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OrdinaryCitizen
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12 Oct 2018, 3:18 am

Cannot focus on more than one thing in a day, ie i can only do one type of work and i do it for days, i am not good at switching tasks around.

Other people are able to do one task for few hours then switch to another task, then go outside take a walk for few hours go back to first task etc.

I struggle to find motivation to do anything so i am afraid if i switch to another task i will never go back to the first task i were doing.

Don't even want to go take a shower when i am consumed by something i am doing thinking its more important and needs to be carried trough.

Hate day planners and organizers as well.

Is this normal for an Aspie or i am special in this regard?



Benjamin the Donkey
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12 Oct 2018, 3:49 am

It all sounds pretty similar to me. I can do maybe two projects in a day, but no multitasking--one earlier and one later.

But yes, if I'm really focused on something, it's really hard to stop and do something else, even taking a shower or eating.


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12 Oct 2018, 5:47 am

I only do one thing at a time. I generally don't even listen to music while I'm working.



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12 Oct 2018, 8:52 am

Multitasking is really a terrible way to work. Nobody is good at it and it lowers the attention span to zero.



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12 Oct 2018, 12:07 pm

This is a common problem for Autistic people. It is thought sensory overload and poor Executive Functioning are the reasons.


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12 Oct 2018, 1:58 pm

Likewise I suck at multitasking.



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12 Oct 2018, 2:02 pm

I am terrible at it as well. To the point that if I'm doing a task that requires me to focus, such as making a meal in the kitchen and my wife asks me a question that would require any amount of thought and decision making on my part, I can not do it. I've told her that many times and I need to remind her of that.



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12 Oct 2018, 7:13 pm

I think I may be fairly good at multitasking for an Aspie. Some of this may be due to my ADD because I zone out & daydream if my mind isn't partly distracted. I also got pulled off what I was doing a lot at one of my jobs to do other tasks & then I had to jump back to what I was doing. It really frustrated me at times but I kind of learned to handle that better as time went on.


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13 Oct 2018, 6:36 am

Multi-task is not too bad if I only need to pay attention to one thing, and the other stuff require little attention. Like I can steam something, boil something, bake something and fry something at the same time. Among these the frying would require most of my attention. Sometimes I can manage 6 or 7 things at once, but if someone comes to me and start a conversation, I lose track and would forget what I'm supposed to do.


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graceksjp
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13 Oct 2018, 10:25 am

I must be a really weird Aspie cause I multitask just fine. Like I'll be reading 5 different books, while switching between 3 different TV shows, and switch constantly between school work, and get up and exercise for a bit, and then go make something to eat, chat for a bit, help my mom with the groceries, and return. Thats a pretty normal lazy Saturday for me. I get bored easily so I'll switch between books and shows, and I often read and watch TV at the same time so I can read during commercials. I often do my schoolwork while watching TV too. (And sometimes reading)
Most of the time I have no problem stopping and starting an activity. And I have no problem like doing my math homework, while listening to music, and talking with my mom, and eating my lunch.
(On the other hand though, when Im REALLY into something a tornado could pass through my house and I still wouldnt budge lol. Sleep, food, and other people cease to exist)


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MadelineBlue97
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14 Oct 2018, 12:13 am

That's one of the reasons I've been fired from most of my jobs because I couldn't do more than one thing without screwing up. :?



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14 Oct 2018, 8:39 am

MadelineBlue97 wrote:
That's one of the reasons I've been fired from most of my jobs because I couldn't do more than one thing without screwing up. :?


Did you work in a small company? In my experience, the less workers around the more you have to multi-task.



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14 Oct 2018, 6:38 pm

I don't kid myself anymore. I can't do it. One thing at a time, and if I get interrupted I may or may not manage to get back to it before my mind is distracted by yet another bright shiny object and all is forgotten.


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14 Oct 2018, 9:14 pm

There's a multitasking test here:
http://multitasking.labinthewild.org/multitasking/

Here are the results that I got:

http://multitasking.labinthewild.org/multitasking/ wrote:
Speed: On average, you took 3.15 seconds to find and select an item. Other participants needed 3.22 seconds on average. Fantastic!

Memory: On average, you made 0 mistake(s) when remembering memorized symbols. Other people made 0.14 mistakes on average. Excellent!

Attention on the clicking task: You lost 2 attention points for every additional symbol you had to keep in memory while other participants lost on average 0.3 attention points for every symbol they had to memorize.


I'm thinking that the "Attention on the clicking task" is the part of the test that is most related to multitasking, and I'm almost 7 times worse than the average participant. Seems I'm not good at multitasking.


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OrdinaryCitizen
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15 Oct 2018, 12:30 pm

By multitask i meant something else - ability to do several task during day one after another not at same time :D

Okay i should have called this topic "task chaining" instead cuz i cannot chain tasks.

Like i were fixing my bike then i went to check my mail on my computer now i totally give darn about going back to fix my bike that's taken apart now, i feel like being on my computer for rest of the day.

Typically my bike would stay taken apart for a week or month is some instances if i dont need it cuz i would not feel like doing it, sometimes i dont feel like doing it so much and if i keep bumping in the mess i made i rather toss the entire thing into trash or sell it for parts than force myself to finish it.

Ii loose the vibe for that particular activity if i stop or go to sleep so i prefer do one thing at a time before i finish it.

Imaging a task that takes days like starting a business, or learning something new no matter how excited i am about it today after i go to sleep and wake up next morning i might care less about that task and i start doing something entirely different.

SplendidSnail wrote:

Here are the results that I got:
Quote:
Speed
On average, you took 2.91 seconds to find and select an item. Other participants needed 3.22 seconds on average. Excellent!

Memory
On average, you made 0.8 mistake(s) when remembering memorized symbols. Other people made 0.14 mistakes on average.

Attention on the clicking task
We also measured how much attention you paid to the clicking task (sorry, we cannot tell you how we did it right now because we do not want others to game the test). Your attention score improved as you had to memorize more symbols. This is very unusual. Other participants lost on average 0.3 attention points for every symbol they had to memorize. In contrast, your attention score improved by 1 points for every extra symbol you had to keep in memory. In other words, on this test, you were immune to the bad effects of multitasking.


I were sleepy and i think test does not show nothing except how fast you can click and how many tiny variables you can hold in your memory, how it measures multitasking?



Last edited by OrdinaryCitizen on 15 Oct 2018, 1:03 pm, edited 6 times in total.

OrdinaryCitizen
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15 Oct 2018, 12:48 pm

graceksjp wrote:
I must be a really weird Aspie cause I multitask just fine. Like I'll be reading 5 different books, while switching between 3 different TV shows, and switch constantly between school work, and get up and exercise for a bit, and then go make something to eat, chat for a bit, help my mom with the groceries, and return.

Your a gal so you process different if at all. :D

By the way my point was that i loose interest in first task this is why i cannot want to switch cuz i afraid i will never finish it, or i so excited i don't want to do nothing else.


By multitask i meant something else - ability to do several task during day one after another not at same time :D
That test tests simultaneous ability.

SplendidSnail wrote:

Here are the results that I got:
Quote:
Speed
On average, you took 2.91 seconds to find and select an item. Other participants needed 3.22 seconds on average. Excellent!

Memory
On average, you made 0.8 mistake(s) when remembering memorized symbols. Other people made 0.14 mistakes on average.

Attention on the clicking task
We also measured how much attention you paid to the clicking task (sorry, we cannot tell you how we did it right now because we do not want others to game the test). Your attention score improved as you had to memorize more symbols. This is very unusual. Other participants lost on average 0.3 attention points for every symbol they had to memorize. In contrast, your attention score improved by 1 points for every extra symbol you had to keep in memory. In other words, on this test, you were immune to the bad effects of multitasking.


I were sleepy and i think test does not show nothing except how fast you can click and how many tiny variables you can hold in your memory, how it measures multitasking?