Anyone else sometimes get confused by simple tasks?

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Does anyone else on thr spectrum, get confused sometimes when someone asks you to do a simple task" if you've never done it before? I normally need walked through it when it happens to me, the first time oe two. It leads to people looking at me weird if they don't give me instructions and then I try to do things like id expect them to work

Yes, frequently.

It's especially frustrating when the person has a very limited time to give me instructions and then leaves, but expects everything to be done how they want it when they come back. Then, I start doing the task and find that everything is more complicated than I expected.

It feels like that scene from "The Devil Wears Prada" where the main character is told to leave a book on the table with the flowers, only to get in the room and find that every table has flowers on it.

There are no simple tasks. Truly.

Yes
I think autistic people consider far more options for how to proceed than NTs, leading to uncertainty on what to do. NTs seem to instinctively know the "common" way of doing something.

it is so easy to underthink and overthink things. so hard to hit the bulls-eye.

This happens to me a lot. I need very precise instructions the first time I do something, or I have no idea where to start or what to do.

New tasks are hard for me even if they are one or two steps. I get anxious with performance anxiety even when I'm alone. I overthink the thing, and then because of my ADHD and exec dysfunction I forget the steps and details, or get distracted. Another issue is that I can be super impulsive. I'll research something for hours to find out how it's done, and then when the time comes I'll just wing it without double checking or having the right materials.

Familiar tasks are frustrating too. No matter what I do it has a special way it needs to be done because I like routines. So even with the mundane, I'm conscious of what I'm doing and thinking it through. Sensory issues can get in the way with all of the above as well. Something as simple as brushing my teeth or falling asleep have specific sensory elements that need to be considered.

Oh and then after any task I ruminate about it as well.

Yes. Rather like IsabellaLinton said, to me very little is simple. From my perspective, other people seem to fudge their way through things with what looks like insufficient attention to detail, and I'm often surprised that their results work at all. Yet often they do work, and they get there in a fraction of the time it takes me.

They seem more able to gloss over minor problems in the instructions, as if they somehow know where they can do that and where they can't. This shows up very clearly if I have to fill in a form. I always get hung up on the slightest ambiguity in the questions, and if I can't think of a perfect "truth, whole truth and nothing but truth" answer, I feel unable to proceed. Even when the form contains a fairly obvious typo error, I might strongly suspect that it's just a typo and I might have a good idea about what they probably meant, but without confirmation and proof that I'm right, it seems unsafe to plough on.

I've heard that Aspies are notorious for needing crystal-clear instructions. Certainly I recognise that in myself. Instructions in real life are rarely crystal-clear. I seem to remember that they used to be when I was a child, but in the adult world everybody seems to fudge everything. I've also heard that science is a good field for Aspies to get involved with, presumably because the rigour in science is rather stronger than it is in everyday life. A good scientist doesn't jump to conclusions. That suits my nature very well.

Usually.

I can't follow instructions, especially if they're not written down. Watching someone do things is the most helpful to me. I know I'm not the only person who never read instructional manuals before putting something together.

I do think I'm a rare combo when it comes to handling new tasks. I've inherited both of my parents' qualities. If I have even a slight trouble with a task I immediately ask everyone for help (like my mom). If nobody is around to help, then I relax my mind and start delving deeper into the issue, and keep working on it until I solve the problem (like my dad). I admit that there are many occasions when other people's help were such low quality I wished I just worked on the problems on my own. It's my instinct to ask for help, though.

I get episodes of confusion from fatigue or stress, when I can't focus on a job. I had the hot and cold hookups on my washer reversed for years, because I trusted the tap colours instead of just looking at the fully-visible pipes. I would also be baffled by anything with a touch screen, although that is dead simple to many people. I'd need a glossary to even attempt social media. If you gave me a common task, I might not do it the expected way. I have always done my own taxes, but really don't enjoy the process at all. However, if you ask me to build something that has never been done before, I can go by first principles and do very well, seldom having to start over.

Yes

I've been known to "overthink."

Yes. I need details and specific instructions but i am too scared to ask in most cases.

These so-called "Simple" tasks are usually handed to me because someone else became confused and has messed up the process so badly that they do not want to be bothered with them any more -- THAT is where the frustration comes in.  First, I have to back-track to the point where they went off-track, and then finish the task for them while they claim credit.

I would let them flail, founder and take all of the (well-deserved) blame; but I have too much compassion for those  dumb animals  clueless people.

Weak EF does this to me.


If not, it just really boils down with interpreting written or spoken verbal instructions.

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