neurodiverse
What is Neurodivergence?
It's ADHD, Autism, OCD, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, bi-polar, aspd, etc etc etc etc
“neurologically atypical patterns of thought or behavior”
So, it’s very broad, if you feel like it describes you then it does as far as we're concerned
Rules
1.) ableist language=post or comment will probably get removed (enforced case by case, some comments will be removed and restored due to complex situations). repeated use of ableist language=banned from comm and possibly site depending on severity. properly tagged posts with CW can use them for the purposes of discussing them
2.) always assume good faith when dealing with a fellow nd comrade especially due to lack of social awareness being a common symptom of neurodivergence
2.5) right to disengage is rigidly enforced. violations will get you purged from the comm. see rule 3 for explanation on appeals
3.) no talking over nd comrades about things you haven't personally experienced as a neurotypical chapo, you will be purged. If you're ND it is absolutely fine to give your own perspective if it conflicts with another's, but do so with empathy and the intention to learn about each other, not prove who's experience is valid. Appeal process is like appealing in user union but you dm the nd comrade you talked over with your appeal (so make it a good one) and then dm the mods with screenshot proof that you resolved it. fake screenies will get you banned from the site, we will confirm with the comrade you dm'd.
3.5) everyone has their own lived experiences, and to invalidate them is to post cringe. comments will be removed on a case by case basis depending on determined level of awareness and faith
4.) Interest Policing will not be tolerated in any form. Support your comrades in their joy!
Further rules to be added/ rules to be changed based on community input
RULES NOTE: For this community more than most we understand that the clarity and understandability of these rules is very important for allowing folks to feel comfortable, to that end please don't be afraid to be outspoken about amendments and addendums to these rules, as well as any we may have missed
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No one talks about how many tasks make up something like "clean the kitchen" and it can be overwhelming for us neurodivergents, especially since most of the stuff that needs cleaned up is left out might not even have a home, and so you might have to do that as well.
Here are a few things that have helped me out
Work timers, even if they're only for 10-20 minutes, allow you to get in, do at least a little bit of work, and then have a break period. But set a break timer, too for 5-15 minutes. If there's nothing to interrupt your break, you've more likely to procrastinate and get distracted.
This can work well with the timer. Ask yourself what tasks you can get done in 10-20 minutes. Maybe it's just laundry, the dishes, or sweeping, or maybe it's all three. But start small and build on more afyerwards until your break.
Having a friend, family member, or significant other do the tasks with you can help you feel motivated by using something called Body Doubling. Essentially, if you see someone else doing chores, you are more likely to also do chores.
If you don't have someone available, listening to YouTube, audio books, or podcasts can also help, as most of the time we don't want to do regular activities because they're not interesting. By listening to something in the background, you're stimulating your brain with information while also getting something done.
What strategies have other Lemmings come up with?
adding to this: when i'm severely overwhelmed, i skip goalsetting entirely. instead of 'i will/can do X in these N minutes', it's 'i will work on X for these N minutes', and whether i finish or not is irrelevant. hell, i might not even care if i make any progress, just that i spent the time alotted focusing only on doing something related to the task, even if it's just to stare at it. i might break it into smaller steps first. i like using goblin.tools if i'm stuck — just mash out a 700 word unformatted misspelt rant and get a list of stuff, then have the magic todo break it down further, and discard whatever doesn't make sense. i used this method to shorten showering down from 20 minutes of forgetting what i'm doing, to a hyperoptimised 8 minute routine.
sometimes i realise it's easier/faster than it sounded in my head, and so i'm more motivated and focused for a second round at it. other times it's just as hard as i imagined, or there's steps i didn't consider, but i've tried it and i now have concrete data to build a plan for the second go. all the while, i try to focus only on the next smallest step toward completion, one step at a time.
This is part of the reason why I had work timer as the first tool: it's the easiest, lowest bar to entry, and 15 minutes of half-assed chore is better than procrastinating.
Using goblin tools is a great idea, I'll have to try that myself, thank you!
I have never really tried work timers yet, maybe I should genuinely try it tomorrow.
I joined a study group at my university for people with procrastination problems, with the same rationale as you put forward. But they all study something different, so it isn't super effective. I do want to avoid working at home in my room, it seems to emit an anti-work aura. So far I've found my local library to be the most pleasant work environment.
Perhaps I could listen to music more often, but audio books or podcasts are no-go's: I can't multitask anyway and I also have a harder time than average understanding spoken words (I always turn on subtitles for Youtube videos).
Make a promise to my future self that I'm gonna give em one small thing to feel better about.
Put my subconscious internal dialogue into words, out loud or written. As soon as I talk about it, it seems more manageable.
I stole this from another Bear: