Easily bored

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I'm not sure if this is because of my Asperger's/ADD or because I'm just not challenged enough, but I cannot find anything that keeps my interest. This has been a real problem lately. I've been to school for several different things and a year ago I thought I finally found something that held my interest. I've always loved computers, so I thought I'd make a career of it. I finished my first class and got my first certification. Working on computers was fun, but it was extremely hard to focus on the material I had to study for the test. Then I took my next class and it wasn't as fun. The labs were taught as real world examples and they were extremely easy. I usually got finished before anyone else, sometimes over an hour before anyone else. I couldn't read the material because it was just so boring. While I was reading the book, my mind wandered. I ended up failing the first certification exam. I took the class a second time and it was just as boring. I recently was in my third class, which was supposed to be very advanced. Same problem. The labs were an absolute bore and I couldn't bring myself to read the dense information in the book.

It's not just school, either. I haven't found a video gave in years that has kept my interest. I've been playing music for 16 years and I've all but lost interest, much to the dismay of my friend and family who have always thought that I'd be some famous musician by now for some reason. I think the main thing is that nothing that I do satisfies me or gives me the proper reward that my brain needs.

I'm still in debt from student loans from the previous school I was at and I'm not making enough money to even live on my own right now, so it's not like I can just try something else. With the cost of school, it's hard to figure out what I'd like and what I wouldn't. I just can't figure out what I want to do that won't make me yawn. Not only that, but as an aspie, I'm afraid to go back to college and have all sorts of problems with my teachers and classes.

Is this a common problem for aspies or is it just me? My psychiatrist has even told me I need to find something that challenges me. I just feel that going to a normal college wouldn't just challenge me, but completely overwhelm me with all the homework, classes that aren't relevant to my major, still having to work, and have even more debt piled on. I feel like I'm stuck. Help!

I totally understand! I have Asperger's and ADD and I feel the same way as you and it bugs the crap out of me! I SO wish I could stay with something. I have talents... but I can't stay interested in anything long enough to really take my talents to the heights I know they could go. The boredom sets in and I'm gone... and it's getting worse as I get older. I'm afraid to start things now as I know I'll just lose interest in them real soon.

Sorry, I don't know how to help, but just wanted to let you know you're not alone in feeling like this.

Thanks, Bunny. Maybe we can get some help from someone here. I just feel like too much of my life has gone by with nothing to show for it. Right now, these are the career paths I'm considering:

- Software Engineer: Lots of opportunity for growth in the future. I still get to work with computers and I'd be able to do a lot of work on my own.
- Pharmacists: Less technology, but I love looking up information on medications. I always have. I'd get to work alone or with one or two people only. The sciences classes sound like a lot of fun too.

I'd like to do something with little social interaction with people. Or at least where the social interactions aren't overwhelming. I'm an introvert and I'm at my best while I'm alone or in the company of one or two people at most. Someone also recommended being an accountant, but that just sounds boring as hell.

I have this too. I doubt that it is particularly an aspie thing, although I have Aspergers.

If you think about it, the process of studying almost any subject goes like this:

1. Read information. Store it in your brain.

2. Recall information. Link it together logically to other information you have learnt. Use this to write about the subject, or apply basic logical rules to solve problems.

Its not surprising that you find these tasks boring, repetitive and not challenging, since you sound like an intelligent person and you have been doing this since you were quite small.

However, the fact is to get to the places you want to go, studying is very very important. Those career ideas you mention both sound excellent choices for someone with Asperger's. I say just accept the boredom, and study as hard as you can to achieve one of those aims. Sorry to say this but I doubt you will ever find an academic subject that it is actually fun to study, I never did.

There are tricks you can use to make studying less boring. I once read somewhere that switching between 2 boring tasks made both tasks more interesting. So when I was studying I used to read a page of my textbook, and then fill in 5 squares of a sudoku puzzle, and then I went back to the textbook. But that is just one example of something you can do to make stuff less boring...be creative.

I have a short attention span too so I also get bored easily. I want to learn something but get bored with it quick.

I too am easily bored and I find that switching things around periodically helps, even if I at some point switch back to what I was bored with before.

Whenever I start doing something interesting I forget I was ever bored by anything, but yeah, as time goes on it does seem more difficult to find things that are interesting..

As far as school, I had the same issue, I got mediocre grades on my non-'directly degree-related' classes and even with those I would often get bored. School does indeed largely consist of giving you a lot of homework, but I suppose that's how they feel they have to operate to ensure that you are suitably educated/indoctrinated.

I now work at a HS-education-required type job and while it is pretty simple, I prefer it simply because it's easier and I don't really NEED a huge pile of cash, although it would be nice. I too have various bits of debt but as long as I make some money each month I will pay it off eventually.

You can try going back to your old hobbies after a bit and see if you like them now, or try changing them around a little bit, make music via sequencing programs on the computer for instance..

Theoretically even this limited planet has some amount of infinity on it..

Are you bored with the subject or the teaching?

Jason