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I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

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Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#131

Post by kls »

Reelin wrote: post #95
kls wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been on them for several years, had to go up in dose in the first 6 months but after that they have worked ever since. I take an obscure and old ADHD medicine called Desoxen and my dosage is 15 MG twice a day, it has been the same dose for over 4 years, Desoxen had less side effects for me than some of the other meds like Adderall. Also if you do have ADHD, that is exactly what it is like, turning normal on. I…

Just FYI, Desoxyn is literally a trade name for methamphetamine (so much for obscure). Also if that surprised you at all, Adderall is (more or less) the same thing minus a single carbon from the end. Amazing the difference in outcomes when it's purchased from a reliable source and consumed in moderation! (This also applies to the so called "opioid crisis", but I'll save that rant for another time.)

Yes obscure might not have been the best fit. But it is a really old treatment for ADHD and is not used much now days. A lot of that has to do with patents and no pharmaceutical companies pushing it. Others have to do with the fact that it is pharmaceutical methamphetamine.

It's a little much to go over in text, but this guy:

https://youtu.be/TCPxPI_q8C8

gives a really good overview of the differences in the chemicals. He does not go into methamphetamine (Desoxyn) but I did a lot of research on it as well when I was looking to find the most effective treatment for myself. Having taken Desoxyn, Adderall and Dexedrine, I find half the dose of Desoxyn equals a similar dose of Adderall so 15mg = 30mg, with a lot less of the physical side effects (methamphetamine crosses the blood-brain barrier easier and has an affinity for the CNS over the PNS). To me Desoxyn and Dexedrine are similar but Dexedrine required a slightly higher dose, and did not create quite the clearheaded-ness that Desoxyn does.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#132

Post by kls »

james_s_tayler wrote: post #124
kls wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been on them for several years, had to go up in dose in the first 6 months but after that they have worked ever since. I take an obscure and old ADHD medicine called Desoxen and my dosage is 15 MG twice a day, it has been the same dose for over 4 years, Desoxen had less side effects for me than some of the other meds like Adderall. Also if you do have ADHD, that is exactly what it is like, turning normal on. I…

Really appreciate the reply. A couple of months ago I came across this article / HN thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22129777 I walked away from it with this notion that it all sounded a little too familiar. But it was just a curiosity in the back of my mind. I wasn't really brave enough to take a proper look. Then during lockdown working remotely the difference became quite visible to me. I started to do…

Funny you mentioned the dishes, because that is one of those really simple tasks that I would ignore to focus on whatever I was focused on. Now I do the dishes to take a break, almost subconsciously. Any cleaning used to require it's own dedicated block of time (usually Saturday) on the meds cleaning is just something I do to take a break and regroup. For me and my ADHD without meds hyper-focus was easy (If I am interested in what I want to focus on) but breaking out of that hyper-focus was like killing my dog.

It's not all rainbows and unicorns though so make sure you do your own research. Sometimes the meds can cause insomnia, dental health is a real issue with amphetamine based drugs (this is due to them causing dry mouth) you have to drink lots of water to offset it and dental hygiene is of the utmost importance, the dental effects can be avoided but it required steadfast attention. Finally there are some cardiovascular risks, which while they should not be overstated they should not be ignored either.

On not being sure of the meds, my advice would be try one dose, then decide if it is right for you or not. There is no ramp up time, like depression or bi-polar meds, you will know how effective they are going to be and if they are right for you with a single dose. As well there are different strategies for using ADHD meds, some people take them daily, some people only take them when they get down in the weeds and need to pull themselves out the choice is yours with how you manage it.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#133

Post by notenoughhorses »

easymodex wrote: post #129
notenoughhorses wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I’ve got some similar experience. I always had underlying focus issues, but managed to excel at school and first job because I really cared. First work experiences led me to become pretty cynical about office life, and I find that my motivation ultimately gets sapped because I don’t think what I do is that important. I’ve been soul searching for months about this, including trying a different workplace, etc.…

Where I work it's like if you do a bad job and screw something up everyone notices and it's a whole lot of drama involved, but if you do a good job and fix something before it blows up, no one notices and no one cares. So all the bad without the good. I guess you get used to it after a while but I would love a metaphorical pat on the back and a "good job" every now and then.

I have had two bad workplaces and one good one. The best I saw, at the good one, was that if something went wrong, we would figure out WHY and how to prevent ourselves from doing this in the future (constructive approach).

The bad places, everyone was about pointing fingers at other people (the worst being those reviewers who blamed first years!) and yelling / lecturing but not problem-solving why the workflow allowed this problem to arise.

I have heard from some friends who do manage to work someplace where their manager expresses appreciation for them frequently.

My point is--I think there are better workplaces out there! (Right now I work for myself which circumvents most of that stuff). But if I was looking for a new employer, my new minimum criteria is that they at least have to handle problems by problem-solving, not drama.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#134

Post by ponko »

xzel wrote: post #34
dnh44 wrote: post #27

When I’ve done a great job of procrastinating, I normally have a lot anxious energy that I feel I need to get rid of so I go for a 30 minute walk or run. During this outing I repeat the Mentat Mantra from the Dune film to myself the entire time. "It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alo…

I'll use the "fear is the mind killer" [1] quote when I'm upset or anxious quite often. I really should add this one to my arsenal as well. I've never thought of Dune as a self-help book but I might now. Weirdly enough I'm also currently re-reading it, after watching the miniseries due to quarantine, and I'll try to find more things like this during my reading. [1] “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is t…

I do this too! I like to write the whole litany against fear out a few times to fill up a page. I find this helps me identify the root of whatever I am currently feeling anxious about. Once you identify the fear, then it can be addressed directly.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#135

Post by james_s_tayler »

kls wrote: post #132
james_s_tayler wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really appreciate the reply. A couple of months ago I came across this article / HN thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22129777 I walked away from it with this notion that it all sounded a little too familiar. But it was just a curiosity in the back of my mind. I wasn't really brave enough to take a proper look. Then during lockdown working remotely the difference became quite visible to me. I started to do…

Funny you mentioned the dishes, because that is one of those really simple tasks that I would ignore to focus on whatever I was focused on. Now I do the dishes to take a break, almost subconsciously. Any cleaning used to require it's own dedicated block of time (usually Saturday) on the meds cleaning is just something I do to take a break and regroup. For me and my ADHD without meds hyper-focus was easy (If I am inte…

> breaking out of that hyper-focus was like killing my dog

That's such good way to describe it for those who just don't experience it.

It's like if you had just reached the decision logically to turn off life support for someone you love. It's not like you just straight away walk over and switch it off. There's this awful reluctance that you have to go through first.

Medication sounds like quite a mixed bag, but I'm feeling somewhat more willing to give it a try.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#136

Post by Bedon292 »

One technique that was working for me for a while was Bullet Journal. Using an actual physical notebook to write down all the tasks right away in a simple list. Review at the end of the day. Review at the beginning of the day. Having a list of tasks I haven't forgot allows me to actually get stuff done. Review and migrate tasks each month. Its like a backlog grooming for life. Sometimes tasks just linger and you have to think about why that task has been there for months. Being able to see the list, and get the satisfaction of physically marking it off is definitely beneficial for me. And if you are going to procrastinate, at least you have a list of other things on your mind that you might accomplish.

Unfortunately this whole situation of working from home threw me off and haven't used it in a while. But I think I might revive it, and put into place some of these rules, like just doing things immediately if they are under 5min in the morning. Rather than continuing to put them off.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#137

Post by fenwick67 »

badpun wrote: post #111
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a thing from Stephen King (IIRC) that poo-poohed the writer's block / "right circumstances" thing, he approached it more as a job, you sit down and write. Overpower the "I don't know what to write" thing, don't wait for creativity to come, etc. Maybe one day I'll unlazy myself and look it up again. But the most common advice I've seen against procrastination is to just force yourself to do five minutes of your…

This approach probably works for non-creative tasks, but most of King's novels are just mediocre, which I guess reflects his factory-like attitude to writing.

It's easy to dump on King for being a philistine, but it's a stretch to imply his work is non-creative.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#138

Post by ponko »

kls wrote: post #92
james_s_tayler wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are the meds effective long-term? I'm kinda terrified of the idea of being able to just turn normal on, but then one day having to turn it off.

I have been on them for several years, had to go up in dose in the first 6 months but after that they have worked ever since. I take an obscure and old ADHD medicine called Desoxen and my dosage is 15 MG twice a day, it has been the same dose for over 4 years, Desoxen had less side effects for me than some of the other meds like Adderall. Also if you do have ADHD, that is exactly what it is like, turning normal on. I…

I also resisted getting diagnosed as I did not want to rely on "drugs" and I figured that I was just lazy or unmotivated. Eventually my coping methods like drinking tons of coffee just did not help at all and I took the plunge.

It really is an issue of denial. I realized instantly the first time I took Adderall that I should not have waited so long. It is kind of frustrating to look back and realize how many of my issues, especially in school, can be attributed to unmanaged ADD. I wish someone would have advised me to get help 15 years ago, but oh well.

For anyone reading this, I highly encourage getting checked out if you have ADD symptoms and are not depressed (depression can look like ADD). I just want to note that dependence was my main hangup, but it has not been an issue- I regularly go a few days at a time with no meds on weekends or vacations and I don't have any negative symptoms or cravings.

https://www.verywellmind.com/adhd-symptoms-4157281

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#139

Post by cryptonector »

dijit wrote: post #15

I'm a master procrastinator. Mostly because I have so many things I could do that I have this background feeling that I'm neglecting everything else if I focus on one thing. And I get distracted easily and I hate trying to come back in the middle of something. However, for some things, I have systems to cope. I make -very- simple unbreakable rules. I got fat, decided I needed to fix it, so now I set an alarm at 6am e…

Procrastination is often mainly about "getting started". Once you've done it you can finish, but until you start you can doddle and doddle. For those who have this problem, the key is to force yourself to get started.

Sometimes the task at hand is monumental and it feels like scaling mount Everest. But still, once you're in the thick of it you can maintain a pace for a while and make progress, but until you start, the whole thing feels imposing.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#140

Post by ponko »

kls wrote: post #132
james_s_tayler wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really appreciate the reply. A couple of months ago I came across this article / HN thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22129777 I walked away from it with this notion that it all sounded a little too familiar. But it was just a curiosity in the back of my mind. I wasn't really brave enough to take a proper look. Then during lockdown working remotely the difference became quite visible to me. I started to do…

Funny you mentioned the dishes, because that is one of those really simple tasks that I would ignore to focus on whatever I was focused on. Now I do the dishes to take a break, almost subconsciously. Any cleaning used to require it's own dedicated block of time (usually Saturday) on the meds cleaning is just something I do to take a break and regroup. For me and my ADHD without meds hyper-focus was easy (If I am inte…

> ... you have to drink lots of water

That's a fact! One of the weird things about Adderall at least is that you no longer have any physical needs. You don't get thirsty and that's a good way to end the day with a killer dehydration headache.

I suspect that some of the cardiovascular risk can be minimized by making sure you are not taking a dosage that is too high for you. Your heart should not be racing at all with the right dose.

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