I'm useless without a routine, but...

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I'm also terrible at following routines.

Seriously, unless I'm really into what I'm supposed to be doing, I'll let weeks and even months coast by on neutral if I don't have a strict routine.

But therein lies my problem - I can't get a routine that works. Sometimes I'll plan out a detailed schedule, and stick to it at first, but at the first sign of deviation from the routine, it all falls apart. It's taken me years to figure out how to structure my mornings so I can consistently make it to work on time.

Is this an aspie thing? Some of the aspies on here seem almost religiously regimented, and are able to follow their routines in an almost compulsive fashion. So maybe I need to look at other conditions besides Aspergers? This is frustrating - especially since the ADHD diagnosis I received as a child has turned out to be a dead end.

This happens more than you might think. I have to keep a more general routine, such as opening the doors at a certain time, running errands in a timeframe, and having a cutoff point for which I'll take or return calls. I have church and meetings 3x a week but other than that I don't fill my time effectively

Hmmm

I was having exactly the same thoughts as you, before.
I always saw myself as pretty disorganised and routineless.

However now, when I am observing myself more, I can see them.
They were hiding, naughties

Like, I preffer to sit on the same chair, or seat,
I do dring 3 glasses of water, trying not more nor less,
I tend to stick to the same singer and songs,
I want to go to the same places
(till I change my prefferences)

..ect..



Maybe you will find those subtle ones too..and you can build upon them?

Yeah, I will always take the same route to work. When I thought about changing my route one morning, I got anxious and had butterflies in my stomach, but I forced myself to do it anyway. Now I take that route and no other route.

I have ordered the same burrito (chicken fajita, medium salsa, sour cream and cheese) from Chipotle for 11 years in 4 different states.

I generally eat the same lunch (peanut butter sandwich and a piece of fruit) and the same dinner (grilled chicken and a salad) every day and I never get tired of the monotony.

But that's different from scheduling. I'm seeing some people on here who like to plan their days out down to the minute, and then follow through compulsively. I just don't have that kind of discipline and it makes me wonder if I'm on the wrong track with this Aspergers thing...!

being able to follow a routine is part of executive function (ef). ef can be impaired in ADHD and autism.

Just wanted to chime in real quick, what you're describing bernerbrau is obsessive compulsive disorder. Asperger's rigidity can develop into OCD. As Cathylynn mentioned, executive functioning is impaired in autism spectrum disorders and the effect of that varies from individual to individual.

I find I have nonfunctional routines, like most other people on the spectrum. The routines work for me and only me. Sometimes, very rarely, will an NT observe my "efficiency" then question it then try to do it themselves and it doesn't work. Who knows. I have the extreme systemizing version of Asperger's and everything I do must be A: Grouped by type, B: grouped by number, or C: grouped by (my random category lol ). Like if I'm getting ladles for my station, I'll also get six pans for the dressings that require the ladles, just in case and also probably anything on the way that I need or might need.

Each person on the spectrum has different "influences" to their behavior. I'm a verbal thinking/pattern recognizing/systemizing "breed" or "variety" lol My executive functioning is impaired in regards to starting tasks and some follow-through problems. I think each of us has strengths and weaknesses in executive functioning. Once organized, I'm unstoppable. Once stream-lined, my activities are very fast. Some of my perceived slowness physically is what people don't see behind the scenes-- my stream-lining the task on the fly (which to someone else looks like I keep remaking the same item). Well anyways, that's my attempt to explain some of it. HTH

Ah yes, I remember executive function from the ADD books. I definitely have issues with executive function.

Thing is, I don't think I'm impaired in the exact same way an ADD person would be. I am capable of buckling down on unpleasant/uninteresting tasks, it just takes a lot of effort. When approaching a task like this I usually start by trying to think through exactly how I'm going to do the task, and I usually get so far down that rabbit hole that I get confused or frustrated, and give up. I'll come up against a mental obstacle and go, "ugh, how am I going to even finish that in time" or "ugh, I just don't feel like doing that". I usually have to force myself to skip the "planning" phase and just start doing something - anything - related to the task to get around this, but in the heat of the moment it's hard to give myself that extra push.

It's also frustrating to hear my therapist describe me as "routine-oriented". It makes me think she's not paying attention.

I like routines, but I don't like minute-by-minute schedules. Minute-by-minute schedules are too rigid for me to implement successfully. Any deviation from the minute-by-minute schedule would cause eggstreme anxiety for me, so it would be a horrible idear for me to impose a minute-by-minute schedule upon myself. I like a routine in which I do the same things in the same way and the same order, but without an eggstremely eggsacting schedule to screw me up eberryday.