For me, the more I'm able to avoid productivity related guilt / shame / "catch up" behaviors, the more energy I've had for addressing underlying issues. Some t

For me, the more I'm able to avoid productivity related guilt / shame / "catch up" behaviors, the more energy I've had for addressing underlying issues. Some things have just sort of worked themselves out. I've ended up with what I think of as a "procrastination ouroboros." Most of the projects I rotate through have various interesting parts that are in various states of completion. The big difference for me, though, is that it _is_ a rotation. I actually return to projects now, because I don't completely burn through all of my enthusiasm in the first go. One of these is a project that I've been working on for several years now, which is a first for me. I still don't love losing days on something nonsensical because I hyperfocused. I still end up stuck on boring tasks, and it's hard to not feel like it's all laziness, etc. After years of that, though, it feels like pushing _directly_ against those impulses isn't really sustainable. It's pointless wasting extra time on self-flagellation. I don't know that this level of granularity will actually apply to anyone else, but I think it's worthwhile to at least give yourself the space to explore things like this when you can. (Also, I take an SSRI, a prescription stim, working from home helps, and I'm sure there are a myriad of other things / factors. I think, if nothing else, "giving in" would have helped me try some of those things earlier, and it has helped me avoid short circuiting thought processes that prevent attempts at actual change.)