I was supposed to do boring life stuff today but I got heavily sidetracked by trying to model a physics problem.
This sort of distraction happens a lot to me, when I’m meant to be doing one chore but drop it and do a different one when I see it needs to be done. Like needing to clean the stove, then noticing the cupboards aren’t clean, and then staying up late cleaning my kitchen from top to bottom. The sort of thing where it’s hard to find motivation but once I do then I’m unstoppable.
I have a friend on adderall, and how he describes that drug it wouldn’t work to help this because it helps you focus, but not necessarily on the right thing. He once took it to finish an assignment and then got fixated on a videogame instead and played it until 5am.
I’m slowly getting over that.
The key is everyone forgets what they learn, it’s just easier to re-learn it when you want to if you “should” know it. Also no shame in working through someone else’s solution instead of doing your own from scratch.
Compare it to something physical, like learning an instrument, or doing physical activity like weightlifting or running. Yeah you’re not at your peak ability if you took a long break, but you can definitely get back up to speed if you want.
I think part of the problem is my dad and most of my teachers thought that being intense and putting you on the spot, then ridiculing you over that stuff really gave me anxiety that I carry to this day