[Extropy_]

I find similar behaviour in myself, particularly that dreading a task makes it significantly more difficult to start. I find that if I can manage to do just a little bit, even just open the application and maybe look around a bit at what I need to do, it really gets the momentum going for me.

Do you think there's anything that differentiates what we might call "general task dread" that perhaps anyone experiences to a certain degree from a more broad executive function disorder? Or is it that dreading leading to task paralysis is one of many symptoms of an executive function disorder?

[retrac]

How are you for task completion? For me, transferring a load of laundry from the washer to dryer is not an atomic operation. There is ample room to get derailed and wander off during the twenty seconds it should take. It can be interrupted by almost anything. Oh, I forgot to send that message. Oh, I forgot to check for the parcel. Oh, I need to go to the store today still. And I will walk away and forget to come back and finish.

[TJSomething]

I love moving all my laundry to the dryer and forgetting to start the dryer. Probably happens once or twice a month.

[Extropy_]

Pretty good. I don't find I get derailed by other tasks but I do find others related to what I'm doing like "Oh, dishwasher's done, let's empty it, but oh wait let's clean the counter first" and then end up cleaning the sink and emptying the garbage as well

[hirvi74]

I think the frequency and level of impairment is what differentiates normal executive dysfunction from an executive functioning disorder.

Perhaps a bit rhetorical, but how often does this task dread occur? Does it also ever occur for things you want to do, not just obligated to do?

For me, I experience this issue for many tasks everyday. Then again, I have never had a normal executive functioning, so I cannot claim to know what it is like for normies.

I’ll also add that ADHD is more than just executive dysfunction too.

[Extropy_]

I'm really bad at it for things that aren't novel or really interesting, especially repetitive tasks, like doing illustrations for a customer for example, I know what to do, I've done it hundreds of times, but I'd just rather be doing something else. It does also happen for things I want to do but only usually if it's something I'm not confident about. Like I want to do a really comprehensive gardening setup this year, I've done all the research and planning, I just have no experience sewing seeds or growing vines, or how to setup indoor seed hatching, and I'm just dreading the whole starting process and have put it off too long- I should've started mid-April.