Why do neurotypicals expect us to work at a steady pace?

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I often operate in two modes of focus: hyperfocus or very little focus at all. It's even expected for things as simple as cleaning the house. If I work for hours straight on a task, they always tell me "You don't have to! Just do a little bit everyday!". I focus in bursts of energy that are incredibly difficult to overcome. I always finish the tasks on time but never at a steady pace. If the tasks aren't completed later than expected, why do they care how you allot your time to complete them?

:Shrugs: Cause they're weird.

happens the same with me, had some trouble while i was working in the sorting office (post), the local supervisor some days saying "wow how can you go through so many letters so fast?!?!" and other days getting upset with me for doing it too slowly, maybe it's my mood, maybe it's like it is with you, thing is, the average time i took to do it (depending on the amount of letters that day of course) over the month was steady, some days i even worked less than the 8 hours i was supposed to work, other days i worked more, i never complained about not getting paid for the extra hours tho, always blaming my condition for that, sometimes i just couldn't focus on tasks, but yes i feel like people are a little too bitchy about the issue.

Same here. I find it hard to do things steadily. I either get hyperactive and super focused and get loads done, or very little.

girls its called being flexible. most aspergers arent, normal people can work a little and work alot. changing it up, that would drive me crazy. i need it to be the same everyday, when i was at the computer company being the janitor i knew what i had to do and it was the same everyday. the reason why i didnt stay was because i was only working 2 1/2 hours a day m-thurs. making $6 something an hour

The funny thing is, they care more about us completing tasks in the conventional way than whether or not we complete the tasks on time. They simply don't realize that everything is dependent on my mode of inner focus.

I had the same problems in work and marriage.

My wife never understood why a normally sit at a desk person with intense focus would suddenly really want to go out to dinner or a movie and be really impatient. I would try to explain, but was misunderstood.

Then on the other extreme, very unfocused - and being angry at me for it - making me more unfocused

Tell me about it! I have a project that is due early next month, and the guy kind of laughed that I already finished it. I did the whole task, and THEN tested it, and he wanted me to wait until the first part was tested and approved before going on. Man, that is like my 1st grade teacher. I did all the english work the first day because I knew it all. She had me ERASE it so I could "do it with the rest of the class"! STUPID! BESIDES, it can't REALLY be tested until the people working on earlier parts finish and give me what I need. If their stuff isn't just right, or forces changes, MY stuff may have to change. But I am not supposed to wait for them, because THAT would make thiungs SLOWER! BTW THEIR work is SIMPLER! If not for political concerns, I would do what I did a couple projects ago. I did EVERYONE'S work! I did the work of 4 people, and had it done over 2 weeks ahead of schedule.

Luckily my work doesn't seem to have a problem with me working fast. I have been told by my office clerk when I worked swing shift I need to slow down when I was filling the caddies I was told by my boss when I was 18 "Beth, you're very fast" and I said "Thank you" and continued working fast for the next year until my boss made a big deal about it in my evaluation and I was very upset by my scores because I thought I did such a good job. So my mother and I went in together and had a little meeting with the boss. She made a comment about how I work too fast and I asked her why was that a problem, I thought she liked it. She insisted I should slow down and I pointed out to her she gave me a compliment when I was 18 about how fast I am. Turns out she meant she wanted me to slow down. Then my mother started telling her how literal I am and how she needs to be specific when she gives me directions and then had to broadcast my condition to her. I wasn't very happy with her and told her why did she have to do it and then the boss told me it was okay and they have people with disabilities work there to give them job experiance.

At my last job my boss has told me I was folding the linen too fast and other times I got told I needed to speed up.
There has came times where I have gotten behind at my current job and at my last one.

with most of my tasks I am very fast a get it done correctly and/or better than others. I guess it is because people with Aspergers are so smart like superman and the normal people are much slower than us. I hate the fact because I am "labeled" that if I do it fast, they would automatically think I will screw up and/or just getting it over with. Usually, i am fast because it is way too easy and plus why spend time on things I already know, when I can get them over and done with and move on to something I would rather spend time with. Goes to show you we are the superior over the normal, so when someone says they have aspergers, I say we are the better ones and the 'normals" are the slower ones.Even though we have some social relations problems, but think of ti this way, because we are not busy wasting our time trying to be like everyone else, fooling around. We have the most interesting, useful interests that can better the world and we can also "learn" more better, useful things in life, like how to operate on the human heart and cure disease, rather than something foolish, like how to dress like a celebrity and/or spend hours wasting time doing "peer" pressure activities that can be dangerous.

it was also hard on high-school / university, with maths and programming and such, cause they wanted me to use their formulas and their methods, and i rarely did, as long as i had the results correct, what's to complain about the logical method... even this project i had to do, i spent 2 days looking at it, and just couldn't do it, i was thinking and thinking and trying to get it, but my mind just wasn't flowing that way, when i actually got "tuned" (focused) i did it in 20 mins. my colleagues got mad at me for doing it without them -_- but those 2 days with them i just could not focus on the damn thing, but does it always have to e an issue? the way we do things? is it working? yes? is it on schedule? yes? then stop complaining already...

Some things are like riding a bicycle -- If you go too slow, you fall off.
And some things are like going uphill -- it's better to get off and walk.

Why? Because normal people work that way.

If you get a regular job, you have to adjust to that, they expect a steady flow of progress, they do not want burnt out workers who work 24/7 every other week.

I prefer working alone, then i can do the job in my own pace, i.e. everything at once if i REALLY like what i am doing. I remember a project i did during an Infosec education i took to get my knowledge documented: i wrote a server filter software that had lots of security features (and other fun things for administrators to play with), it took me 200+ hours - which may sound like much to a regular programmer but it only took me just above 2 weeks to complete.

That last week we also tested it, at that point i also wrote some automated testing software and ran a comprehensive exhaust/load testing on it that basically tried to DDoS it to oblivion and back, but it stood up against the flood. Stuff like that made me feel really good.

But then, it was something i wanted to do, not some lame webb-application in PHP/JSP with some business-bullcrap i really do not give a flying crap about! Things like that takes longer because i have to force my brain to bother to write it at all

Stuff like that clearly shows the advantage/disadvantage of having special intrests and personal traits. Its also the reason why i take tops 15 minutes to whip up a job application for a regular programming job, but spend (up to) 3 days writing a perfect CV/Resume for IT-Security jobs...

I think the problem is more "the right person at the right place", but unfortunately there are lots of money hungry loosers hogging all the intresting jobs. Getting that perfect job that allows you to be you and not having to adap to someone elses ways can take a long time...

This problem has made graduate school hell for me. Whenever I get excited about my research I don't want to be interrupted. I hate having to go to classes and seminars they force you to sign up for when I'm right in the middle of my research. I also end up staying up all night thinking about problems which eventually tires me out to the point where I end up having to sleep late or even take a day off. Then I get in a pickle when my "sleep in days" conflict with scheduled obligations and I have to suffer through days of nodding off at my desk feeling completely useless.. Other times I start having doubts and begin to feel like my work is pointless. Then I lose all my energy and go into these deep depressions where I can't make myself do anything.

Oooooh, don't get me started! This is one of my all-time pet peeves! (see below)




The last job I got fired from, There were four of us in this 'office' who all did essentially the exact same job for four individual business entities. Every day, I would come in later than the other three, go straight to my isolated work space, while they sat gabbing across their communal desks, pretending to work. By lunchtime, I had finished all of my programming work for the next several days (I always worked at least 2 weeks ahead, while they worked from one day to the next). I'd go home, eat, work in my home office for an hour or two, email the results back to the office and return. Upon returning, I'd do the second part of my job, while all the other 3 ran up and down the hall doing their afternoon task and their morning task (unfinished due to all the gabbing) at the same time. By 6pm, I finished and left while the rest of those idiots had to stay until 7pm or later every single night to get one day's work finished! Know why I got fired? I came in later and left earlier than they did. The fact that I was accomplishing three to five times more actual work and doing a better job at it did not even enter into the equation. My real mistake? I didn't hang out with the crew and buddy up to them, so they turned on me, sniping and complaining as if my efficiency was adversely affecting theirs. Huh!?

And management bought that argument! The sad part is, it's not the first time I've been through that sort of thing...

I actually had internet access at work banned off my account because I used to surf when I had done everything.
I usually finish my work completely and accurately well before its time to leave and thusly I have been bringing origami books and drawing paper to work to occupy the free time. I try to stay busy doing various things such as other peoples work, but sometimes it really slows down and theres not much to do even for them. I have a planned schedule for everything and I make constant notes in wordpad so pretty much every days work goes by quickly. I havent heard much from my supervisors regarding the issue so I guess Im ok. The work environment is pretty much laid back as it is (not the work itself necessarily) so I am not too concerned with trying to fit into a specificed timeframe or pace. We all work at our own pace and the management seems to be fine with that. they just didnt like me using company time to surf the internet.
To help matters, there is an NT at work and the guy is a workaholic. He gets everything done extremely quickly and sometimes even takes a nap. that pretty much takes the focus off of me so its all good.