Routines and Associated Rigidity

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Whilst everyone has certain routines to their days they seemingly stand out in AS. How rigid are yours, are there certain things you 'have to' do? I know some of mine seem annoyingly auto-pilot in nature and probably sometimes get in the way of me doing other things.

My routines are not very rigid. If they were more rigid I think I would be a happier person, because I would sleep better and I wouldn't forget things as much. I'd be able to rely on my routine. Unfortunately my work schedule is extremely variable and there's not much I can do about that. I screw up a lot because I forget when I have meetings etc., and my sleep schedule is constantly creeping forward.

I need my 'waking up' routine first thing in the day. I have to drink my tea, take my antidepressant and check my emails and read WP for at least an hour. If I don't get to do this the whole day goes wrong.

My life is a mess because I don't have a good healthy routine. I used to follow very specific ones, but I need to get them back again.

My mind has an auto-pilot mode which kicks in through some of my most repeditive routines. Driving to work, driving home, waking up, going to bed, checking my favorite websites for updates, etc... It's so potent sometimes that I may remember waking up and grabbing a small stack of six saltine crackers... and the next thing I know I'll be in front of my workstation at work starting up all of my applications. I tend to lose memory of the auto-pilot mode unless something -new- happened. For instance, if I could only get five crackers for breakfast, or if I have to brake quickly to avoid a fender-bender. I'll remember the whole thing. Otherwise, it's gone only moments after the next mental program begins.

I often completely forget doing very short routine tasks like bathing. I'll be wet and clean, but won't remember actually taking a shower. I'll be eating a sandwich, but won't remember putting the sandwich together. Or, I'll run a routine job at work and remember starting it and see myself ending it but not really recall anything in between.

Any theories?

My routine is extremely rigid in the mornings, and if anything goes awry, I'm in a horrible funk for the rest of the day.

Routines are very comforting because you don't have to think so hard about doing the right thing, just follow the routine. They are a defense against overwhelming anxiety. They can also keep the special interests from dominating your life. I think they are a beneficial adaptation, rather than something to be looked at negatively.

I tendtobe rigid about washing my hands to make them " clean before touching other people's things or " impartant things.

mornings are hard for me...

if i wake up too early and cant immediately fall ack to sleep, then stay outta my way... lol

i also like being the first person up in the house. i used to get up at 5:30am when i was in mid/high school simply because mu mom got up at six and she kept waking me up.... that 30 min in the morning was all i had to myself in that house.

other than that.... i have taught myself to do body checks for keys, wallet, and cell phone before i leave to go anywhere... or roughly ever 30 min... because i'm terrible about losing stuff. i even made a specific place at home that i try to put them in daily. i've also taught myself to check and make sure car/house doors are locked... and to check the settings on my alarm clock.

other than that... my stuff is generally centered around food. certain things i wont eat... like, i'm 25 and have never eatin a whole hotdog because i still remembebr just how bad that first bite tasted... and i refuse to try ANY of your finer dogs.... i don't care how QUALITY they are.... texture rules a lot of what i eat.... and since my wisdom tooth surgery-gone-arwy (jan 2000)... which left me with 1/2 of a numb tongue and no taste on 1/2 my tongue... i find that i'm even worse about that stuff. i also tend to eat all of my food on my plate before drinking anything... and i tend to eat one food at a time... unless of course, there's something on the plate that is violating the texture rule... then i'll mix up my food while i eat (to cover it up), but that's only when i'm eating with company and i don't want them to see me turn my nose up at something.

if im working where i can listen to my MP3 player... i tend to listen to the albums in a certain order... or i'll just put a single album on repeat.

can't think of anything else really atm...

I used to follow a routine, quite a rigid one. But, despite the fact that I was settled, I got bored of it and it took me a long time to alter it as I was too anxious to. Also, when routines used to break, as many of you can imagine, it used to upset me greatly. Then I went to university and had to scrap my routine. It was the best thing I ever did. Apart from going to work, I have banished 'routine' from a lot of my life. I figured that if I had no routine, I would then never get upset as there is no structure to break. Luckily, it has worked out that way and I feel quite chilled with it. It's made me more spontaneous too.

I sometimes find that uni life leads to me displaying more rigid behaviours ,such as remembering people by their full name or clicking my fingers to sort through 'layers' of memory to remember the name of the person I'm talking to.

Part of this is actually anxiety driven, I find myself displaying more 'wierd' behaviours whilst in the presence of some of my fellow students, especially one in particular who seems to view aspie behaviours as something that you should "learn to know better" and not engage in.

I don't have any rigid routines..I think this might be one of the ways in which I don't resemble an Aspie..I am horribly addicted to the computer and find it nearly impossible to stay away..I fantasise about having a rigid routine..I would have to be more or less a robot to get all the things done that I want to do.
A long time ago, I was actually an office worker and I had this routine during my lunch hour that involved gobbling down a lite low-fat lunch and then going for a power walk through the subdivision behind the music store i worked at. I did this religiously every day for two years...I sure wish I could do that again.

I am fixing to "ground" myself from the computer, because it is getting to be a problem, as it is gobbling up the time I have in which to do all the stuff I want to be able to accomplish...

Um...my current rigid routine involves hopping on the computer every ten minutes or so. It is awful.

I don't even realize how rigid mine are till I'm in a relationship. I get anxiety and all tensed up inside of me because my routine changes because I can't do something at a certain time or I can;t do what I usually do like watching my shows. Also when I have plans and they get disrupted because somethign else comes up but it doesn't happen so I get real upset because I had lost a day. Like I was going to go and apply for jobs on the first day beginning of this month and then my boyfriend calls and tells me my car needs a new radiator fan and he come and get me at 2 and we'll head to a yard and get the parts from another car so i changed my plans by not going out and look for work because I hate time limits and I didn't want to leave the house and then have anxiety about not being home on time so I stayed home but when two came, I had a meltdown because he never showed up and I couldn't get hold of him and my day was wasted. It turns out he decided to do it on his own and he left his phone behind so he couldn't call me to tell me change of plans. The next day I applied for jobs.
When I'm by myself I get back to flexiblility because I do different things but I don't realize I have routines. I don't think about my condition so i feel like a regular person because I'm not paying attention to my traits. I don't see it till I'm with someone. I didn't see it in my family because they let me do my things, their way of avoiding anxiety. I guess I'm spoiled.


Right now The Simpsons are on but I'm not watching it because I seen the episode and I wanted to be on this computer but had to stop because the show came on. I don't have Dish Network anymore.

I guess I can say I have spontanious routines. I change them when I want to and I do what's on my mind.

I own an architectural business and as so my life is fluid.

It is, however, full of small routines. I get my stuff to my truck in a specific way, lock it in another, I have a wakeup routine.

If I alter any of these routines I am apt to make errors.

Although My days are fluid, I can be taken aback I'd I must alter a day's schedule.

I guess I am semi flexible.

I'm 25 now and have eaten the same breakfast almost every day since the age of about seven. Four slices of toast with promite. Over the years the accompanying beverage has changed from chocolate milk to apple juice, and I have made the move from white bread to wholegrain, but other than that... if i realise at night that there isn't enough bread or butter etc for my breakfast the following morning I will either go out and get the items I need or leave the house in the morning without eating and get take-away breakfast instead.

I don't really have a rigid schedule.

Tim