Clumsiness/Spatial failure

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I have this odd problem that will probably kill me if something doesn't first. Basicly, I worked at McDonald's, and while I worked there, I had a lot of issues with really odd, could be considered clumsy things happening to me. For example: I have had 5 different chemicals, water, soapy water, and 5 different sauces/juices from food end up in my eyes while I was there, including some of the most poisonous chemicals like grill cleaner.. Ketchup particularly hurt. I have knocked over a mop bucket full of dirty water, I soak my leg with juices from garbage bags every time I work with garbage. I have gotten myself trapped in a walk in fridge even with the door propped open.... For that feat I tried moving a stack of boxes of tomatos and it fell giving me barely enough space between the wall, the and the stuff on all other sides of me, for my body.... Yell for help so someone can hear me, manager comes and just starts laughing, I felt so awkward with having it happen, I couldn't help but laugh, but in more of a crying way. He still has a picture of me trapped on his phone. I have also emptied vats of oil all over the floor by mistake, as well as a number of things I can't think of.... Oh, I also cut myself on a yogurt container.

Other than living in a bubble for my own safety, any suggestions?

I blame McDonald's just because they are McDonald's. Other than that, I do not know what to tell you.

Itsnot just mcdonalds, its everywhere, it just shows up worse at work than anywhere else.

get a different job. i worked at a restaurant and this was a huge issue for me. I dumped iced tea all over this lady i was serving. I realized after that that I would never get good at what I was doing (had been doing restaurants a couple years).

I would recommend a job that is more office based, OR physical in a different way. I'm clumsy myself, but I'm good at physical labor if it doesn't take much dexterity. Carrying a heavy jug of oil and putting it into a fry machine on a slippery floor? I would be awful at that myself. But digging ditches or hauling rocks or pounding nails or painting fences---that is something I can do because it doesn't take much dexterity.

I don't know what to tell you except that I have the same problem (aside from the fact that I am a student and get hurt at school, not work). I've stabbed meself with pencils, sissors, plastic knives...basically everything sharp. I ALWAYS fell off the risers in choir...now I stand on the floor. The air is constantly knocking me over (I swear, it's not me, it's the air!). Books fall, my backpack is dropped, everything. I am good at falling and sending an armload of books and binders scattering down the hall.

I guess I am just trying to show you that you aren't alone. Some people seem to have perfect coordination while others (we) do not. But there's always going to be something that you do better than anyone else you know. So focus on that and don't worry about your clumsiness.

By the way, I am still a student, I attend University of Waterloo as a computer science student. I'm studying so I have a job that won't kill me.

Sounds like a good plan.

Keep an application in at the library; the worst thing you can do there is knock over a cart of books, and that won't kill you. I'd also recommend the grounds crew.

Working at your university of course has the added benefit of not having to travel between there and work, which is great if you're clumsy with a car too, or can't drive yet.

Im not bad with a car thankfully. My current job is at the Tim Hortens on campus, and thankfully, there isnt too much I can kill myself there, and this one is unionized, so they won't let my darwin award myself that easily.

Clumsiness / spatial failure = me. Have broken all toes many times bumping into things. Cannot seem to tell where my body is in space if I'm even aware of my body at all. But I can learn to do almost anything physical with a little practice. It's just not intuitive. Can't drive a car yet. That's too many fast deadly objects coming from far and near and middle distances too fast with too many variables and lots of other drivers doing weird things and not following the rules. Too much lag time in brain processing all factors to respond perfectly.

Even thought I did not like it, I made myself work at nursing facilities for decades to keep my physical agility in a workplace up to par, forced practice

aaaargh! don't even remind me of the oven/grill cleaner (I already wrote a post about my adventures with it in another thread today...).

I worked in a bar and not only did I have to listen to the "why do you always bump into everyone else" s**t every day, I cut my fingers with virtually everything on a daily basis, dropped beer barrels on my toes, had glass and paper cuts in places they just should never be in, had hot oil burns and bruises all over the place.

there was one time when we were short on waiting staff and I was told to bring two plates to one table and although I'd told my boss that he was making a biiig mistake by asking me, he still told me to do it and... well, I think I don't have to tell you the rest

I also do not tolerate those kinds of jobs. I'm not really clumsy but it just takes way too much energy. I always get this sweaty, trembly, claustrophobic feeling. It’s both from being in a tight space, being too warm, and/or and having to concentrate so hard on the dexterous activity that I get uncomfortably tense.

I can’t ever really relax and go into the automatic pilot mode where I can talk and work at the same time. I have to fixate on what I’m doing the whole time. Thus the job is both exhausting and intolerably tedious.

I remember when I worked in a shop people would come up with baskets full of individually made xmas tree decorations to scan. I remember how fidgety I was with those decs and they would never scan for me. It took me so long to process the sales. None of the other workers seemed to have the same problems handling and scanning those fiddly decorations.

I also have problems dealing with large objects too. I seem to have an all round problem with them.

I found I was a hazard when working in a cafe/food service job as well. The number of times I put my hand in the deep-friar. Luckily for me my boss was to cheap too keep their friar heated at a reasonable temp. Adding to the problem is a failure of normal reflexes that should cause an immediate reflexive action to remove one's body parts from injurious stimuli.

my son falls off of chairs a lot, like he'll be eating his breakfast and the next thing he's on the floor and can never tell me what happened

I bump into everything in school, and I bruised myself plenty of times.
I'm more concerned about my fine motor skills. I can't make pretty decorations on a cake without it looking sloppy, so I'm not going to be a baker even though I like it. I even have some trouble tying my shoes, but I can still do it; I got really good at it in elementary school where I learned how to do it in my speech therapy class (small class of 4 students, pretty easy). Also, those iPhone keyboards are impossible to use.
I'm looking into a career in computer science. I can't injure myself there, I hope.

I have a theory that it's a combination of inward focus on yourself (attempts at control) along with an indeterminate 'personal space' (being aware of the area around you).

I have to move a lot of boxes, take apart delicate printer innards, move out of self-closing doors with a hand truck (boy do I hate that...

Over the years, I've tended to develop a sort of 'planning mode' when I have time to move with objects in my hands.

1) Select a path - if you're going somewhere in the room, look for possible obstacles, including your fellow workers. See which way they're moving, and arrange not to be there as they go by. Sometimes this means stopping, or even backtracking. Try to remember where door stops, wheels, etc., are left when coming through.

2) Timing - you can get a feel for how fast someone is moving, and add it to your own movement, to see potential collisions. If they're going to cut you off, let them. Then pass by

3) observe your extremities - hands and feet. Sometimes things are just a little closer or farther away than you think. Watch where your hand is going relative to what you're trying to get. This also applies to brooms, ladders, and 10' poles...

4) Balance. This is probably the only thing I learned in Karate... Keep your weight centered, over your legs as you move, don't hold heavy objects too far out from your body, don't turn too quickly with heavy loads, keep your back straight when lifting, and use your legs (I regularly lift 125lb printers up and down, and so far I've been lucky), not your back to lift.

It's a pain, you move more slowly, but remember; if you're doing it more slowly, you're still doing it faster than if you have to clean up afterwards.

Also, Mickie D should have some courses or videos that you can review on Safety, only if the lawyers told them they needed to. If you ask your manager, it will be seen as proactive.

Good luck