20 Results in Work

How to more easily collaborate with others

Like a lot of people on the autism spectrum, I have rigid routines and ways of doing things. This inflexibility is actually a method of coping and being able to do things well, rather than me being difficult. If I don't have such rigid plans and sequences, then I feel completely bewildered and nothing gets done at all. But what happens when your workload becomes so high that you feel you could benefit from the help of others? Or when you just feel a bit overloaded generally and could do with some practical support from others? How do you fit these people into your rigid routines? This is a massive problem that I face. As soon as other people get involved in my life, things start to go wrong - deadlines get missed, schedules get disrupted, inaccuracies occur, or people just do the wrong thing despite having good intentions. Often it means I end up having to do more work. It's not their fault though. It's just that, because of my Asperger's Syndrome, my life has to be extremely rigid and accurate. If it's not rigid and accurate then my anxiety becomes extremely high and I find it difficult to function.

The work-life balance: how to achieve it

Working or studying full time exhausts me to the point where I am not normally able to do much else during evenings and weekends. I know that a lot of neurotypical people say their work is tiring but I observe that most neurotypical people can still have a 'life' during evenings and weekends. This is in comparison to autistic people. I have read so many autistic people's experiences of work and education and how it completely exhausts them or leads to burnout. 'Free time' ends up being 'recovery time' and relationships, hobbies and 'life' suffer.

Performing your best performance: 5 steps

Most people want to get the best performance out of themselves. They want to do something the best they can. These situations can be anything, such as: giving a talk, hosting an event, having an interview, participating in a competition, performing something either in front of others or just for yourself. There is a method we can follow to increase the likelihood that we perform at our best for whatever situation we would like to be at our best for.

10 ways to deal with unreliable people

I sometimes describe myself as being like a robot. In fact, other people often remark on how routine, reliable, disciplined and predictable I am. It is a characteristic that people admire about me. They tease me about it but then they also say that they wish they were more like me! The main drawback of being so reliable is that the majority of other people are not as reliable, so there is actually a mismatch a lot of the time between me and other people.

How to be disciplined and focused

As an entrepreneur and highly creative person, I find myself managing multiple projects all the time. Although I love what I do, in the past I have suffered from feeling overwhelmed. When I felt overwhelmed due to my workload, I I would freeze and go and hide in my bed, hoping that by doing that, all my work would magically get done on its own. Despite my workload being just as high, I don't feel the need to do that anymore. I have got better at being disciplined and remaining focused.

Being different affects mental health, but what can we do about it as a society?

Being autistic is just one way that someone can be ‘different.’ People can be different in various other ways such as their personality, abilities, sexuality, race, age, gender… etc. These are known as primary characteristics of diversity, which are inborn and cannot be changed. There are also secondary characteristics of diversity such as where someone… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article is available only to members of our co…

Impatience vs attention to detail

I often find myself in a bit of a dilemma. Like many autistic people, my natural way of being is to be a perfectionist with a strong attention to detail. Through working, I have learned that the primary problem with being this way is that it can slow you down and really halt progress. This… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article is available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this article, along with receiving access to our excl…

How could the challenges of autism be seen as strengths instead?

I have a bit of a problem looking at a lot of the literature and listening to people talk about “the positive traits of autism”. Whenever I hear or read these lists I usually largely disagree with them, because I feel that what is being listed is actually more to do with an individual’s personality rather than… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article is available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this ar…

How to support autistic people through change

I’ve learned a lot through running my businesses. An idea I’ve come across is The Kubler-Ross Change Curve* (this is actually the same idea as the 5 stages of grief, which I’ve talked about before but in a different way). The Change Curve is used to understand how people might respond to and move through… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article is available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this article,…

Why am I so critical and how to manage it

The most common definition of to criticise is: "to express disapproval of the perceived faults or mistakes of someone or something." People on the autistic spectrum are often described by other people, as being too critical. Someone who is too critical can be a difficult sort of person to be around. I know that I have a tendency to annoy people by pointing out their mistakes all the time, and that I can ruin other people's enjoyment or experiences if we are out somewhere or doing something and all I do is find faults with the situation...