The Ultimate Autism and Executive Functioning Hack to Avoid Burnout? Focus on what’s important

What is the connection between Autism and Executive Functioning? Many of us in the autistic community struggle with a variety of executive functioning challenges which can lead to overwhelm, shutdown, and even burnout. And similar to those with ADHD, we may also have some overwhelming doom piles that can affect our mental health. So, how do we manage it? In this video, I will share how focus and prioritization are the keys you need to hack your executive function.

🎞️Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:39 Tip Number 1
1:57 Prioritizing Information
4:15 Overload and Burnout
8:53 Doom Piles
10:18 My brain as a filing cabinet
12:12 Knowing what’s important
13:30 The Top-Down Approach

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👋Welcome to Autism From The Inside!!!

If you're autistic or think you or someone you love might be on the autism spectrum, this channel is for you!
I'm Paul Micallef, and I discovered my own autism at age 30.

Yes, I know, I don't look autistic. That's exactly why I started this channel in the first place because if I didn't show you, you would never know.

Autism affects many (if not all!) aspects of our lives, so on this channel, I want to show you what Autism looks like in real people and give you some insight into what's happening for us on the inside. We'll break down myths and misconceptions, discuss how to embrace autism and live well, and share what it's like to be an autistic person.

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Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy my channel!

Peace,

~ Paul

#autism #asd #autismawareness

[Soprano]

For me this sounds as important as unlocking the secrets of the universe!

[itisdevonly]

I'm trying to do this more, but part of the issue is that I can't just spot at a glance the most important thing. If I have a doom pile of papers, I have to look at every single paper in order to know what it is. Also, I suck at prioritization. I can look at something and simply be unable to judge whether it's important. Everything feels important to me. I don't know how to cull, because everything feels important. It's why I write too much. It's why I hoard crap. It's why I can't organize my time and energy. My impulse is to do everything on my list. And if I can't do everything, I get overwhelmed, shut down, and do nothing. Because I can't decide which of the tasks are more important than the others.

[juliegolick]

For me, part of it is just daily maintenance to make sure things don't get overwhelmingly large. Doing 5-10 minutes of filing at the end of a workday prevents piles from getting super-big, and usually 5-10 minutes is enough to get through a full day's worth of stuff.

Another thing I've realized is that sometimes when I'm stressed about all the things I need to do or am procrastinating on a particular project, I'm actually overwhelmed. And in those cases, I ask myself the question "what's the smallest next thing I can do to move this forward?" Sometimes it's just opening an email, bringing a dish to the sink, getting up out of my chair, etc. And once I've done that tiny small thing, it gives me the momentum to do the NEXT tiny small thing. (Read the first sentence of the email, rinsing off the dish, putting on my shoes, etc.)

[anncue]

I am self-diagnosed on the Spectrum at age 80 and happy to report that over time I have figured out every one of these strategies that you have so brilliantly described but now I have a better understanding of why I do the things that I do so thanks

[suzyh]

As a bottom up thinker, I find it very difficult to shift into a top-down mentality. There's also a looming fear of missing something important

[enigmatic_eight]

Some good tips here. On calls from unknown numbers, I've started ignoring them too. If it's important enough they can either send a text or leave a voicemail. 90% of the time they do neither.

[Niko-]

When sorting through piles or decluttering, someone on YouTube said to ask yourself, “Can I live without this?” It was an epiphany which helped me clear out garage space for my new car. Zero sorting decisions involved. The same goes with cleaning out cabinets, pantries and closets: if expired, throw it out. No exceptions. Clothing that no longer fits, is considered expired.

[Judymontel]

Starting in my mid-late 40s I started being unable to rely on my memory for way too many things. Tthe first few times I forgot important things, I was angry and frustrated with myself. Fortunately, a friend showed me how to use the reminders on my cell-phone. I use them in conjunction with other tools to stay on top of things. One example is that I use a list on my phone for notes to myself when I'm away from home. But I have an alarm that goes off twice a week that prompts me to check the list!
PS - Ahh, I didn't know I could access the recordings of past webinars. I will go take a look. Time zone constraints prevent me from participating in real time...

[heidimj]

Hello, this is exactly what I need today. I'm on leave due to burnout, and frightened to death about how I'm going to handle going back to work (and when). This is going to help, functionally as well as by helping me to describe these experiences and challenges with my coworkers. So thank you for the perfect timing🙏😊

[TheMysticSaint]

Anytime I question my undiagnosed autism status I can just watch your videos and have you word for word explain the issues in my brain. 😂

It really is nice to hear that my issues are not singular to me, and I love the "Doom Piles" term.

[drivers]

13:50 I recently went through a 1 foot high stack of envelopes of mail this way. It consisted of mostly junk mail from 2018 to 2021 somehow (it’s 2024 now). It took 3-4 hours. But I did find a hand-made card from my son to me that I love. The top down approach sounds really useful.

[johannbredendieck]

We have to make decisions constantly. What helped me, was to identify what's important in my life. Do i need to continue contacts because it is expected to me? Do i like this or that? Since selfdiagnosed with autism, i allowed myself to say "no" to many of this. That was a real relief. And to get along with all my stuff, i store them in categories, that makes it easier. 😊

[herOhface]

Don’t ever stop Paul- you are so helpful- thanks friend

[sildurmank]

Well... ACTUALLY, I was holding this video in my browser tabs because I was feeling it might contain some really helpful information... And I was right after all!! I should have watched it sooner, but luckily this time I didn't just closed the tab which I would have done in other cases, and I find out that's your actual advice 😂😂. Love it, great advice and information Paul!!

[thetakongpancake]

I decided to throw out things this morning and now it seems so easy since I only have 4 boxes to sort through and I only have to look for the one or two things I really want to keep.
Thanks Paul,
Rozlynn

[TintomaraAriadne]

But hey, I had this video on my huge ”watch later” list, and I actually got around to watching it! That’s a win!

[EricB]

I have a pile from decades ago. My ex-girlfriend asked me why I keep it. Because these days, I just throw my old notes away when I have gotten stuff done. Now I understand: the pile is a reminder that I do not need to make any piles anymore ;-)

[saranavarro]

Great tips. Thank you. A friend of mine shared this hack: “let the container be the bad guy”. This means: only keep or do what you can fit in the space you have. It can be physical space, time-frame, energy or something else.

[dandelion_]

Can't watch now but will definitely come back to this!

[travishuckaby]

I'm struggling through a lot of that this week, too! Yesterday, I was overwhelmed to the point where I couldn't do anything at all. Today, I responded to an email I put off for a couple of weeks. People always have grace for me, even my close friends when I dont respond to their text messages for months. I don't know why I get this way. But thankful for days when I get some things taken care of. Thank you for the help, Paul. I was only a little stressed while listening and trying not to think of my mental list. 🤪