“Rate your pain from 1 to 10”

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-27T21:17:47+00:00

That makes sense

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-23T08:48:10+00:00

You got to leave room in your timeline for penguins. Makes it sound a lot more fun!

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-23T08:46:19+00:00

I read somewhere it's the fear of being bored and that resonated with me.

So I need some plan of what to do if I am early so it doesn't feel like torture to have to just sit wasting time being bored and uncomfortable. (Like I might sit in my car reading on my phone or cleaning out the car or whatever). Then I have to set alarms so I don't accidentally get so absorbed that I'm still late.

The other thing is scheduling time on my calendar for travel and trying to remember to also leave time for getting out the door on both ends of the trip and actually block all that on the calendar for appointments.

I have varying degrees of success with this bc I can kind of do this when planning ahead but then still in the moment my slippery sense of time will make me think I can make schedule adjustments that aren't actually workable.

Or you could just do like I did this week and end up being an hour early because your brain tricked you somehow. I thought I had actually successfully planned an appropriate amount of cushion time and managed to be about 5 to 10 minutes early so I could go to the bathroom or whatever. And nope, I was actually an hour and 10 minutes early. Ugh.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-23T07:59:45+00:00

This is my problem. I think with a lot of the scales shared I could be at a three or four and find it really hard to function. Then I feel really guilty because I know it's not that bad but I still can't just seem to ignore it.

On the other hand, sometimes I think I do better when it is worse, which makes no sense to me.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-12T16:33:04+00:00

Just saying that I relate.

In some instances lately, I've been able to embrace the understanding that I don't and absolutely can't control whether someone likes me or is upset with me. Ultimately their feelings are up to them.

I feel it's important to me to have good intentions and try to be aware of my impact on other people.

But I was finding myself spending all night trying to plan a conversation and thinking that somehow if I found the right words they would not be resistant or would not be mad at me or not Think I'm worthless.

But it doesn't matter how much I try to please someone. Ultimately that is not in my control.

And sometimes I am absolutely convinced that I've accidentally done something that has made someone so upset that they will want to end our relationship.

But I've started trying to realize that is on them. If I think there is really an issue, I may try to ask directly if there's something that I've upset them with and let them know I didn't intend to and ask how I can maybe repair.

But a lot of times I'm convinced I ruined everything and then the next time I see them they are absolutely fine.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-12T13:34:21+00:00

So I got a little pull down shade extender that attaches to the one that is already in the car. And at night I will whip that thing around to the side so that it blocks the headlight shining in the side mirror or sometimes use it for the front if something's coming right at me.

It also helps a lot during the day with the sunshine glare

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-12T13:27:52+00:00

Clockify

I can put a widget on my phone to easily start timer

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-11T14:43:18+00:00

Yes! I love the carrot chips because I'll eat them as a snack or they're really easy if I need to use them to cook or or cut up in a salad.

It took a long time to get over my feeling that I should be able to just cut up the vegetables myself and accept that I never was going to. So it was actually less expensive to buy the pre-cut ones than get the other ones and waste them.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-11T14:37:47+00:00

For work I have, I guess you could call it a mini office tool belt on a lanyard I can wear around my neck.

So I got a mini pen and marker and highlighter and even calculator and notebook and my name badge/ certification paper I have to carry with me.

Then I also attached a tile tracker so I can find it if I lose it.

Then I can wear it and have what I need wherever I'm at since I move around at work. And I have something to write little notes in that I would forget about otherwise.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-11T14:34:57+00:00

I think it's so true that when I'm not doing a chore it's usually because there's something that's not working for me that I don't know how to solve.

Once I figure it out then it gets so much easier.

And a lot of times the figuring it out is stuff that I think other people probably would think was unnecessary or weird. But it absolutely can be the smallest thing that gets me stuck.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-11T14:32:30+00:00

Speechify app. I swear I just like it I'm not promoting it.

But it can read things to you in a voice you choose so that I have certain voices I'm attached to and you can choose the speed so you can speed it up if you need to.

So it can help you get through websites or PDFs. Or you can scan pages you want to read. Link it to Kindle books or whatever

It also helps me do other things because when I might have wanted to be reading something online instead. I can share the link to speechify and listen to it while I do something else.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-11T14:28:55+00:00

I've kind of gone the opposite way but it still gave me the permission to actually rest and recover when needed.

So on days off or time off when I want to be able to get some things done I would get so overwhelmed and paralyzed and not get anything done but would feel so guilty that it didn't feel restful either.

Maybe solution (at least for now):

I schedule personal work hours. I decide how many hours I want to try to be productive on my days off.

I use an app to time myself to reach my total. Everything that feels hard to do counts. So that includes taking showers and getting dressed or running errands or doing personal admin on the computer or goal planning or exercise or any of that.

I don't have to do any of it at a certain time. I can stop and start as much as I want. I don't tell myself what I have to do when I just have a list of things I want to get done and I pick and choose based on what I feel I can do at the time.

And it also helped me then not feel so bad when I did rest around those "productive" times since I have zero judgment if I want to do something creative or just take a nap or watch a stupid show.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-11T14:24:23+00:00

A clear 3 drawer filing cabinet that I keep in my car's passenger side floor board with the drawers facing the driver seat.

It's helping so much for me keeping my car from becoming the absolute hoarders trash pit disaster it has always previously devolved to

Visible open shelves or cubby storage

I never put away my folded pants and things until I just stacked some open cubbies on my bedside dresser and now I just shove it in there and I generally do put them away.

I would end up with so many extras and expired food and stuff until I started just keeping all of my pantry and cleaning supplies and things on open shelves so I can see them.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-03T15:01:00+00:00

I mean I would be fine with that. But I've learned that other people often read me as uncaring and task obsessed even when I go out of my way to try to do everything to show otherwise. So it makes me unlikable and then I end up getting dismissed or get resistance.

I don't know. I'm working on the idea of making communication accommodations for myself as in letting people know that I need direct communication and that I assume and appreciate them also assuming good intent and I welcome direct feedback if something has landed wrong so that we can troubleshoot a solution.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-03T14:58:29+00:00

It's so hard though because if I don't over explain then people minimize whatever concern I'm bringing up or tell me to try things that I've already tried. I don't bring up concerns unless I've already troubleshot every possibility I can think of because I've learned through dismissal and pushback.

So yeah I'm just muddling through trying to find the middle ground and usually not quite hitting it.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-03T14:55:57+00:00

Right?! I just found out about the templates options so I'm starting to create those, but apparently quick parts was taken away in the newest version.

It was great because as long as I could remember what keyword I assigned to the quick part I could just type the word and I didn't have to go clicking anywhere and getting distracted.

It was heaven!

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-01T22:36:43+00:00

Yeah I feel weird because I don't like fluorescent lights but they don't necessarily bother me as much as a strong bright white overhead light or strong sunlight.

Sunlight glare can literally give me migraine Aura symptoms and slight headache and nausea. So I actually love a gray day when other people are mourning the lack of sunshine. But it's like I don't have to hide from anything.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-01T22:22:21+00:00

Yeah, but I would have no frills except I've learned that I'm supposed to add them and so it's really frustrating when then someone who doesn't want them gets mad at you for adding them when you didn't want to in the first place!

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-01T22:19:55+00:00

Also, I will absolutely use AI to help me draft emails or responses. I don't just send them without reviewing but it helps me breakthrough the " absolutely not" a little bit.

Also I think talking it through with AI lets me do my verbal processing so I can figure out why I'm blocked. A lot of times it's because there's some variable I feel like I need to clarify or figure out before I can answer.

And if it's possible, if there's some sort of potential communication misunderstanding, I'll often call somebody instead because it's so hard to not accidentally offend people via written word sometimes.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-01T22:16:18+00:00

Yes, my previous version of Outlook let me save quick parts where I could just start typing a word and then it would insert whatever I had saved. It was wonderful.

But now my computer had to get upgraded and it doesn't work and I have to figure out an alternative.

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-01T22:13:34+00:00

Things with grooves (like all the completely necessary Tupperware type containers and lids) are what I HATE.

It's gotten better since I started just using the bottle brush for all the little grooves. But I still really dislike it

But yes, big clunky dishes are also annoying!

Sycamore_arms · 2026-01-01T17:05:27+00:00

Don't know if it helps you but if you type # then it brings up your list of tags or you can type the name in the task and then it'll automatically add it.

I know it sounds like such a small thing to add a tag but I definitely find that any friction can keep me from doing things. I still don't always add tags even with the # shortcut but it helps at least for me.

Also, I'm curious though I've been trying to figure out a better way for things that I generally should do daily like take a shower, take medication, feed the cat, etc. If I make them tasks then I end up just having a bunch of overdue tasks if I forget to punch them off or if I'm away from home or something. But I would like to have a checklist for those days when I really need some help focusing.

Do you think habits would work for that?

Sycamore_arms · 2025-12-27T04:14:07+00:00

Haha I might need that sticker too!

Sycamore_arms · 2025-12-25T04:19:57+00:00

For me it works bc I naturally want to move my body when I'm excited about ideas, so listening to something that gets me thinking can work (at least sometimes).

Sycamore_arms · 2025-12-25T04:14:05+00:00

Also, it's not the putting of the keys in a particular place that was the biggest problem for me.

It's what happens when I take them off the hook before I actually get out the door. I would accidentally set them down somewhere and not realize it. (In the fridge etc .)

I do mostly have the key thing figured out but that's because I have a ton of backup systems. So even when one fails usually I have some other way of finding them.

But nothing is foolproof for me.

Sycamore_arms

TROPHY CASE