Struggling with Repeating Tasks at Work...

[dyman]

Hi, as the title says I'm struggling with my OCD at work and keep feeling that I might make mistakes in computer-based tasks, such as, being paranoid that I clicked a button when I didn't or, if I daydream for a few seconds during a task and then become unsure if I did something by accident after not daydreaming. This often results in me repeating relatively simple tasks over and over.

As you can imagine, this slows my productivity and causes me some stress. My therapist and I have agreed to just do the tasks once and sit with any anxiety, but I have been finding this incredibly difficult.

Just looking to see if anyone has advice or can share their own experiences? Thanks.

[James M]

Hi, I suffered with this terribly before I was even aware that I had OCD. Would be always worse on a Friday and for a while hated weekends as I would obsess and have intrusive thoughts about mistakes I’d made and subsequent worst case scenario outcomes. I managed to reduce this by thinking about what my colleagues would do and was I going far beyond the call of duty. This helps me massively along with the belief none of us are perfect. Not sure if this helps ?

[northpaul]

11 hours ago, dyman said:

My therapist and I have agreed to just do the tasks once and sit with any anxiety, but I have been finding this incredibly difficult.

This is very similar to my recovery plan that I agreed with my therapist a few months back.  It is challenging but the more times I practice this approach the anxiety is reducing.  Sometimes the steps only seem small but put a few steps together and the improvement can be seen.

One thing I try to do is when I plan to do a task that I have been stuggling with (OCD wise) is to plan a subsequent activity that I know will not cause me anxiety.  This diverts my attention away from my obsessive thought.  This is easier for me now beause I am retired and can make my own plans.  When I was at work it would have been more challenging.

[dyman]

7 hours ago, James M said:

Hi, I suffered with this terribly before I was even aware that I had OCD. Would be always worse on a Friday and for a while hated weekends as I would obsess and have intrusive thoughts about mistakes I’d made and subsequent worst case scenario outcomes. I managed to reduce this by thinking about what my colleagues would do and was I going far beyond the call of duty. This helps me massively along with the belief none of us are perfect. Not sure if this helps ?

Thanks for the reply. 

Yeah no that does help - it's something I do think about every so often like what would my colleagues, who may or may not have OCD do? The "what if" that pops up when I potentially make a is so strong though. I'm glad it has gotten better for you

 

[dyman]

2 hours ago, northpaul said:

This is very similar to my recovery plan that I agreed with my therapist a few months back.  It is challenging but the more times I practice this approach the anxiety is reducing.  Sometimes the steps only seem small but put a few steps together and the improvement can be seen.

One thing I try to do is when I plan to do a task that I have been stuggling with (OCD wise) is to plan a subsequent activity that I know will not cause me anxiety.  This diverts my attention away from my obsessive thought.  This is easier for me now beause I am retired and can make my own plans.  When I was at work it would have been more challenging.

Thanks for the reply.

That's good to hear, I don't always have the same tasks everyday but I'm sure it would still help applying the same mindset to all.

Could you elaborate on planning a "subsequent activity" if you don't mind? Thanks.

 

[northpaul]

1 hour ago, dyman said:

planning a "subsequent activity"

This could be a multitude of activities depending on circumstances and interests.

One of my major OCD issues is repeatedly checking things.

Example: this week I have some online form filling and business to do.  I am practising doing the forms, checking them once then pressing submit.  My temptation would be to go back through the forms to double check.  My plan is to do these things then immeditely do some cleaning jobs in my kitchen.  Even though they sound like mundane jobs they do need me to concentrate and I soon find that any anxiety about the forms soon diminishes.

[Zelda]

Hi @dyman I took the same approach as others - check once and send (no avoidance by saving for ‘later’), thinking what is reasonable in the context, different task to follow work which means I cannot stay late. i won’t say I have never caved into the desire to check again later, but in general this has helped reduce the 4+ hours a day I lost to checking work tasks - I got my nights and weekends back!! Interestingly, the more I did this the more my confidence has increased -  so I do not actually feel the same compulsion to check more basic tasks anymore.   
 

I’ve also, as a result of this approach had what was my ‘worst’ thing happen  - I sent a form with a substantial error on it. I realised that not only was this possible to fix, no one was bothered because I am known to be a careful person, and I had the tools to address the situation quickly and without any fuss. The error in the end has taught me more than my avoidance of them did! 

[northpaul]

11 minutes ago, Zelda said:

the more I did this the more my confidence has increased -  so I do not actually feel the same compulsion to check more basic tasks anymore.   

I like that very good key point - I have found the my confidence has incresed as well.

[dyman]

3 hours ago, northpaul said:

This could be a multitude of activities depending on circumstances and interests.

One of my major OCD issues is repeatedly checking things.

Example: this week I have some online form filling and business to do.  I am practising doing the forms, checking them once then pressing submit.  My temptation would be to go back through the forms to double check.  My plan is to do these things then immeditely do some cleaning jobs in my kitchen.  Even though they sound like mundane jobs they do need me to concentrate and I soon find that any anxiety about the forms soon diminishes.

Thanks for elaborating, so planning a task after the anxiety-inducing task, allows you to kind of manage the anxiety spike?

[dyman]

2 hours ago, Zelda said:

Hi @dyman I took the same approach as others - check once and send (no avoidance by saving for ‘later’), thinking what is reasonable in the context, different task to follow work which means I cannot stay late. i won’t say I have never caved into the desire to check again later, but in general this has helped reduce the 4+ hours a day I lost to checking work tasks - I got my nights and weekends back!! Interestingly, the more I did this the more my confidence has increased -  so I do not actually feel the same compulsion to check more basic tasks anymore.   
 

I’ve also, as a result of this approach had what was my ‘worst’ thing happen  - I sent a form with a substantial error on it. I realised that not only was this possible to fix, no one was bothered because I am known to be a careful person, and I had the tools to address the situation quickly and without any fuss. The error in the end has taught me more than my avoidance of them did! 

Thanks for replying Zelda.

That's good to hear that you got your confidence back . That's also interesting to hear about the error and is some food for thought. I feel that if I made a big error there might be issues down the line, but at the same time, being able to realise what is and is not my responsibility might be important too .