Mr Methodical

Another day, another revelation! I was working on the garden today, mowing, re-seeding, cleaning fencing... and halfway through I noticed something. Everything I was doing was in an order, a logical order. Items were brought out into the garden in order of their use, placed in the right places, and each job was performed in a methodical, logical way. First this. Then that. Then this. Then that. Even at the end of the work (seven hours in total) all the items were cleaned in order of dirtiness, and size, and then put back in their home in the right place.

I stopped at regular intervals to have a drink of water, or a tea/coffee, cold drink, and that's when I caught myself mentally going through the order of business... and I saw how it relaxed and soothed me. I was relaxed. It was a relaxing day.  I was really quite happy to have noticed how I approached things in this methodical, step by step, way.  I can see now how and why I sometimes get stressed: it's because I'm called upon to do something out of order, or out of sequence, and it is creates an internal stress. 

I'm not going to look anything up on the internet about this. Not yet. I'm almost certain it's related to autism, but it might not be. Anyway, I'm not going to look just yet. I'll wait and (hopefully) be able to read some of your experiences.

Does any of this ring a bell? Are there other Mr, Mrs or Miss Methodicals out there?

Parents
  • Putting things together that go together, that's to do with order. If I go to a charity shop and see something similar to something I have I will be very tempted to buy it. I have a collection of Bulgarian ceramics, other people's souvenirs, different colours but all decorated with dips of coloured slip, it must be difficult and they look nice together. I had quite a large collection of blue and white ceramics from many countries, I love the similarities and differences and the global nature of blue and white pottery.

    I love order but I am pretty disorganised too. I also get exhausted physically so don't usually finish the jobs like sorting out my paint tubes. 

    Order, patterns, listing, all very autistic activities. 

  • I have a thing about sets of things.   If I'm working, I need to know I've got a complete set of something before I start and after I'm finished - socket sets, drills etc.     If there's one that's missing, it's the one that was used before so it's probably the one I'll need.....

  • Yes! Yes! Yes! Absolutely. And I also require them to be in good condition, clean (if they are tools). If one item in a set is missing, I'd prefer to throw everything out and buy a new set.

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