I can relate to this problem.
Interestingly, my partner and I are polar opposites when it comes to our ability to do things. I'm the typical AuDHD type (diagnoses aside, it's just meant as a description): Making plans but not sticking to them, endless procrastination, difficulty to initiate, short and very productive but unfortunately rather rare bursts of energy in which I get a lot done, losing interest quickly, basically alternating between valleys of desperation in which I do everything but work on the actual task, and short phases where I manage to do the task. My partner's the opposite: doing research, making a plan, sticking to said plan, discipline, self-motivation, working towards a long-term goal.
I've always wished for that ability - it reminds me of what
@Neonatal RRT described.
Mind you, this applies mainly for tasks I find challenging, boring, unpleasant, or which feel like they overexert my abilities. Part of the reason is that I quickly get overwhelmed by big and challenging tasks and struggle to break them down into manageable chunks without help.
Advice on how to deal with this...
- To-Do lists, to help me keep track of things and not get lost in my head, and to help me not forget tasks. If necessary, a task stays on my To-Do list for weeks/months. But at least I won't forget.
- Ask for my partner's help, especially if I struggle to break the task down into manageable chunks.
- Asking someone - usually my partner - to body-double, meaning that we're both in the same room, me working on my task, him doing something else but holding me accountable, simply by his presence.
- Setting myself a short time-frame to start, like - "you'll work on this task for 15 minutes now, without distractions". Usually, getting started is the hardest for me.
- Giving myself rewards, like "after doing this for xy amount of time, you'll have an hour of reading time".
- Changing location: if it's something on the computer, it can help to stay a bit longer at my workplace after work and do the task at my workplace. I find that I often am less distracted there.
I always have a certain struggle with this. But I find that I get way more problems with this "every tiny thing feels like a huge demand and I can't do any of it"-feeling when I'm generally getting overtired and overloaded. So it's kind of a warning signal for me to try and get more rest, if possible, have less social time and more interest time. So if you're having a phase where you experience this more than usual, then it might be good to stop and think whether you are particularly stressed right now and whether you could alleviate that.