Anyone suffer from laziness and/or lack of willpower?

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I wonder if this is common among many other Aspies. There have been too many cases in my life that I suffered from laziness and lack of willpower. Even now I'm having trouble typing this very post. It seems like this problem didn't improve much at all over the years. The past couple of days, it's gotten much worse. Many things I tried or “wanted” in my life (writing, drawing, etc.), I would get about 10% done at most, and then stop. The things I managed to get done were things that I was forced to do (like school work) and even then, those would be put off to the last minute. It feels like with almost everything I never want it bad enough and if I do, it lasts only a short amount of time. Very few times did I ever do that kinda stuff right away. I should also note that this even affects fun value, which I end up getting bored of much things easily that a lot of people have fun doing.

I think negative thinking had a huge impact on this. It's very hard for me to have enough willpower to finish most things. I'll just get randomly tired of doing what I'm doing and that's the end of it. Overcoming a lack of willpower, this laziness, and negative thinking is very hard when I feel like even among Aspies I'm misunderstood. I think those three are interconnected. I even seem to have a lack of willpower to overcome this, the very few times I somewhat attempted to get rid of this. It's ironic that I'm tired of feeling this way, yet these feelings nearly stops me from wanting to overcome them. Even this post took a lot longer to type then it normally would. Anyone else feel like they suffer from any of this? Guess I'll have to look into some kind of medicine (as much as I generally dislike drugs for “fixing” problems) if such a kind exists for these feelings.

I'm honestly not taking the piss by saying this: I really can't be bothered discussing it. It's only because you said that, that I bothered posting at all. Otherwise I would have just kept browsing and most likely ended up in random discussion, playing dumb post-count-friendly games with people half my age...not that there's really anything wrong with that.

Trouble is, I only ever really seem to get on here in the middle of the night because of my sleeping problems, so I don't really like to get caught up in overlong posts...not that this doesn't happen! But I have to get up in 2 hours, so I'll say this...I think that insomnia is the root of my problem. There is no known reason for it, but as long as I can remember, I haven't been able to get a proper night's sleep two nights in a row, so I'm always feeling lethargic. Not that I don't have my odd moments of deep focus and concentration...you just wouldn't bank on them, that's all.

I also have that problem. I want to write but I've barely done anything and I don't intend to continue what I have done. Then I read an article and started wondering if I was anemic, which is possible, given my unhealthy diet. The sluggishness might have gotten worse this year, since reading is my passion but there's not exactly a shortage of books that I haven't finished because I didn't want to bother, even though I like the authors.

Truth-seeker: Do not feel alone and misunderstood amoung even Aspies! Your post sounds EXACTLY LIKE ME. In fact, I would say this is the #1 thing in my life that is holding me back, and causing me such misery and feelings of failure. Because I frequently get new ideas for myself, you know, personal projects that I want to work on relatining to my favourite interests. Most of them are parody ideas for my favourite game because I don't see much of it, and what I've seen is often crap. I have wanted to correct this for myself, and for other fans to enjoy. Or even just to learn new skills that I need to learn, that would also be fun: I CAN'T MAKE MYSELF DO ANYTHING!! ! I can only stay concentrated on something it seems if it has a complete fun value, and absolutely no importance what so ever - because often times the projects and the things I want to learn have so many STEPS involved, some which may even be very confusing or complicated. I only see the END RESULT of what I want, and I want to do it, but I forget to pay attention to all the steps required to make it happen. So I end up feeling so overwhelmed with challenges, and in my long personal to-do list, I can't seem to choose a priority or understand how to make it go underway.

Often what happens is I'll need to upgrade my computer first to be able to accomplish my projects. And guess what? Computer upgrades are complicated and overwhelming too! I have been trying to decide on how to upgrade for A YEAR NOW! The first step is to overcome the PROCRASTINATING and putting something off, and then when I finally sit down and try to tackle it, it still doesn't get done right there. Big projects that I want to do that consist of multiple things to learn and do, I never see them get anywhere. And I get so depressed because I wish I could accomplish some of these things. I'm even the artist on a fangame, and even though I'm quite good, I had to make a very painful decision to step down recently because I wasn't getting anything in and I was holding the whole project up. I feel like I let everyone down and mostly myself because of this motivation/focus problem....

I think maybe this is a problem for some aspies, but it sounds almost like the OPPOSITE problem that many aspies face. You read about how Aspies have high focus on their interests and obsessively study something until they become an expert? That's not me at ALL. I have intense obsessions but, usually when it involves any kind of real motivation and work on my part, it doesn't happen. But I don't think I'm LAZY. I don't know what it is. But if I had the ability to get rid of that problem in my brain, I would do it INSTANTLY! Because it has made me struggle in college and in everything in my life and is driving me to the brink of depression.

I don't have this lack of focus when posting. Typing seems to be a different problem for me in that I CAN'T STOP TYPING, and when I post and I see how HUGE it is for people to read, I feel so sad and like I just wasted alot of time....

And as for this:

That is EXACTLY right!! ! You think to yourself "enough of this $%#& I can't live this way...." And then soon enough: "Meh. What exactly can I do about it?"

I have that problem, when it comes to Healthy Eating. One day, I eat under 1400 Calories, like I'm supposed to and the next day, I eat a little over 1600 Calories, which I'm not supposed to. I've just eaten 125 Calories worth of Munchies, and now I'm stimulating my Digestive System, by eating Cherries. I've also only taken Chico for a 20 Minute Walk, instead of his usual 1 Hour Early Morning Walk, today. Than again, I didn't get out of Bed, until 6:30 and that's very late for me. I'm usually up at 4 in the Morning. I've gotten into that Early Morning Habit, when I was working.

I was diagnosed with chronic depression (dysthymia) and it is sort of like you describe, so perhaps there is some depression going on. I have had major depression before, so I know that the chronic depression feels quite different. I can also tell when periodically it seems like I am meandering into a regular depression (or double depression if you get depressed and you have chronic depression). So - it may be something to look at. I have not necessarily agreed with the chronic depression part, because I think some of it is just my sparkling personality (lol) - but I have been told by several doctors that I am depressed. I don't take any medication for it though because of the side effects fro the SSRIs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysthymia

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 000918.htm

I feel this way too, and i really don't like it. I want to do things and yet i feel like i don't have the energy or motivation. I feel physically tired and my brain feels like it is in a fog. I have suspected for a long time, that it has to do with my diet. Possibly a food allergy or sensitivity to gluten. I want to change my diet, but don't have the will-power too. I think it is what i eat, because it is so much worse right after i eat, i feel like i want to take a nap. But, i waste the day sleeping and am up all night. I am in a rut and it seems too hard to change. When i have to do necessary things i put it off and then i force myself to do them at the last minute. I feel like i'm not getting much accomplished and am wasting my life. I just try to take life a day at a time. If i think about the past i am depressed and if i think about the future i am anxious. I always seem to have a black cloud following me. I wish i knew the answer. I hope that things get better for you.

lack of motivation, poor sleeping an eating habits, feel like crap offen

Oh well I'll never keep up to the Jones and don't care as long as I got a confortable place to live like indoors with heat an air conditioning and it's somewnat clean and I'm not hungry or tired, life is about as good as it's going to get.

A song by Jackson Brown pretty much covers it.

"Everyone going someplace,I guess they got a lot to do before they can rest assured their lives are justified,pray to God he will let me slide".
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I watch the NT's running around like crazy trying to keep up with the Jones and figure I'll just stay out of their way and watch them have at it.

I was going to type up a very long and well thought out post concerning this subject, but then I just didn't feel like it anymore.

Yeah, definitely. The list of "to do" things in my head just keeps growing more and more and I don't know how will it end, I'm trying to take control of my life and get those things done, but there is always some movie to see, some book to read or some web browsing that distracts me from the real work, and then after hours of watching, reading and browsing, I'm just to sleepy and go to bed and then it all starts again the next day when I wake up late...

I can get that way, but usually only with things that I'm not too interested in doing. I have a very low tolerance for frustration and patience, and I get really annoyed when things don't work out the way I want them to. I hate to think, really. I have had this sort of problem with schoolwork. If I didn't see or fully understand what I was doing, then I'd get frustrated and throw it aside. It sort of worked on a few occasions, because I actually understood it later on.

I am a huge procrastinator. I put everything to the last minute, so much so that it sort of gets on my nerves. I can't seem to even schedule things properly, so I end up working on impulse for the most part. Some things in my life I do schedule, like I watch like exactly three hours of TV a day and use the computer most of the other hours. I have so few interests, and yet I can't seem to be able to get things done that I would like. Of course, I tend to do a plethora of activities on the computer. So, for me, it's more like, how am I going to get all the things done today? I sort of have trouble with spontaneity in some parts of my life, yet I am bizarrely spontaneous with other parts. It's sort of annoying.

- Ray M -

I suspect that your problem might not be an issue of willpower, so much as difficulty in staying motivated.

I think that most of us on the Spectrum can have tremendous wills, but just willpower is often not enough.


That's how I see my own problems which also sound very similar.

I can procrastinate with the best of them and have lots of problems being motivated, not being lazy or vague. Part of it is i think that i get stressed very easily and then to de-stress i have to do something that i really enjoy but that requires not much thought, like watching tv or reading. If i'm having a de-stress day i will read or watch tv all day and do abosolutly nothing else, this days happen once a week or so, but if i don't relax i get really upset and overwhelmed so i've got no choice really.

One of these days when we get around to it we should all start a procrastinator's club.

I'm exprience that feeling of lazyness my self too. Since right now my life is on hold and I've got no reason to go anywhere I'm lazy.

Walk-in-the-rain:

THANK YOU so much for your post! I never even heard of Dysthymia before, but after reading those links, that sounds EXACTLY what I have! I have been miserable, well on most days anyway, and its been this way for many months now - over a year for sure. I knew I had Aspergers, but I couldn't explain WHY I was always so sad for months lately, I KNEW there had to be something going on here, some type of depression. But I guess I thought depression was only for when you're not very functional AT ALL, I didn't realise there are different forms of it. And yes, AS people are more prone to depression than the general population. I think it is a combination of just how our brains work differently, and also the life circumstance too, if things aren't going the way you want them too.

How this relates to the lack of motivation, well, I've always ALWAYS as far as I've known, had trouble being able to stay on task and do things, even if its something I wanted and planned to do. Somehow, if it has so many steps involved, it is overwhelming and I don't know how to tackle it, and its just easier to immerse myself in other easier things. But absolutely, lack of motivation to do things, if its combined with negative feelings and mood (you tell yourself you can't do something or that its probably a waste of time), it could be a type of depression. I think i know exactly what my problem is now, but it sucks ASS that I have a condition that keeps dragging me down into depressions! It's such a shame, because maybe I have the ability to do alot with myself if I actually could stay postive and focused on anything!! !


Morphia:

That is exactly me too. Although this looks like laziness to other people, and maybe it IS, I feel like I can't HELP it though! I am constantly just surviving and indulging in relaxing or pleasureful actitivities, but so often I feel pained when I realise that THIS ISN'T ENOUGH FOR A HAPPY LIFE, but what to do about it? Sometimes it is about making sure I don't stress or that Ihave to unwind, but more often, it is like some force that just repells me away from doing anything USEFUL.

Hey, what a great idea! Lets do it tomorrow.

Or..... next week.

Or whenever we get around to it, if that even happens.