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Why Is It So Hard to Do Something That Should Be Easy? (Wall of Awful pt. 1)

How to ADHD · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Mental health & neurodiversityProductivity & self-improvement

What it is

A short How to ADHD explainer, featuring Brendan Mahan, on why simple tasks can feel impossible for people with ADHD. It introduces the 'wall of awful', a pile of past failures, shame and anxiety that builds up in front of a task and blocks starting it.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN commenters use it as the go-to name and explanation for task paralysis and procrastination, and say it helped them see why they avoid tasks.

  • 6 people recommended it
  • 6 different months
  • 3 strong recommendations
  • first 2020, last 2022

What HN commenters said

  1. “It totally changed how I approached my procrastination by simply asking myself "why" I was avoiding a task.”

    Wall of awful: emotions blocking task starts.

    sosuke, 2020-06 · Strong recommendation · in “Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficult emotions, says expert”

  2. “My 2 favorite videos on How To ADHD are: Wall of Awful”

    One of the commenter's two favorite How to ADHD videos.

    nullsense, 2021-01 · Strong recommendation · in “How hard should I push myself?”

  3. “Maybe the concept of the "wall of awful" will help you understand it more.”

    Helps understand the wall of awful concept.

    hnick, 2021-02 · Recommendation · in “Me and ADHD”

  4. “I've watched this video several times”

    Helped explain part of why starting tasks is hard.

    alexanderjchun, 2021-04 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: Tips for handling chronic stess?”

  5. “Climb the wall.”

    Climbing the wall of awful stuck as a daily mental model.

    zubspace, 2021-11 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: What mental models do you use everyday?”

  6. “Here's the same concept, refrased as "Wall of Awful", in a neat video for ADHD people”

    Same concept as wall of awful, neatly explained.

    coldtea, 2022-01 · Recommendation · in “Procrastinatory Doom Loops”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: adhd, procrastination, wall of awful, executive function, motivation

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