Exec. Function problems vs. routines- contradiction?

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That’s me as well. It is so much effort to figure things out, that once I do, I like to stick with it. It simplifies my life. And decreases anxiety. Until, that is, the routine is disrupted.

Yet…I wonder how uncommon this is. I suspect most people cope by following strict routines and being rigid.

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On direct assessment, all three groups demonstrated average EF
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Unfortunately for me, I am below average when it comes to EF...
I am in the process of improving my organisational efficiency...
Better late than never...

Thx 4 the information...

The odd thing for me, when I was younger, was that I was never comfortable with a definitive routine...
I was always looking for a better methodology/solution...
Perhaps I was so disorganised and/or insecure I couldn't formulate effective routines and stick with them...<shrug>

I do have a problem with perseveration (in terms of verbal or sub vocal repetition), but that is involuntary as opposed to a consciously created routine...

The other thing is, I have difficulty in recalling the routine from memory in the first place...
I'm skrewed every which way but loose, it seems...

I dislike routines, but I get screwed up without them.

If I always put things in the same place, I don't lose them. If I don't I may become very focused on something interesting and just have no idea what happened to something I was holding…

If I don't keep certain kinds of notes about projects, I can lose track of critical detail. This happens sometimes if I allow urgencies of the moment to get in the way of my note keeping. Always a big mistake. Sadly, I learned this through repeated trials.

I also find rush hour sidewalks in Manhattan a little hard to deal with, and I tend to always take the same route despite deliberately trying to vary it. This is probably because I tried every route when this commute was new to me and found the best one… the things I don't like about the others always bring me back to the one I like best. I don't know if that counts as a routine

My routines include:
Buying same items of food every week and only adding new items very tentatively
Having a nootropic medication schedule
Eating in exactly the same way and place
Checking up on same websites - I rarely add a new website to my list of staples
Establishing virtual filing and naming procedures for academic work

These are more subtle. I find im happiest WITH a routine however which is why im going to be enforcing one now that ive got the fdirst semester's coursework out of the way

Interestingly, before I learned about Aspergers (and its corresponding behavioral symptoms), I never thought about my routines as such. I simply thought I was optimizing what I did, thereby simplifying my life.

For example, when I did the yard work (which involved mowing, edging, raking, etc.), I figured out the best sequence for doing this work. Down to the details of which pattern I followed when pushing the mower. Through trial and error, I figured out the optimal pattern. Once I figured it out, I simply replayed it. That way, I no longer needed to think about it. If the variables changed, I would update the sequence, again seeking to optimize the sequence of work. Likewise, there were seasonal patterns that I had to accommodate into this routine. What’s interesting is that I performed this same routine on the same day at roughly the same time, every week. I felt angst if something prevented me from doing this (either I was out of town or the weather prevented me from doing so or ...).

Previously, I always figured that this was what everyone did. As it certainly makes things easier. Though, if I think about it, it’s a bit obsessive.

After I learned about Aspergers, I realized that I apply this same pattern to many things. As an example, I pretty much prepare breakfast and lunch the same exact way, every day. Eating the same exact thing (well different for breakfast and lunch). Following the same steps to prepare the meal. Minimally, I am efficient. LOL.

Now – Is this tied to deficiencies in executive functioning? I have no idea. I always assumed that my executive functioning was super normal, as I was quite good at optimizing my processes and minimizing my wastes. Though the testing that was performed by the psychologist indicated that, while I work well in structured situations, I am horrible in unstructured situations. Which, I suppose is how I deal with this in life. I take what is unstructured and apply structure to it. So, I can cope.

Back to the original question. I do note the irony in liking routines and having poor executive function. I do find it frustrating.

While going off topic in a thread is not uncommon, I have never seen another forum where it happens as often as it does in Wrong Planet. I am guilty of it also.

Going off topic is part of an aspie's job...

Basically I think we have satisfied the parameters of the original post...

I was under the impression that we (a number of "we"s) successfully refuted the contradiction.
I.E. Routines are a means of alleviating the disruptive phenomenon/sensation/influence/irritant of EFD...
Hence no contradiction...
What more can we say on the original topic?

Why do people hate people going off topic in threads? Personally I can enjoy a little digression and the tangents seem related to me even if not obviously so (if not to the OP then to a post above it).

I am always digressing in my threads and going off topic and absolutely don't mind if people do the same.

I may like or not like it depending on where the off topic goes. I do not like the idea of going off topic because I like categorizing things. A thread is like a category.

Relating my observation to the original topic I do think we go off topic more often then people on other forums because of executive function deficits.

Not to go off topic, but...

First, it seems like most conversations (between 3 or more people) are simply a stream of words being spoken back and forth. Within these conversations, the topic changes, sometimes sentence by sentence. I am particularly amazed, when people are talking about one thing, then change the topic to something else. And, here I was, trying to formulate my thoughts and prepare to say something on one topic. And, then, the damn topic changes. So, I have to either blurt out my well thought out response (which is no longer relevant in the discussion). Or try to catch back up to where the conversation is now. I figure this could be an example of executive functioning deficit.

Second, I seem to go off topic frequently. Particularly in working situations. Say, people are talking about topic X. And, then, I bring up a related item (topic Y). Which, at first, may confuse some of the people in the conversation. But then, I roll it up, under a general topic (call it Topic A’) which is about topics X, Y and a whole lot more. This isn’t something I think up on the spot. Rather, these are things I have been thinking about IN DETAIL for some time. And, it’s my intention to show how all of these are interrelated. And, that they must be discussed in aggregate, to be fully complete. I am not certain what this is.

OK...we can now return to the original topic...LOL