What is a good job for a person with little to no impulse control? Is there such a thing? Maybe something with lots of constant distraction? I don’t know.
The problem is not just that one impulsively decides to do things, but one may impulsively decide not to do things. That’s the trouble.
I thought about emergency services, with the constant distraction, but impulsively quitting and saying, no, I don’t care anymore is unfortunately a real risk.
Legislator is weirdly appealing. A total flibbertigibbet might actually end up well-rounded enough to vote responsibly on a range of subjects, and one could flake out for hours or days at a time, as one is kept on according to one’s performance over years, not hours. But that seems unlikely. Not enough such jobs to go around.
Maybe some type of independent contractor role where you are hired to do something over a long period of time rather than being managed on an hourly or daily basis? So you could contract to build a house to be completed by next May for $40,000 and you can go at your own pace and if you get stressed out one afternoon in December and want to run down to the beach for a few days, no problem as long as you can pick up the slack sometime later in the next few months.
As a school janitor you could keep busy all day long varying your tasks as you see fit.
Clean floors.
Clean toilets.
Cut grass.
Water plants.
Do small repairs.
Disappear out back for half an hour.
Wipe windows.
Shovel snow. (?)
Etc
No, not really. The whole notion of a “job” is that you can complete a task with some degree of proficiency and dependability. Being an impulsive flake militates against that on every level. If you cannot contain your impulse control issues to specific times and and situations you are not only unemployable you are (in a very real sense) risky and dangerous to people who might depend on you.
Being an artist of some kind might be workable if you are supremely talented at something but impulsive flakes rarely develop much talent.
Many of these suffer from ADD. I have known a few who were very intelligent n some cases but could never hold jobs. One friend became a sales route driver for safety equipment and has become quite successful owning his own business now. Smokes a bit of pot as he does his travels but manages well.
Do you just hate having to sit in meetings or at a cubicle for long stretches of time, or are you litterally talking about not being able to focus on any task for more than a few minutes before you get bored and just leave it to do something else?
If it’s the first, there are jobs like sales and other positions where you are constantly moving around doing different things. But as **astro **pointed out, there are almost no jobs where you can be a totally undependable flake.
And interestingly, the two jobs you mention - ‘emergency services’ and ‘legislator’ - are actually terrible fits for someone with no impulse control. People in emergency services need MORE impulse control, not less as they are around constant distractions, screaming people, scenes of violence and destruction and so on and they need to get their job done regardless. And legislators often have law degrees which require a lot of focused study.
Honestly… look at Palin… if the OP is willing to jump the Tea Party band wagon and gets the basics down on what they hate… the OP could probably run around a near lunatic and at least get nominated. Look at West, Bachman…
Researcher/fact checker, as independent contractor, perhaps for authors or journalists? Perhaps you could weave in some freelance proof reading too. Ever changing focus, you control the pace, work with creative types who are likely more forgiving of eccentric ways.
I think you could make it work. But as others said, if they are truly unable to control their flakiness to any extent, they should maybe consider some meds to help take the edge off that. Could make a real difference for them, who knows?
Independent massage therapist? You would schedule your own clients when you felt like it. But if you flake out on appointments, it will be hard to build up a clientele.