Autistic inertia: when you want to start and can't

This is called autistic inertia: difficulty starting, stopping or switching between activities, including ones you want to do ^[1]. The idea autistic adults mention most is having another person nearby, even someone working quietly ^[1].

Below is what it feels like, what makes starting harder, and other ideas people describe. Not every idea suits every person, so you can take what fits and leave the rest.

What does autistic inertia feel like?

In a study of 32 autistic adults, several said starting was harder than carrying on once they had begun, and that stopping could be just as hard as starting. It showed up with things people enjoy too ^[1].

In interviews with 24 autistic adults, people described difficulty both with starting and with stopping. One person said, "I have two modes: I have 'can't stop', and 'can't start', and there's nothing in between." Some also described getting deeply into something and enjoying it ^[2].

Stopping is covered in switching tasks and stopping when absorbed, and forgetting to eat or drink while absorbed in not noticing hunger, thirst or the bathroom.

What makes it harder to start?

Autistic adults in these two studies named the following ^[1][2]:

• stress, anxiety, tiredness and sensory overload
• background noise and movement
• pressure, nagging and other people's judgment
• being interrupted abruptly, or unexpected changes
• home chores with no outside prompt, and tasks outside their interests

What helps when you cannot begin?

These are ideas people described, in their own words. Some are small enough to try on an ordinary afternoon.

• Another person nearby: someone in the room, even working quietly, was the most often reported help with starting ^[1]. This is often called body doubling.
• Texting someone when you are stuck, or having another person do the first step ^[1].
• Fixed times, regular routines, one regular place and fewer things in the way ^[1].
• Prompts from people or technology, breaking a task into smaller parts, self-talk and self-compassion ^[2].
• Deadlines, and a supervisor giving direction, helped some people at work ^[2]. For one person, a deadline made starting harder ^[1].
• Music helped some people and not others ^[1].

Alarms, lists and reminders helped some people. For alarms, a typical answer was that they remind you of the task without helping you start it ^[1]. Some outside support added pressure, and people said that made starting harder ^[2].

What is body doubling?

Body doubling means doing a task while another person is there, in the room or online. In the 32-adult study, autistic adults described this as what helped most with starting ^[1].

It has also been tried in a few small ADHD studies. In an early virtual reality preprint, 12 adults with ADHD placed more bricks correctly per minute in a task with a human or AI body double than alone ^[7]. In a conference poster, people with and without ADHD did a reading test alone and with a body double, and the authors report no significant effect on performance, focus or calm. The poster does not give the number of participants ^[8]. Both are small, so they are a first look.

What is an if-then plan?

It is a plan in the form "If this happens, then I will do that." For example:

"If I sit down with my coffee, then I will open the file."

A large review of 94 studies, mostly with people who are not autistic, found that people with specific if-then plans followed through on their goals more often ^[4]. A small study with 27 autistic adults reported a tentative benefit of if-then plans for remembering planned tasks, not for starting them ^[6].

Some autistic adults say added structure feels like added pressure ^[2]. So a plan may suit some days and not others.

What is executive dysfunction?

It is a common phrase for difficulty with planning, starting and switching tasks. It is not a diagnosis. One inertia study suggests it may be part of what is going on ^[1].

Is autistic inertia the same as procrastination?

Procrastination means putting something off. Research on it describes delay as a way of steering away from an unpleasant feeling ^[3]. Autistic adults describe wanting to begin and still not being able to, including with things they enjoy ^[1].

What is waiting mode?

It is a phrase used online for not being able to start things while something later in the day is coming. A health site writing about ADHD calls it "not a clinical term" ^[9]. There is more in when something later today stops you starting.

What is monotropism?

Monotropism is a theory that, in some autistic people, attention is narrowly focused on a few interests at once, so moving it elsewhere could take more effort ^[5]. It is a theory, and it has not been tested as an explanation for inertia.

About this article

• The ideas about inertia come from two interview and focus group studies, with autistic researchers involved. Most people in them came from an event run by and for autistic people (32-adult study) or lived in Australia, mostly white, highly educated and employed (24-adult study). People who do not use spoken or written words are likely to be less represented.
• The if-then findings are mostly from people who are not autistic, and the body doubling studies are about ADHD.
• Difficulty starting is also described alongside exhaustion, stress and anxiety, and the authors note a possible overlap with ADHD traits ^[1]. If not being able to start comes with losing interest in things once enjoyed, with hopelessness, or with difficulty looking after basics such as eating or daily life, a clinician can look at that.

Sources

1. Buckle KL, Leadbitter K, Poliakoff E, Gowen E. "No way out except from external intervention": first-hand accounts of autistic inertia. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021;12:631596. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631596
2. Rapaport H, Clapham H, Adams J, Lawson W, Porayska-Pomsta K, Pellicano E. "I live in extremes": a qualitative investigation of autistic adults' experiences of inertial rest and motion. Autism. 2024;28(5):1305-1315. doi:10.1177/13623613231198916
3. Sirois F, Pychyl T. Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: consequences for future self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 2013;7(2):115-127. doi:10.1111/spc3.12011
4. Gollwitzer PM, Sheeran P. Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. 2006;38:69-119. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-138002-1)
5. Murray D, Lesser M, Lawson W. Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism. Autism. 2005;9(2):139-156. doi:10.1177/1362361305051398
6. Kretschmer A, Altgassen M, Rendell PG, Bölte S. Prospective memory in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: exploring effects of implementation intentions and retrospective memory load. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2014;35(11):3108-3118. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.07.052
7. Ara Z, et al. You are not alone: designing body doubling for ADHD in virtual reality. Preprint, not peer reviewed. arXiv:2509.12153, 15 September 2025. arxiv.org/abs/2509.12153
8. Schuenke R, Moore M. Evaluating the efficacy of body doubling for ADHD using a brain-computer interface. Poster, CCSC Central Plains, Drake University, 2025. ccsc.org/centralplains/2025/talks/talk-poster16
9. Healthline. ADHD waiting mode. Medically reviewed by Bethany Juby, PsyD. 13 September 2024. healthline.com/health/adhd/adhd-waiting-mode

By Mindum. An app to track and regulate emotions, energy, and focus.