My interpretation is a little different, though: I think that a lot of my emotional struggle with procrastination is some fear of creating something less than perfect (or, for that matter, at least less than what I'm capable of). When exhaustion and/or stress over a very near deadline override that, I end up tossing something together.. and in the clear light of the next day, I usually find what whatever I did is at least a good start at whatever I need to do.
As a side note, I've also found that setting a next action helps - I usually take it a step further and make sure it's a simple and/or easy action, though. Very often, without intentionally making sure to save something easy, I'll knock out anything simple that's in line with what I've been doing. If something is complex enough to think "well, that will take a long time, this is a good stopping point" it's also a task that will be harder to get started whenever I come back to what I'm doing.
Like, you want to to your work perfectly, because otherwise ... will happen?
You procrastinate so that you have to finish the work on the last hour and then can tell yourself that you did not use your full potential, so that no one can judge you (as they did not see the full potential), because otherwise ... would happen?
It seems exactly like the kind of habits complex emotional creatures like humans develop. And it's not nearly as bad a habit as some other stuff, like addiction etc, which most people do understand. Even though the effects on ones life can be just as catastrophic.
I guess the strongest emotion is fear which “motivates” us. And one should verify whether some actions are based on fear and how it influences our lives. And maybe now this is only procrastination. But as the previous commenter said, one had to watch out for themselves.
Hint: big or small, it’s always a fear
It's frustrating, because it's not like it's a solution to be tired all the time. If I'm sleeping better, I get less work done and more life done, feel happier and better, but get swamped by work later. If I'm exhausted, I get some work done and no life done, feel horrible and eventually dip back into depression, but I'm a little bit more on top of work.
Eventually I get too exhausted to even do that, so again it's no solution, but it is interesting none the less.
For me, this applies to traditional bar sports like pool, darts, shuffleboard, beer pong, etc., but also to some more traditional sports like golf and bowling (where drinking is also semi-acceptable). I'm much better after 2 drinks, but by 4 drinks I'm absolutely awful.
I've read alcohol is actually banned as a performance enhancing drug in olympic shooting (along with most other depressants), allegedly because they help to steady your hand from shaking due to nervousness in a high-stakes competition. Personally, I'm sure there's also a mental benefit to just not overthinking things, which applies to all the activities above, and can help with programming as well.
If your near term memory is especially crap, prescription n-back training when you are on meds can help improve it a little, and sometimes a lot. I sort of broke the scale on that one, apparently, was weird.
Side effects, I haven't had a lot except while trying out new medication.
I'll look at this sorry mess tomorrow, if you have any question I can answer :)
For me it was a very circuitous way, but after multiple doctor appointments in my late 30's for what looked as a depression without the depressive part, or getting burnt out by essentially doing almost nothing, I got sent to a therapist that sent me to a psychiatrist, and a few convolutions later I got a thorough evaluation by some specialists in Stockholm. They had no doubt at all, I ticked all the boxes for ADD. Probably on the autism spectra too, but I was in such a terrible shape that they felt it pointless to bother with it at least before I was somewhat on my feet again.
My scoring for attention to boring tasks was apparently through the floor terrible.
By the way, if you find yourself trying to find a reason why everything I write is crap, it's okay. I would have too, because it would have felt impossible, and nobody wants to do the impossible. That feeling is true, but maybe not entirely reliable!
The treatment varies as there are yet no clear roadmap. However, if you only get offered a stimulant, that's a bad sign. Go somewhere else if you can.
The treatment should be quite individual, the effects of ADHD on mind and body over time can vary a lot, and the most important role of the stimulants for most people is that it enables purposeful change. You probably won't have much experience of that, so it's no good to be entirely on your own.
You would start with figuring out if one of the stimulants works for you, and at what dose. This should be a bit annoying, take a fair bit of time, and you'll probably end up trying more than one until you find something you tolerate well. It can take a while because your body adapts, especially the first week(s) can be rather odd. This is commonly the first step, because it makes everything easier, or at least possible.
They may have an introductory course which covers the basics of what it is to live with ADHD, and if you have an SO that's not exactly like you, it's recommended they attend something similar but target at them. We're not always easy to live with, and they might also need someone to went at that knows what's up. My ex wife tried to talk to her friend before I got my diagnosis, and she only felt even more alone.
After figuring out medication, or in parallel you should see a some kind of therapist that is specialized in attention deficit disorder, because a) unless you are very young, you have issues that your superhuman avoidance algorithms has made you avoid, you might start noticing them, and they need to be dealt with b) It's nice to have someone that doesn't lie to you, can help you understand your fellow humans. Autistic traits are extremely common if you are anywhere near tech and have ADHD, and if not, it is easier for some to keep sane and also keep your friends as friends if you can tell someone who is not your friend why everything sucks, and why people are stupid. YMMV c) You'll probably not notice your own progress at first, but a decent therapist will, and you get valuable feedback to get the ball rolling. d) Don't stop going to the therapist to early if you can avoid it, you'll probably improve rather quickly, but if it's not habit yet, and if you're not very lucky on the medical side, you might need someone to keep you heading in the right direction.
Most people have some side effects during the time the medicine is active during the day, but usually quite minor.
Results vary immensely, but even for me which in many ways have not had fantastic results, mostly because I was so terribly burnt out that it alone has taken years to recover from, it still was so worth it every step of the way.
My life is still rather messy, but I feel like it's my own life now, I'm not only drifting along. I still plan terribly, but I am in time more often than not, that didn't use to be the case.
It's actually really hard to understand the results beforehand. It's as if trying to understand how blue smells. I wouldn't have understood my own descriptions, because my brain