advantage.

It's not a magic bullet, some days still go wrong, yesterday for example I played a game all day. But the odd thing is, techniques like the podomoro technique have now started working for me with this change in mindset.

I would go through the whole course start to end, it's short and really good. I've picked up several other new ideas and habits from it that are really working for me.

EDIT: Also, I second the therapy too, that's also helped.

ilovecars2
I now have the opposite issue! If I’m not working RIGHT NOW, I start to feel anxious, because I should be working. This even stems to when I go home after work, or on the weekends, and so I never really can relax my mind. It’s really unhealthy, and I think I’m going to have to see a professional to help me fix this.
SXX
Find yourself any activity depend on your preference (and budget) that going to make you physically exhausted. It's can be any sport or you can travel to warm / cold country of your preference for swimming / skiing. When you're physically exhausted your brain won't be so busy with your work problems.

If you actually very busy person with limited time another good option is to pick some audio book or podcast that you can listen in between your usual routine. Once you start listening something daily it's will become easier for you to switch your brain between different activities more easily. It's could be anything from fiction to language course and some of it could even be useful for your career in case you need justification for yourself.

mostafaberg
I personally don't think it's something "wrong" with you, most probably there's something wrong with your process.

I have the same issues, and I think you speak out for lots of people, motivation is a very limited resource and when it's not used properly, you end up in this state.

What worked for me best is to tackle your tasks with the notion that you have limited resources in mind and that you're just human.

Some tips that you might find useful, that certainly work very well for me:

1- Declutter your workspace, clean your whole house, having small things here and there lying around affects my thought process.

2- Declutter your brain, Throw away ideas that might be nice, but are not possible to work on right now cause they'll take tons of time and money, write those ideas down somewhere for later use, if ever.

3- Declutter your life, make sure you don't have lingering problems that can be fixed now, your brain will fatigue out when you have a lot in your stack, fix that leaking toilet, talk to your spouse about the issue you've been always having with them, tell your friend you can't help them with that thing they needed, empty out as much as you can, and work on the low hanging fruits first.

4- When it comes to tasks, spend as much time as you can afford planning it ahead first, break things down into small actionable tasks that will take a few minutes or hours to resolve, avoid homogeneous tasks like "Implement backend", "Fix the known bugs", "Release next version", etc... instead, have very concrete minimal tasks like "Fix bug #21", "Create Users profile database schema", "Convert header image to SVG", etc...

5- Timebox things when planning, say you'll spend only 1 hour today working on this issue, if you can't, then take it again in the next planning and break it down further and give it an appropriate time slot

6- Getting great ideas while working is almost like thought cancer, don't start on them, write them down and continue to do what you are doing

7- Don't start new tasks before the assigned ones are actually done

8- Don't reward or punish yourself, rewards tend to make me very narrow minded, and punishment takes the fun out of things, ask yourself why you are doing what you're doing and why you have to do it, write that down and keep it as a reminder in your workspace.

9- Talk to others, let people know what you're doing, and when it's expected to be done, this keeps me at least from getting lazy as there's expectations form others to see what i've done

10- Listen to different music, I noticed that once I changed my playlist that was on repeat, I was a completely new person, play a podcast instead, or listen to radio or channels that you have no control over.

11- Kill the projects that are taking too long and deep inside you you know that you'll never manage to finish, find smaller ones that are realistic.

12- Always remember that nothing has to be perfect, it's better to have something out there, most of the time no one even notices what you think is a crisis.

13- Ask yourself everyday, is this what I want to be doing?, am I happy?, should I continue? if the answer is truly a big yes from your heart, then go on, if not, try to find other things that might be more fun for you.

Tis is what works for me, your results may vary, but what matters is that you have to be relatively happy doing what you do!, if you think you're suffering from ADHD, I would say it's best to visit a therapist, it'll clear out lots of things, don't feel bad spending money on yourself a bit, it's worth it. also if it's your kind of thing, find a mentor :) keep up the good work and never give up!

swah
About timeboxing - Edmond Lau explains like this on The effective engineer: "instead of researching for a solution (say CSS library) for a few hours (which become days), give yourself (say) one hour for that and use the solution you were able to come up. Its interesting and certainly hits me hard, because researching is so much easier than working...
enugu
There are probably no simple solutions. But just in case, you havent already done this, just use a simple time logging tool and work in discrete sessions(20-40 minutes). (Eternity time logger is one good app, there are others). Dont worry about being precise (in terms of minutes high or low, or exact kind of task, over analysis isnt good). Instead aim for consistent use.

This allows you to work a certain number of rounds a day(instead of nebulous amount of productive time) and clarifies what is exactly happening instead on relying on internal psychological indicators of having done something or not.

Also, specifically for the ADHD part, the problem with wavering attention is that when one comes back, 'loading' the context again takes a lot of work. So write a note at the end of each session on what's done or maintain a simple task text file(again, it is easy to over organize here, so keep things as simple as possible).