Does anyone medicate to help with motivation/focus? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

TylerH860 · #1 07-22-2013, 02:47 PM

Right now I don't take anything, but have struggled with focus and motivation pretty much all of my life. I BSed my way through college doing the bare minimum to get through. I procrastinate with very simple tasks, cleaning, laundry, bookwork until it becomes a monster. I retreat into fantasy or find any reason not to do something that needs to be done.

I've been able to suck it up and get things done to where my home is not trashed and my business is not a mess but I know I could do a lot better.

On the one hand, I know the main contributor is my spoiled upbringing. Everything was done for me up until I left the nest. After a shower, I would drop the towel on the floor and my mother would put a fresh one on the rack every day like a hotel.

There has never been a time in my life that I would have called myself organized. Even in grade school I couldn't I would get marked off for it. My backpack would get stuffed with wadded papers until it was unusable. That's when I would clean it out, make it nice, and the process would repeat.

I know alot of people, in college especially, that medicated themselves to focus and it helped tremendously. I always avoided it, thought my problem behavioral and not chemical, but with the new baby, the business growing, and a new house that I'd like to keep spotless, a lot more responsibility is being placed on my shoulders, and I'm struggling to change my attitude to accommodate.

Either I hire someone part time to help with the bookwork that I'm fully capable of accomplishing myself if I could fine the motivation, or I find a way to suck it up and do it which I never have found a way to effectively do. The alternative is to try some sort of medication to help me focus.

I'm curious if anyone has tried it or had any experience with it.

spdrun · #2 07-22-2013, 02:53 PM

Hire a part-time book keeper and move to a smaller house, or hire a cleaning lady? (Part of the reason why I live in a small NYC apt and not the 'burbs is that I hate housework.)

Caffeine works to keep focus for me -- it's a mild stimulant, not as strong as Aderall, but enough.

SwampYankee · #3 07-22-2013, 04:04 PM

I deal with many of the same issues, Tyler. I skated right through H.S. (level one, decent grades) and stumbled a little in college, all while doing the bare minimum. I was an organizational mess (I know there are pics of my desk somewhere here) and procrastinator extraordinaire. I have no doubt I would have been diagnosed with one disorder or another nowadays but I just kept my head down and soldiered on.

While I still have a ways to go, getting myself into a routine has really helped me from home to work and home again with the necessary motivation and focus. Even to the point of writing it down and doing my daily to-do list. My cup of coffee has become an important part of it. It's become somewhat of a reset button.

Sticking to my routine, as with anything else, it the hardest part. I just forced myself to do it. While I still can't sit down and read for extended periods of time without wandering off on another tangent, I can keep myself on target and get whatever time-sensitive tasks done when they need to be done.

While I'm not proud to admit it, we did try several different medications on my oldest son for a couple years. (Whoever said payback is a b!tch was spot on!) Neither he nor we were impressed with the results or how he felt while on it so we stopped. All is not rosy now with him, but they're acceptable and he's far more sociable and has a much better appetite since getting off them.

cmac2012 · #4 07-22-2013, 04:12 PM

I was going to say coffee myself. Most of the other stuff worries me.

Tyler, you could have been singing my song. I'm my own worst enemy, though I guess that's true of most people. But it's seriously true with me. I'm not in the gutter but I hate to admit it, I'm an underachiever. I inherited a fine mind from my gene pool but I let my lazy boooo-$h!t mess things up much of the time.

Nothing to do but try to do better every day. I struggle with beating myself up. Tends to head toward despair which only makes things worse.

oldsinner111 · #5 07-22-2013, 04:14 PM

adderal is a good medicine for people with your problem.It gives you the drive to complete task.Ask your mental health Doctor.

Skid Row Joe · #6 07-22-2013, 04:52 PM

Unless absolutely necessary, (whatever necessary is to the individual) I would avoid taking any pharma medication that may be injurious to your body. It's unknown how much is too much before let's say your liver starts to be damaged from drugs. As far as the focus goes, concentrate on one task at a time, especially the ones you've been putting off, getting into it until such time as interruptions like business phone calls need to take precedent with your time. You may have the luxury of a workplace that is sterile to the extent that you can delve into such tasks w/o ever-present family interruptions. Also, I believe that since you recognize you want to solve an issue you've noticed about yourself, I believe you may be able to exact focus at some point w/o drug(s).

TylerH860 · #7 07-22-2013, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

I was going to say coffee myself. Most of the other stuff worries me.

Tyler, you could have been singing my song. I'm my own worst enemy, though I guess that's true of most people. But it's seriously true with me. I'm not in the gutter but I hate to admit it, I'm an underachiever. I inherited a fine mind from my gene pool but I let my lazy boooo-$h!t mess things up much of the time.

Nothing to do but try to do better every day. I struggle with beating myself up. Tends to head toward despair which only makes things worse.

I certainly wouldn't call myself an underachiever in things I want to achieve or beat myself up so much. I had no interest in college and completed it because of the parental mandate. I'm doing exactly what I want to do right now, which is fantastic. Very happy. Wish it weren't so hard to buy good cars, but it makes for a great challenge that I like to think I'm good at.

Where I fall flat is in all the busy work. My files are month to month when they should be car to car. I procrastinate on title work and other things. I drop the ball occasionally but always make it right. I just wish I had the mental focus enough to stay on task when its not something I'm excited about doing.

I do waste alot of money with lawn service and maid service. I hate that work, will find any reason to avoid it.

P.C. · #8 07-22-2013, 05:48 PM

If you're a perfectionist and you don't feel confident about your ability to perform a given task at a consistently high level, you might procrastinate.

In regard to bookkeeping, does it make sense for you to farm it out, or hire someone part-time, and use the time you would otherwise spend on it on income-generating activities? Naturally you still have to oversee the process, but it might make it much less painful.

The Clk Man · #9 07-22-2013, 06:04 PM

Sounds like ADHD bipolar. I am the exactly the same way. I don't take any meds, although I probably should be. Do your emotions go from happy to sad to happy to sad in a short amount of time?

TylerH860 · #10 07-22-2013, 06:15 PM

No

TylerH860 · #11 07-22-2013, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P.C.

If you're a perfectionist and you don't feel confident about your ability to perform a given task at a consistently high level, you might procrastinate.

In regard to bookkeeping, does it make sense for you to farm it out, or hire someone part-time, and use the time you would otherwise spend on it on income-generating activities? Naturally you still have to oversee the process, but it might make it much less painful.

I fear employees will create more headaches than they solve.

tbomachines · #12 07-22-2013, 06:18 PM

As much as I don't want to advocate taking something, the one semester I used ritalin in college I got a 4.0 and had a huge improvement on my quality and volume of work - mainly for classes that I would have previously dismissed since they were not in my actual field of interest. After that, I had a "If I can do this with, I can do this without it" attitude and did very well, but it was sort of a wake up call. Very very noticeable improvement for me.

I have always struggled with the same organization issues, being a bit disorganized and schizophrenic always hurt my performance. Now I typically try and harness it and manage my time to do whatever I feel like instead of boxing myself in to one task. It eventually leads to multitasking and then eventually doing bigger things with those initial ideas.

elchivito · #13 07-22-2013, 07:15 PM

ADHD and Bipolar are VERY different things. Being a moody person doesn't make you Bipolar. In addition, ADD, attention deficit disorder is also a possibility without the hyperactivity component often see in kids. I doubt you have any of them, you're just spoiled and you nailed it yourself. My mother spoiled all her boys, made excuses for us and allowed us to be real slackers, while she expected her girls to be able to take care of babies, cook and clean by the time they were 10.
If it hadn't been for my father and uncles I'd have been a mess as far as standing up on my hind legs and doing what needs to be done.
If I were you I look into hiring an organizational specialist who'll help you streamline those onerous tasks so they're bearable.
If you feel you need chemical help, do this: Buy a bottle of silly expensive booze of your choosing, give it to your wife or someone to keep for you. When you've gone a month and don't have any old paperwork sitting around waiting to be done, reward yourself with a drink or two.

TwitchKitty · #14 07-22-2013, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

I certainly wouldn't call myself an underachiever in things I want to achieve or beat myself up so much. I had no interest in college and completed it because of the parental mandate. I'm doing exactly what I want to do right now, which is fantastic. Very happy. Wish it weren't so hard to buy good cars, but it makes for a great challenge that I like to think I'm good at.

Where I fall flat is in all the busy work. My files are month to month when they should be car to car. I procrastinate on title work and other things. I drop the ball occasionally but always make it right. I just wish I had the mental focus enough to stay on task when its not something I'm excited about doing.

I do waste alot of money with lawn service and maid service. I hate that work, will find any reason to avoid it.

You are still not doing what you really want to do. Maybe it is that cars are not living things.

The Swede · #15 07-22-2013, 10:20 PM

Wow, some terrible advice. PM Sent.