Where could I work?

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I once was helping someone out with a menial task - they required me to sort forms into stacks of 25 sheets, binding them together with an elastic band.

I found it incredibly relaxing and in fact really enjoyed it, despite it being, I realise, incredibly repetitive and boring. Having finished all the sheets I was supplied with, I asked everyone else present to give me theirs so that I could single handedly finish the task and I did so in great time.

I've heard that people who do similarly menial tasks such as washing dishes can find it enjoyable by entering a "trance" like state in which they don't notice the passing of time (however I cannot stand touching unclean dishes unless I used them personally so of course this is out of the question for me).

Is there any sort of job with similar tasks? Just something involving sorting paperwork. It's easy, it's relaxing, it's calming. I wouldn't mind doing it as a job as I am ordinarily so stressed that taking time out of my life for something like this would be almost therapeutic and to be paid on top of that would be great.

I also am a very fast typist and am computer literate, so I suppose the most obvious combination of all of these would be to work in some sort of office, however once customers or phones come into the equation I would fall flat on my face as I cannot use phones and speaking to other people would probably cause more stress than was being relieved by the paper sorting.

What sort of places would be suitable for me, do you think? Any help would be well recieved.

^^ Yaye greetings Konpaku.

I do hope that I may assist you. ^^Yaye, I do believe that I consider this type of workies to be very magical also. ^^ Perhaps you may enjoy working as an assistant for a human. I believe that I enjoy working as an assistant for my lovely sister during my vacations. During this job, I enjoy printing and stapling and packing envelopes and perhaps entering data into spreasheets and many other activities.

If you do get a job as a office assistant, make sure to let them know that you really wouldn't mind stuffing envelopes and the like. People hate that kind of work and will gladly give it all to you so they do not have to do it. You might find yourself in the back room doing that and not have to worry about answering the phone.

Data entry jobs might be to your liking. Repetitive work entering things into the computer.

Just a couple of ideas that come to mind

This "trance-like state" is called Flow. You can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

Basically, it occurs when you are doing an activity which provides immediate feedback and whose challenge is just commensurate with the skill you are applying.

Reading the list of essential conditions:

One should suspect that we aspies are extremely susceptible to flow. This state is something we all go into when working on our strong interests, something we can fall into when doing almost any activity.

I second data entry. Also, you may want to look into copy-editing or debugging, both of which rely on the process of scanning a work, finding, and identifying mistakes. The beauty of these is that one can do them with minimal human interaction.

I have always felt that some type of electronic repair could produce the same effect.
Besides the added benefit of working alone it could also satisfy our need to solve puzzles and analyze problems (such as why isn't this component working correctly)

You're a "human collator." Large law offices have lots of this type of work. Certain paralegal tasks, working in the file room or mail room, etc. all present the kind of structured monotony you're looking for -- and require very little in the way of human interaction/social skills. It's generally considered horribly unpleasant work ... unless you're one of us. It's the environment that I work in, and I've often thought that many of the things going on around me would be perfect for (and done much better by) Aspies! Just make sure the office is large, as I said. A small office will have you doing every possible assistant-y task imaginable. Large places have the luxury of pigeonholing people and running a very efficient assembly-line type of operation. Good luck!

RainingRoses, how do you get into work like that? I relate strongly to everything Konpaku said but I've never worked in an office environment due to fear of phones and multi-tasking. I'm now in my 30s so I think it's too late for me. If not, what would be the best courses to take at community college or do you need a degree?

Well, the first thing you do to get into work like that is to live in or near a big city. That's where you're going to find offices of hundreds of lawyers and equal numbers of support staff. (If I knew where you live, this would be easier. I could probably even make specific recommendations of offices in that case.) The kinds of positions I'm talking about do not require much in the way of answering phones or multi-tasking. The whole point is that these places are large enough to be able to introduce incredible efficiencies of scale. No multi-tasking. I worked in a job like this between college and law school and got in trouble once for proofreading a document for someone because it "wasn't my job." It's the opposite at most places: workers themselves are always using the excuse, "it's not my job." Here, I was being told that(!) Just stick to your narrowly-defined task.

I think people have a sense of how many lawyers and bankers and other professionals are at work in the world. People seem to discount how many people are working in "back-office" (for lack of a better word) jobs right along with them. There's really no age limititation here, and you definitely don't need a degree to do this type of work. In fact, if you're capable of doing the work, people will prefer your being "degree-less." They won't have to pay you as much.

Do you know any in the UK?

just thinkin out loud.........

advertising....mail services...I would even concider creating a service for a number of local smaller companies, Some of which wouldnt have the staff to accomplish a larger task or be able dedicate a full timer for such.

Example..cleaning or lawn services....spring cleaning mailers!

In and Out mail for a company, instead of them keeping someone on their books you can offer a service


could contact via emails and or do your own mass mailing, let them know what you can do for them and the benefits of doing it versus their current

Thanks so much for the info RainingRoses......(love the username) unfortunately I don't live anywhere near a big city, I'm way out in a rural area which is great, but has it's drawbacks, as in less jobs. Not meant to be for me I guess but I think some other spectrum people here will benefit from the info

I hope you find the right job Konpaku

Indeed! Do you know any in the UK? Specifically, Northern Ireland?

You have all been very helpful, also, thank you everyone.

Food processing factories tend to be out in sticks. That's very repetitive, but not really the office environment that's you're looking for.

I used to work in the laundry room for a nursing home. That job was very, very gross and not for you if you're sensitive to smell or heat. It was nice and repetitive, though.

I read an online newspaper article a few days ago, which said that people working in the laundry on oil rigs can earn around $250k/year. There was a comment from someone who had done it, from his description it seemed just as disgusting.

Everyone earned minimum wage in that nursing home!

I would do the oil rig job (even though I now have a 'profession'), but I suppose it's an offshore platform?

Yes, offshore, 2-weeks-on, 1-week-off.