Often, I am told by my parents to “spend more time on your schoolwork” or get asked “what do you spend more time on, your schoolwork or your computer games?” I’ve always understood this as a dig towards me in order to make me prioritize my schoolwork, but that’s difficult in of itself. When I get home after school or work, I’m tired from just being around so many people or having to interact with people at my job. On top of that, when I genuinely want to try and do my work, a brain fog takes over and it gets super difficult to get started on doing any work. There have been many times where I have essentially wasted 2 hours trying to get myself to start my work, only to fail and do something else like video games to see if my brain wants to cooperate then. I tried many things too; I used to listen to music, but when that didn’t worked, I listened to videos on youtube. And when that didn’t work, I even had to once play a fairly hands off game on my other monitor in order to keep progressing on my homework because I couldn’t focus otherwise. Nowadays its better, though it’s at the cost of my own motivation to attempt my school work because I enjoy doing my hobbies so much more. I feel like this may be some form of ADHD or an attention problem of mine, though because I don’t have any kind of official diagnosis to get proper help or accommodations in school.
Unruly Bodies 
Thank you for making this post. The amount of beings who don’t have the resources or medical help to receive a diagnosis for a disorder struggle the most, as a disorder like ADHD veers to the “hidden” disorders (depending on severity). As the generations pass, there are more and more people who are undiagnosed due to whatever personal reason, but all the medias and social outlets that we use today are the reason why we jump straight to it when we can’t focus! We definitely need to come up with a resource that can guide those who may suffer from undiagnosed depression, anxiety, ADHD, etc., with coping mechanisms for our impairments.
Hi! I completely get just being so tired from being at school or work to get your homework done. Sitting down and getting started is honestly the hardest part. I tried a lot of different things to help with my focus and what I’ve learned that has helped me the most is going to the library and being around other people who are also just trying to get work done. I look around and everyone is just trying their best so it gives me the motivation that I need to focus on my stuff. Another thing could be doing homework outside, there’s not too many distractions other than the wind or nature. (now that its getting cold, this might not be the best option). but definitely give it a try. Don’t be too hard on yourself, we’re all trying our best! Good luck on the rest of your semester.
I have done a lot of thinking about this just in terms of feeling guilty for “wasting” time. I have had to think through all the reasons why sitting at my computer staring at the work I have to do is actually doing the work. For me, I always require extra time to think through what I am supposed to do and how I am going to do it, and for the longest time (and still sometimes) I felt like I was wasting time and not doing my work, but I have been able to slowly reframe this as part of doing the work.
It definitely sounds to me like ADHD is something you deal with. Executive dysfunction is truly frustrating, and having other people add shame and judgement to that struggle to start only makes it more difficult. I promise it doesn’t make you a bad or lazy person. And especially from what you describe, it sounds like you very well may be burnt out by the end of the day and there is almost nothing in the world that can fix that other than allowing yourself to rest and do things that comfort and relax your brain. I always try to give myself one day that I’m allowed to do nothing, and one day that I dedicate wholly to getting work done. This helps my brain jump into hyperfocus mode so that I crash all of my work in one go, and then leaves me plenty of recovery time. I don’t know if that’s a possibility you can try, but if your family is willing to hear you and make a plan with you, you could make a plan that works for you and it will reassure your parents that you truly are working hard and care about school, you just need some balance.
I have ADHD, so I can relate.
Sometimes I’m too overstimulated or under stimulated to do or start anything (the latter feels a lot like brain fog). I also get the whole “not being able to start tasks”, which a lot of people contribute to transitioning between tasks being difficult, especially with ADHD.
In addition, something a lot of people (especially parents and teachers) don’t understand is the need for rest, or low-energy activities. You might have the time to do homework, but not necessarily the energy required to do it.
Final note: as I am writing this, I also have a youtube video playing in the background to help keep me stimulated.
as someone who is formally diagnosed with ADHD, this is super relatable. Struggling with executive dysfunction when you are trying to get work done is the absolute WORST thing that can happen especially when you WANT to be productive. My ADHD also affects my memory and constantly causes me to miss assignment deadlines in my classes and it’s making me worry about if I will be able to graduate this semester or not and I only need these 4 classes to finish. Best of luck to the both of us in our endeavors towards getting stuff done!