Does Anybody Else Have Difficulties With...

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I can totally understand. For me, Its hard to talk to my family and friends normally. it takes about 10 minutes to know what i'm about to say when i started the conversation an hour ago. The good news that i have for you is that you use those cards on getting ready for the day. That is a good coping skill.

My mind is in continuous thinking/analyzing mode and, on top of this, everything I do, has to be completed, just right. I am sure this is what keeps me from completing routine tasks in an efficient manner. It doesn't matter how much extra time I give myself, to get ready to go out the door, each morning, I will still be rushing to get to work on time, in the end. My manager has given me a one hour window of time, to arrive. I have to get to work between 9:00 and 10:00 AM. I strive to get there by 9:00, but more often than not, I am walking through the door between 9:45 and 10:00. Sometimes, even later. It isnt that I don't care. I just litteraly spend too much time in my thoughts, and to much time on making things perfect.

I definitely used to. I think I've improved a lot as time has gone on though.

Something I remember was eating. Always was a painfully slow eater. At primary school even if I got my lunch right at the start I'd never have finished it by the end. They did wrap up my leftovers and send me home with them but eventually they stopped. They decided that I needed at least some play time and I wasn't getting any because I was trying to eat my lunch. One of the teachers did try feeding me because she sat on the same table and was getting impatient watching me eat (I imagine it was painful to watch ) but, well, it set off my gag reflex and I threw up. She didn't try that one again.

I also used to go swimming and it did take me forever to get changed in and out of swimming clothes. To solve this I wore my swimming clothes under my regular clothes, but obviously once I had finished swimming I needed to get changed. That probably took me about an hour. Also had a shower after swimming - again would have taken me forever. In my defense for showering I was completely exhausted after swimming so you know.

Even in secondary school I was slower. For PE if it was after lunch I'd start getting changed during lunch since this was my only way to keep up with everyone. Was a real issue if there was a lesson before or after PE though.

And exams. I can't keep up with people's writing pace. People ask for more and more paper and I haven't even completed the space we got given and that's me going flat out.

And yes, I am completely and utterly useless at cutting food. My food tech teacher absolutely hated how useless I was and thought I must be doing it on purpose to spite her. Every lesson she'd use me as an example of "here's what not to do" and get me in front of the class. I didn't really like her if I'm honest.

I have never used PECs but I do have a routine in my head to do each morning.

There's probably more examples I'll remember. I'd actually not thought much about this before but now that you mention it it's been prevalent throughout my life. I can't think of any at the moment other than exams but I probably will in 5 years time looking more over at how I am now. I don't know how fast I get dressed now because I don't have anything to compare it to.

I too ate my school lunch meal much slower than the other kids. We would be seated at tables of six, and a 5th form prefect would come around to make sure we were all finishing at the same time, took our plates back to the canteen window, and vacated the table for another batch of kids. I was always the one holding up the table.

I eventually learned to get faster but it felt like I was bolting my food and I didn't like having to do so.

I missed out on a job because I took my time filling out the application! It was for a retail position at a small boutique store, I think the store was baby clothes and goods. I went along in response to an ad in the local classifieds (this was before the internet, when you checked the newspaper job section locally).

I went along, and several other people were already there sitting to the side and filling out their forms. The manager gave me a form and I sat down and did the same.

Now, I try to be neat and thorough when writing these things, so I thought that was a good thing, right? After taking care to have neat handwriting, and to be thorough in listing my previous experience, my skill set, etc, and writing out what I thought was a neat, impressive application form, I walked up to the manager and handed it to him.

He told me with what I guess he thought was a "warm and kindly" laugh and smile, "Well you see, you took too long to fill out your form. That tells me you're not going to be able to do things quickly if need be around the store. So thank you but it's a no, sorry!"

I felt it was an injustice, because, just because I was trying to be careful and thorough with my form, was no indication that I couldn't do this job.

It was cashiering and stock taking and customer service and keeping up the store. I've done a dozen jobs just like it!

But this guy decided filling out the form for a few minutes longer than others took -- only because I thought I'd impress him with how thorough I was being! -- told him all he needed to know about me not being good enough.

And there I had been thinking it was a positive that I was so careful, neat and detailed with my application form instead of slapdash! I had thought that was a good thing, not a bad thing. Can't win 'em all I guess.

I have several problems being soo old the only good thing is my wife is there helping me keep the train on the track.Lucky don't have the bad mind problems that so many have.

I am usually a slow but careful worker, however, one time I had two days to get my project ready to move from a temporary shop, and I out-worked my helper with one arm in a sling. The key was to always be thinking ahead on the job, rather than on the other puzzles of the day.

These things are so hard for me I often just avoid them. I wear the same thing every day so that simplifies getting dressed. I have visual routines for everything. I also forget to eat or shower or brush my teeth or brush my hair, for instance.