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Because some people have routines to make their lives easier that means they have obsessive-compulsive disorder?
I dated a guy who always had to leave a room stepping in the same places he stepped when he came in. That might be OCD. Another man I knew was critically injured in Hawaii. He forgot to look both ways before turning onto the highway and was t-boned by a tour bus. He had OCD as a result of the trauma. Oddly enough, it made him suited for certain kinds of precise work because he was obsessed with getting it right.
I have the same breakfast every morning with few variations. It's just easier and saves time, not to mention lots of decision-making.
OCD's can never get it "right" because they obsess on perfection.
They end up frozen, unable to get out of bed because they are terrified by their imperfection.
Thats a common reason why they end up hospitalized.
I'd love to know how you got started on this. I should be doing the same thing myself.
I ran businesses for decades, chasing and logging every penny is a fools errand.
We used "rounding" to move past small differences, its just not worth looking for 6 cents.
Theres a saying, if the bookkeeping comes out precise to the penny, someone is cooking the books.
I always do things in a left to right fashion. If I go to put my shoes on, it's left first, then right. If I accidently grab the right shoe first, I'll put it down and grab the left. Same goes with my contact lenses.
I try to organize my time in chunks of 30 mins. I'm not sure that these are "rule" but maybe more quirks and idiosyncrasies.
I'd love to know how you got started on this. I should be doing the same thing myself.
I originally had my checkbook registers, as I found I was not using cash as much and was using my debit card mostly. So I used MS Excel to create my own custom monthly thing to fill in. Different categories, I have my Wages, my Other Income, (that totals to net income) and my Bills, Food, and Other Spending, which total to my Expenses. For each item I record what it was, how much, and the date. Now that I do this pretty much every day, and I have for quite a while, it doesn't take very long at all. I reconcile my one spreadsheet tab with my checking account items, then log them into their categories in the monthly financials tab. Once a month I pull those numbers out into various categories to go into a summary report that I also created in another tab. I also have a budget tab that forecasts out until about the end of next year. It's not intended to be precise, it's intended to be a framework, which I can change at any time as needed, and see the cascading effect on my future finances. Using this, I can see if spending an extra $100 because I have it this week, will mean I don't have enough for my usual living expenses two or three weeks from now, perhaps because of how the paydays fall or how maybe my utility bill will be higher next month, something like that.
My summary report has categories like gas, groceries, water/sewer/trash, electric/gas, entertainment, etc. I can, at a glance, see my monthly numbers and the minimums, maximums, averages, and totals for the year. It's all right there.
I do utility rate and account analysis for a living, so I break down my utilities, too, but that's beyond the scope of what most people will want to do.
How I got started with it...well, as I said, I'm an accounting nerd. I went to college for this stuff. My spreadsheets are nothing but customized mishmash of your Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cashflows, the standard financial statements that most businesses use, adapted for my needs. In 2008, my family had just moved (military) and I was between jobs more or less for about a year. It was a hard year, and we didn't have much money, and when we did, it wasn't always reliable. I felt a desire to get control of a situation that wasn't really in my control, as best as I could, and I had time on my hands. So I created this so that I could find areas where we were being wasteful and make plans on how better to budget and save. Also, I had a husband who expected that anything he wanted, he would get. If I had to say, "No, we can't afford that," I also had to be able to tell him when we COULD. Without this kind of analysis and budgeting, I never would have been able to manage him and his expectations realistically.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonesg
I ran businesses for decades, chasing and logging every penny is a fools errand.
We used "rounding" to move past small differences, its just not worth looking for 6 cents.
Theres a saying, if the bookkeeping comes out precise to the penny, someone is cooking the books.
Why would I cook my own books? That is silly. I'm only reporting this stuff to myself for my own information, to help me in my own financial choices.
As for a "fool's errand" ...what do you do for fun? TV? Movies? Watch sports?
I actually find this activity enjoyable on a quiet morning, in a Zen kind of way. I don't find it difficult or stressful. I do it because I want to, and because I like having real numbers to back up what I "think" I spend on things, which a lot of folks have little real idea of what things in their lives truly cost.
I don't consider this a form of OCD, because OCD in actuality is when you have an obsessive thought, you do a compulsive act to relieve that thought, and it's a disorder that affects your ability to live a normal life. When I'm on vacation I don't do this, and not doing it for a few days or a week doesn't bug me, I'll catch it up later. I have no discomforting thoughts, no compulsion to do this, and it helps and does not hinder my life.
I'm surprised that people are so critical of this. Not that it's the first time I've run into CD'ers looking for a reason something is "wrong" just because it is not "like them."
I always do things in a left to right fashion. If I go to put my shoes on, it's left first, then right. If I accidently grab the right shoe first, I'll put it down and grab the left. Same goes with my contact lenses.
I try to organize my time in chunks of 30 mins. I'm not sure that these are "rule" but maybe more quirks and idiosyncrasies.
You are correct, in that most of this stuff we might have a habit or rule we do this for our own sake but we don't expect anyone else to follow our little life-rule or quirk.
I've got one that I expect people to follow if they live in my house, though.
Do not stack large objects on top of smaller objects. It bugs me. My ex husband would stack the plates all willy-nilly in the kitchen cabinet with big ones on top of small ones. Drove me nuts!
Oh, and I try to keep one dishcloth hanging on the oven handle or the fridge handle, that is clean(ish) and only for wiping freshly washed hands or dishes. I've got teenage sons, though, so...this is often a bit optimistic.
An organized life is my happy place. I hate having to look for things or data.
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There's a basket on the back corner of the kitchen counter next to the fridge. I empty my pockets into it, first thing when I walk through the door; and put everything back in my pockets last thing before I walk out. Dad's basket is off limits to everyone at all times. If it has to be briefly moved for some reason it damned well better be put back the instant that need is satisfied. And never, never let me find someone else's stuff in my basket! If I do, the owner has lost it forever. I'm occasionally referred to as The Wicker Man by my family.
There's a basket on the back corner of the kitchen counter next to the fridge. I empty my pockets into it, first thing when I walk through the door; and put everything back in my pockets last thing before I walk out. Dad's basket is off limits to everyone at all times. If it has to be briefly moved for some reason it damned well better be put back the instant that need is satisfied. And never, never let me find someone else's stuff in my basket! If I do, the owner has lost it forever. I'm occasionally referred to as The Wicker Man by my family.
I gave my husband a basket for this very thing..... he doesn't use it.
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And check this out: FAQ
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My rule of life is found on the cap of every medicine bottle:
Keep away from children.
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