Schedules vs poor organizing skills

Post Reply New Topic

I read a lot of you have daily schedules, planning out everything you do. But I also read, have heard, and seen people with Asperger's who can't keep any order at all.

Can someone explain to me why people, who often like planning, making schedules and lists, also have problems with organizing?

I usually don't have a schedule and I am very disorganized.

I think of it as the schedule is to stop disorganization

I have a schedule because I'm disorganised. Without the rigid routine, nothing would get done.

Without a routine and plan, it's pretty much impossible for me to do things.

I don't know exactly why that is, but I know that it is.

I have somewhat of a schedule because I have a lot to do and if I don't schedule it, I won't get it all done. I do my housework on a sort of schedule, ie; things I do every day, and things I do on certain days, like dusting, windows, changing bed linens, etc. I write things down and make a daily list because if I don't I'll forget things. The AS doesn't make me forget, I used to never have a memory problem. It's the hormonal imbalance thats going on with my perimenopause that's causing it, I believe. Also, I just started back on my antidepressants and the Wellbutrin is terrible about causing me to forget. So when I'm on my meds, I always write things down.

I'm pretty organized overall, and always have been except when I'm depressed. I enjoy getting things done and knowing where everything is. That may be because I grew up in total chaos.

I dislike getting off my schedule though. I don't feel "right" until I'm caught up. Like yesterday, I was at the hospital all day for my mothers surgery. I had done most of my housework before we left at 6am, and finished the rest when we got back at 5pm, but yesterday was Monday and on Monday's I mop the whole house, not just the kitchen. I did not do that. I also didn't do any laundry. So today in addition to my regular housework, and today is a baking day so I have to bake as well and it's Tuesday so I dust the whole house, cobweb the corners and dust the ceiling fans, I also have to mop. Plus do things at my Mothers house because she's in the hospital. I'll make my list when I get my caffiene levels back up to normal. I just got up.

_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA.

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com

I am a total mess with ordinary tasks and have never been able to plan anything. But I'm never late on meetings if someone else is involved and I can't bear people who are always late and think there's nothing wrong with that.

I am pretty organised in most things. Well, I'm just average there really. But my only problem is, I leave things to the last minute before the deadline. Like for job-seekers, I have to write what I've done in relation to job-searching in the last 2 weeks, and I leave it all to the night before my appointment to write it down. I can memorize roughly what I have done, which is good.

I see these two as natural whole in myself. Having lists is soothing. When for some reason there can't be a list it makes me disoriented and not productive. I hold on to a list because I don't want this to happen.

I'm hopelessly bad at staying organised, so constant timetabling/lists for me. I was actually given an iPod touch by the uni/dsa people to help with keeping track of things which is pretty awesome. It's weird though, people think I'm incredibly organised just because from their perspective I'm always on track of work, finish stuff way before deadlines etc. They don't see all the planning I do to make sure those things happen. I guess this is kind of why I was told I couldn't have aspergers a couple of times, they just see the modified behaviour without considering all the energy it takes to modify it in the first place.

I am good at the kind of organizing that involves putting and keeping everything in its assigned position in my room. I am not good at the kind of organizing that involves doing paperwork or going around talking to people to get something out of them.

I need things to be planned in my life to reduce the overwhelm. But I am not very good at being able to break things down into a plan. Information comes at me in giant insurmountable slabs.If I can't break it down then I just freeze overwhelmed and can't achieve anything.

My home and office are both organized...to me. I know exactly where everything is to the millimeter...but everyone else who looks at either my home or office swears I'm hideously disorganized. I get slightly agitated when people move things though, because everything is a reference for the location of everything else, and it is like someone walking into someones office and switching all their file labels.

If I do not keep a schedule for my daily activities, I will lose track of time and "waste" the day in some random nonproductive manner. Potentially forgetting to eat and/or sleep or remain hygienically sanitary. The schedule is thus important. I lost a job once because my car was broken into and my daily organizer was stolen (my cell phone too, among other things)...I was unable to adjust to the situation fast enough to prevent my employer from getting frustrated with my lack of productivity or attendance.

NTs probably see us as both rigidly organized and unorganized in different facets, because we have differing organization protocols compared to them. They are likely unable to see the function of our actions and behavior.

I can't work to a schedule or plan at all. However my stuff/things/papers/documents are all neatly categorised/filed/sorted.

I don't really try to schedule things, because I know from long experience that I'll have to change things as I go along... something will take longer, or someone will tell me why I shouldn't do X and convince me, or items involve other people's participation and they behave unpredictably.

I guess it's all or nothing thinking... if I can't stick to the schedule 100%, then why have one?