"Aspies live to work - NTs live to play"

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"Aspies live to work - NTs live to play" - for me rather opposite is closer to truth

^^^ That's what I'm thinking as well.

KraftieKortie - you're always saying exactly what I'm thinking. I love it!

Hmm, are you saying that ppl on the spectrum are more likely to work hard for something they think is important and NTs are more likely to focus their energy on being social and trying to be the most popular?

This is not true and neither is the flip.

I don't think it's very true for me.

I do like working. A lot. I have a couple of jobs+ right now and work as many days/hours as I can.

But I also like playing. A lot. I still see friends & loved ones, and have a sex life, and fully intend to get out kiteboarding as many days as I can this Summer - that's going to be the hardest part.. taking days off work to kite as I tend to want to work every day that I can in order to make hay while the sun shines. Hopefully the stars align and I can balance everything out OK.

Aspies live to work - when they're work is their obsession.
i.e. Steven Spielberg.

But obsession makes everything fun. So the work turns into play.

I was just going to say, a lot of NTs strike me as being workaholics, but I've never really had a good work ethic. I live to pursue my special interests, like many other aspies, and for some aspies, "special interests" may involve things that seem like "work" for other people, but they aren't so much like "work" for us.

It sounds like a bullit for the "us-vs-them" gun

I believe NT's could, at times, be more "us" than we think.

I believe people with ASD's could, at times, be more "them" than we think.

That's a real "us and them" statement. This Aspie is close to being a workaholic. Few of my colleagues seem to focus on their job for sustained periods. As for NTs and play; it's hard to say really as I don't socialise that much. But maybe that will change as I get to understand the differences between us and them.

OK. Aspies can be obsessive at work. I know that from myself, but I also know some NT working bees, who can´t let go and have fun unless they have done, what they set out to do.

Yeah, a lot of NTs are but if I'm trying to be more like an NT, where does that leave me? Does it mean I'll become a workaholic? Who knows.

Then again, I've met some aspies who took being workaholic way further than most NTs. There's an aspie I know in meatspace who used to work 20 hours per day, on her feet the whole time. No weekends off either.

I have no idea if this saying ("Aspies live to work - NTs live to play") is true or not.

What I do know is that I have had issues establishing a “work life” balance (as my wife has put it). Basically, I get so involved with work, I forget about everything else. It was not uncommon for me to work 60 or 70 hours per week (and sometimes more). I would leave the house in the morning right after my daughters woke up and return right before they went to bed. I used to be lectured by my wife and parents about the importance of having a family meal together. Which is sort of stupid, as our dinner-time “conversation” was pretty much non-existent.

There are a myriad of factors why my “work life” balance got out of whack:
- First, Anxiety. I was solely responsible for supporting my wife and daughters. I was so concerned about keeping my job; I figured I had to put in the extra hours to keep my job safe.
- Second, OCPD. As I have written here before, if I wasn’t diagnosed with Asperger’s, I would certainly have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). I have all the symptoms (many which seem to also be common with Asperger’s). My understanding is that workaholism is yet another symptom of OCPD.

I think work hard & play hard is my style. I was a workaholic when I was employed but I'm not as much of a worker at home; I enjoy myself when I'm not working.