Executive functioning and getting things done

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I know that we are all affected in different ways by our Autistic traits, and executive functioning seems to be one of things that I am doing OK with at the moment. If it means being able to get things done, I have found the following things of benefit to me, and if any of this might help anyone else in the slightest that would be good.

What I have found helps me get things done is building routines around everything. So I have a routine for what I will do in the mornings before work, which has pretty exact times for everything from when I get up, to when I shower, and when I leave the house. I don't have to think about any of these things, I just do them without thinking and they have all become completely routinized. It hasn't always been like this.

I do all my household chores and shopping at particular times on a Sunday. I have found that listening to audio books while doing household chores such as washing the dishes or preparing food makes the tasks way less tedious, and they fly by in no time, plus I've really got right back into reading again due to combining things in this way. This has also become so routine that I don't think about any of it, I just do it. Again, all of this is relatively new and recent, in that getting these things done is not like some kind of painful and difficult and tedious chore or problem like it used to be. At one stage I would often end up not having anything to eat off or prepare meals with as every last item of crockery and cutlery and pots and pans etc would all need washing up.

In the evenings after work I am still working on building the routines of trying to prepare healthier meals and to do some exercises. This is still a work in progress however as I can come back from work in varying frames of mind and varying degrees of focus and energy, so it has been more difficult to build consistent routines. Ideally I would be able to prepare healthy meals and do some exercises without having to think about doing these things, and regardless of how I am feeling, as they would have become so routine and automatic.

I have found the James Clear audio book on Atomic Habits to contain lots of helpful information and I will work on trying to apply more of his very practical ideas regarding establishing good routines in the evenings.

Saturday tends to be my free day, and I'm always careful not to give myself too much to do on that day as that can be stressful if I feel like I have too much to do.

That is good, it is hard to make yourself get things done sometimes. I too have found listening to music while doing tasks or chores makes it easier or better (sorta like listening to audio books).

I also have done where I've told myself "ok you're going to sit down and do this for x amount of time, start now!" and I'll do it and keep note of the clock then when the time is up I stop. I've had to do this with job hunting because there is so much anxiety around it that I just set a time and look for that time then stop and tell myself "ok no more thinking of it" or I drive myself nuts.

Of course other times I have trouble just doing the very few things that are mine to do.

I have routines for several things (showering, doing dishes etc). I am just learning how to break things down into much smaller tasks to make things easier - I have a huge wipe board in the kitchen so I write one task for each day like "bath the dog" or "clean the oven". It is really helpful but I think my issue with executive functioning are caused not only by Autism, but also by ADHD so it's a double shot of dysfunction!

Listening to music is a great tool for motivation - I always listen to music when I am cleaning. Audio books are no good for me because I am no good at processing things like that.