Here’s a fun one…what is your Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? I’m not making light of the fact that this truly does plague some people, but to a degree we all experience this in some form or another. So, what is your OCD and has it helped you or hindered you in reaching your goals?
Mine is easy to figure out. I’m obsessed with Time. Perhaps that’s why I am a drummer – so I can be the “keeper of time”. I control how fast or slow the song will be, so essentially I can make it a long rehearsal or a short one.
I am so obsessed with time that I am pretty confident I have read over 90% of all time management and organizing books available and I have more on order from the library. I am obsessed with my schedule and if you want to freak me out, just take away my palm pda.
Ask me what I am doing 6 weeks from now at 3:13pm and I will whip out my palm and tell you it will be Tuesday, May 16th, and at 3:13pm I will be helping my kids finish their homework after school – it’s already on my calendar. I can tell you what we are having for dinner for the next month and exactly when I intend to finish my kids’ scrapbooks. If you ask me to do something, I will consult my calendar and immediately write down your request for future scheduling. I spend about 30 minutes of my day determining how I will spend the remaining 23.5 hours. I’m an obsessive planner. My brother-in-law asked me once if I scheduled bathroom breaks. I don’t – just because I don’t schedule anything less than 5-minutes.
So has it helped me or not? Well, I say both. It has helped in that I doubt I would be where I am today if I hadn’t been so compulsive about moving myself forward. I am always setting goals and working towards them. I write down a top 10 list every year and work towards it.
It has also been cool to have a written record of all my accomplishments to look back on and say “Yeah, I did that!” The downside is that I can spend too much time planning sometimes and not enough time getting things done. I’m still finding the balance there, but you know “failing to plan is planning to fail”. Another downside I see is that I can develop a very narrow focus in some areas and begin to neglect others because I don’t think I have time for broader topics.
No, I’m not a type “A” personality – I’m really a very relaxed type “B” and I owe all that to my power half hour every morning of de-stressing (planning) my day. No, it doesn’t always go as planned, but because of my obsession and intense study of time management practices I am able to recover quickly from interruptions and emergencies. And if you want me to be spontaneous, I can be – as long as there is nothing more
important on my schedule.
2 comments
Lindsey
My OCD First off, it was very difficult to find my OCD. If I had to put a title on it, I would say my OCD would have to do with soda can tabs. The first thing I do when I open a soda can, is to bend the tab back and forth until it falls off, and then throw it away. I cannot drink a soda can with the tab on.
Also, I guess you can say that I have a OCD with sound. I run sound at my church, and I will mix every little detail until I feel it’s just right, which, most of the time, to me, it’s never just right. :D
dogsrok
I know!!! Hi everybody,
I know exactly what you are talking about. It’s rather crazy. My OCD has do taking the lead. I can’t stand it when I’m in a group and the leader isn’t taking the lead very clearly and somehow I usually end up in charge. This is good because it gets what I want to get done quicker but then I’m also in a way not letting other people take the lead. I always feel a little bit bad about it. I hope others of you willl take the time to post you OCDs.
I want to thank you again for this sight, it\’s great,
FREYA :D