Yeah I identify with much of this. My hunch is that starting your own company (if the product is something you care about that solves a need) is such an all-in endeavor that you would have no problem staying engaged. Let me know what you find out, if you try.
Also look into some of the non-stimulants that are available now as ADD medication – has anybody had experience with them?
Most of Partyfists' recommendations are good, especially 1 and 2. (to clarify, here is his list):
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1. Work with people you really enjoy being around. 2. Do something you love doing 3. Find a type of music which is not distracting. Preferably, no lyrics or loud noises. 4. Find what is making you procrastinate (video games for me) and moderate it. 5. Be goal oriented. Be more agile and celebrate the small victories.
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For 3. I prefer brown noise, especially if you can find it in mono, not stereo (try simplynoise.com).
For me 4. is irrelevant, since there's not one single thing that enables procrastination for me except being on the internet itself, and with apologies to those who have made or used apps to regulate their internet usage, I haven't found anything that has made regulating my internet time practical or useful – especially since I need it to do my job (also, regulating usage is merely addressing the symptom, not the cause).
Advice from others' about exercise is good too – although I haven't been able to implement this yet.
Finally, yes, talk to a specialist about whether you might have ADD and consider Adderall. It will give you more energy and make you more work harder/longer at things, but it's by no mean a magic bullet.
Notice I didn't say it will make you more productive, if your productivity is being determined by others' goals/standards, for instance a boss at work.
You may still find it hard to put your increased efforts towards the things they're supposed to be going towards. You may find yourself organizing a metaphorical sock drawer when you're supposed to be knitting an (again metaphorical) scarf.
I don't know if perfectionism is often tied to ADD or not, but if you also tend to have perfectionistic tendencies this can be a very tricky combination to overcome to do fast, consistent work that meets expectations. If you figure it out, let me know (and let me know soon).
If you stop taking Adderall you will have a difficult period for several weeks where you'll be lethargic, eat a lot, etc. due to your brain having reduced its serotonin levels to accommodate the Adderall.
If you take Adderall during the week and don't take it on the weekends, you may find it hard to have the energy to do much of anything. I'm typing this from my bed right now and it's 10 minutes til noon.
There are several other options as far as medication now, including some that are non-stimulants, but I can't speak as to their effectiveness.
2. from Partyfists is what most people would recommend. For me, I've found that even that is not enough. I've had about as close a chance to 'do what I love' as most people have ever had, and I still lacked the daily follow-through to make that a reality rather than waste time on the internet.
If 2. is unrealistic or impractical for you, I have a feeling that 1. could be the next most important, and perhaps easier to attain. Currently working on fixing that one myself.
I feel compelled to strongly disagree with all the people who are saying "You're not a procrastinator, you're just not doing what you love." Don't believe them.
To start with, they seem to be assuming that there can only be one cause for this type of behavior... that you're secretly profoundly disinterested in whatever you're doing, and that pursuing something else would fix everything. I know that this is wrong from personal experience.
Since I graduated from high school (8 years now) I've been a professional musician -- I've toured nationwide playing for other people, I've worked as a studio musician, I've recorded and produced albums, both my own and other peoples'. I've basically lived the dream job of anybody who has ever been the least bit interested in music... the money sucks, but overall what more could you want as far as spending your time?
I procrastinated heavily through all of it, whenever I was faced with doing something hard (like finishing a song that didn't come easily to me, finishing production work on a friend's album [that turned out to be a fiasco], or actually sitting down and practicing my instrument [I basically never did]). Most of my time I spent sitting with my laptop on my lap, browsing the internet and reading tech blogs -- not doing things that would help me be a better rock star.
I'm now a programmer, and in many ways it's a better fit for my skillset. The challenges are interesting, and the money is a hell of a lot better (most people who say you shouldn't be motivated by money haven't had a significant lack of money to compare it to). I still struggle with procrastination. When I'm faced with doing something hard, I... guess what... browse news and tech blogs on the internet.
So what I love doing, and what I should actually be doing with my life is... sitting in my underwear reading articles on the internet and occasionally watching Hulu/Netflix? Because if I'm not "happy" being a programmer (exercising my mind and making lots of money) and I'm not "happy" being a fucking rock star (performing in front of people, expressing creativity, and having comparative freedom with my time)... what the hell else is there? I'm pretty sure there's no other secret profession out there that offers a radically different experience -- these two jobs are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum in many ways, and I've enjoyed them both... and I've struggled with procrastination and sheer laziness at both of them.
My point with all of this is just to contradict the people who seem to imply that if you just find the right particular thing to be doing you won't struggle with this any longer, and that you are mis-diagnosing yourself. From my own experience, I would say that is absolutely incorrect.
...Now you may find areas where you may struggle with it less... I got the most excited about working on my own band and doing my own tunes when I was a musician, but I couldn't make a viable income doing just that. Providing for my family is also important to me.
You and I have the same problem -- you're not misdiagnosing yourself. The good news is that it seems like there's tons of useful info in this thread. Work on the laziness / procrastination issues -- I'll work on them too. Hell, we can even work on them together. Once you feel like you've made some progress or at least understand the issue better... if you feel like you really would like to do something other than programming, THEN make a change. As somebody who has been a literal rock star, I feel compelled to mention that programming has a lot of things going for it.
Comment back if you'd like to tackle any of the procrastination stuff together.