I’ve been working on this lately, what I find helpful is reminding myself that the chore doesn’t have to be done perfectly, and that some progress is better than no progress. I struggle with perfectionism and will put off tasks indefinitely because of fear that if I start wrong or don’t finish it immediately it won’t be perfect. My therapist helped me to realize that perfect is the enemy of done, and that it is ok if something isn’t done perfectly.

I have a really good response but I’m going to write it later.

Do you (OP) have an ADHD diagnosis? Honestly for me the only thing that truly helped me work on things when there wasn’t immediate external pressure/payoff or it being super interesting was medication.

And believe me, I tried a lot of things.

Do a little at a time. For example, clean off one countertop. Don’t even look at the others - just do the one in front of you. Before long it’ll be done, and you might have the energy to take on just one more.

Procrastination is a deep subject, and the reason for procrastinating is going to be different for every person.

To me, it sounds like this is not the procrastination of one thing, though rather the procrastination of a lot of different things, so I would suggest that the issue you’re probably struggling with is perfectionism.

Perfectionism stems from you seeing mistakes as deep, personal flaws, defining yourself based on achievement as well as how well you do something, and doing things in order to earn approval and acceptance from others, rather than doing things for yourself.

Perfectionism is other-focused. Healthy striving is self-focused and self-driven.

I have a similar issue, where some things get put off because I get obsessed with something else.

If you ever feel the obsession urge, may as well just indulge it right then. That’s how I clean my room.

The way I solve it is by doing everything as soon as I need to do it (or at least notice it needs to be done). Everytime I start to think “oh it’s small, I’ll do it later” I remind myself that everytime I do that, the task never gets done. So then I just do it real quick and not have to worry about it.

Mostly, a bunch of alarms for the daily things, like get ready for work or lunch time, and listing what I have to do for the day in a piece of paper. The last one helps with tasks like folding laundry, calling some company, setting up some kind of appointment. If I just let it loose I’ll avoid/forget doing it for months.

1. Adulthood is when you realize nobody else is going to do that for you.

2. Realize you’re not just procrastinating about the things you have to do, but also the things you want to do. Be ready to start blocking sites like Lemmy and Twitter and Reddit on your phone because those things are neither work nor fun just time-filling.

3. Talk to your doctor. Get the the drugs. They work, and not only do they work they will make you realize just how bad it actually was.

Find somethingore urgent to do, so you get procrastinated into doing the other thing you were initially procrastinating.

Break the task down into bitesize chunks and then just do the first one. The dopamine hit from completing the first part will help your executive dysfunction.

Example (do the dishes):

1. Move dishes out of the sink
2. Fill sink with hot water and soap
3. Wash one plate
4. Wash one set of cutlery that goes with the plate

Once you do 1, you’d be surprised at how easy 2 is, then 3, then 4 and then the rest of them.

It’s a skill, so it’s not something you can just click your fingers and do, so work on it, and develop the skill over time. It’s tough, but doable

‘Do it now or do it never’ has become my motto. Essentially, try to capitalise on the dopamine rush that comes with tricking yourself into thinking that it’s urgent and your deadline is right now.

Also gamifying tasks and setting up rules where I can’t do x until I’ve done y. Usually x will be a reward based activity. I find just reinforcing productive behaviour with a reward is very useful, even if it feels indulgent.

Sometimes, it requires medication.