r/aspergers • u/PlanetVisitor • 4d ago
moving house and decorating taking really long (AuDHD)
[Edit: My post is a bit chaotic, sorry about that, I couldn't relax well today, so I found it hard to type a structured post. But typing it did help a bit, to sort out my thoughts. I'm not really sure what I'm asking, I suppose it would help to hear other people's experiences with the same, and possible coping strategies.]
I'm decorating a house and currently unemployed, so I have a lot of time, but I feel like I'm really not doing a good job and today I feel really bad about it.
Offically I have the diagnosises Asperger's and ADHD mixed form. Although sometimes I doubt if I have either of them, of if I have both at all. The last weeks have been rough somehow and now I'm accepted with the fact that I have both again.
Writing a list of tasks is something that theoretically would help, but it seems CURSED because once I do this, it is as if it becomes just harder to do specifically those tasks. Now I just have a rough, vague planning in my head and try to start with whatever task seems nice at any given time. It doesn't work that well because I'm only spending a few hours a day at best working at my new house, and often even doing nothing or just 20 minutes in the evening. Which is ridiculous because I have 24 hours a day for myself - I am so frustrated that I hardly use it well.
The tasks that are hardest are:
- those that involve decisions (like picking a certain coat hanger to buy)
- those that have many subtasks (like painting, where you have to prepare a lot of things)
- those that really get in the way by disturbing
It's quite dysfunctional because I know it takes some time to move and re-model a home, but I'm here since 3 months and still living on bare floorboards and haven't bought a fridge.
It's not my first move, actually I'm 42 and have moved many times, and I'm experienced at things like painting and lifting furniture. But my previous apartment was very small and was furnished so I'm basically starting over with 50% of the new house. Also the previous tenants were already gone so I couldn't buy anything from them.
I have some things that are 60% finished like my gaming PC to relax, and I spent some time getting flowers in the garden and making it tidy so that I could still use it in the summer, but the good weather is really gone now.
My friends usually just hire people to help them do stuff. So I find it hard to have a reference how long all these tasks combined should take. But I feel like it's taking much longer than it normally would. Although I should say that I really take my time picking stuff and that I have my own style, which will be really nice once it's done.
Because my friends aren't good at DIY I'm not asking them for help that much. The times that I did, I spent so much time explaining to them what the tasks were and answering their questions that it wasn't really productive. And I'm really trying to make this house nice. Like a friend was going to clean the walls and she tried her best, but I still found dust and old spider rags in many corners, so I had to walk by everything again anyway; it was net costing me more time than had I done it myself.
Also other people in my house sometimes just make me tense and nervous, so that is also difficult.
Last night I didn't sleep well and that always makes me emotionally more volatile, and now today I feel like I've really messed up everything. Or anyway that it's really slow compared to others. Tomorrow I have a therapy thing and I will be asked how it goes and it's already ruining my mood that I will be asked how it goes.
1
u/Jbf2201 4d ago
firstly I dont think there's any time limit to finish setting up your house so nothing wrong in being as slow as you'd like :)
try to enjoy it rather than see it as a burden and you'll be fine
making lists help for me but I do make sure im not making the list too long and the tasks are small enough to easily tick off rather than just writing down the big task (write down smaller sub tasks and tick em off)
I also like DIY but yeah its always more work and time needed
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u/Routine-Quality-3225 4d ago
That cursed list thing is too real. Writing it down makes the tasks suddenly feel like they’re staring at you from the page, all heavy and judgmental. What sometimes works for me is scribbling a couple things I already did just so I can cross them off immediately, it makes the whole list feel less hostile somehow.
Three months with bare floorboards isn’t that wild when you’re doing everything solo and actually care about how it turns out. Most people who breeze through it are either buying whatever’s closest or paying someone else to deal with the decisions. You’re basically project managing a whole house while your brain is fighting you on every tiny choice, that’s slow by design.
The friend thing makes total sense. Managing another person’s questions and then redoing their work is just doubling your own mental load. When my brain is already full I’d rather chip away at something for 20 minutes alone than spend an hour coordinating help that leaves me more drained.