Anyone else here not "detail-oriented"?

[Tallison]

Details suck and are tedious. I sat down this morning with my new job's "benefits eligibility package" to enroll in some kind of health/life insurance by Sept. 1, and after two minutes of dealing with all the various decimals, caveats, fine print and addendums I start to itch all over and in places I didn't know I had places. This happens whenever I'm facing bills, a checkbook that needs balancing, interest rates that merit comparison, things that sound wrong w/the engine, scheduling annual exams, and filing insurance claims. Ugh. Can't I just go to the book store and it'll all work itself out? Details, unless part of a research study, are boring. It's been an issue w/jobs in the past (I'm an RN, so you can imagine) and something I'm sure has compromised my financial well-being (I've spent a lot in late fees over the years - how much I don't know because I can't sit down long enough to look at the actual figure). Recently I secured a job in the health care field that is "idea-oriented" and am doing quite well at it, thank God.

Is this distaste for detail manageable in the long run (I'm 31) or should I start taking Ritalin like my type-A mother suggests?

[smirkymonkey]

1. I'm not. And I'm proud of it.

It takes all kinds. Many detail oriented people often lack the capacity for seeing the big picture, while many big picture people often lack the skills to follow through with their vision. Some people are good at both, but it's rare. What is not rare is people who THINK they are good at both.

[Tallison]

5. It does take both

Unfortunately a lot of every-day life challenges require detail-oriented, task-management skill that my mom and sister are so good at. My Dad, however, who has a doctorate in physics, couldn't arrange for pizza delivery unless it was part of some experiment. It's as if, without intellectual intrigue, who gives a shit?

I suspect guys win higher tolerance for that kind of attitude than women in this culture, whose traditional caretiking, hold-the-fort-down role is anathema to the need for big-picture abstraction, as though If you keep her preoccupied with busy work, she won't have the time or awareness to contemplate her proscribed influence over society.

[SmokingJacket]

2. Yes, it's why I can't cook...

Chopping up little pieces of stuff and measuring out tiny spoonfuls of stuff drives me up the wall. I never balance my checkbook; I just keep a big buffer in there so I don't overdraw.

Last time I went in for my annual exam, they said, "Did you realize you haven't been here since 1999?" Whoops -- slipped my mind. :blush:

Sometimes I think I'd love to take ritalin or something, but I suspect it would just cause other problems, and this one I'm used to...

[nuxvomica]

4. I'm glad to know that someone else is checkbook challenged

I never balance mine though I'm pretty good at recording each check I write. Unfortunately, I can't read what I wrote later cuz I do it so fast just to get the task out of the way.
I'm a big-picture, simple rules person. I think we can solve most of the world's problems with an international living wage and let the detail people work out how that gets implemented.
Though I enjoy cooking, I rarely follow the exact measurements in a recipe cuz I usually mix up the tbsps and the tsps. You can sort of guess how much you need of something by sight anyway and you just need to follow some simple rules of thumb about food chemistry.
Maybe it's just a religious thing what with the Devil being in the details and all.

[Tallison]

7. That's exactly what I do w/my checkbook

Just keep a buffer. I consider it kind of clever when you think of all the time saved on - ugh - balancing it. Off to the bookstore!

And for cooking, try Indian cuisine or any type in which you season "to taste," (e.g., don't bother measuring). Avoid French food or baking. :D

[Tallison]

11. And, BTW, I also hate cooking

Gardening is for me.

[xchrom]

3. guilty as charged

unless i have to be.

i love ideas -- hate to dot the i's and cross the t's -- unless i work with an energetic team.

i don't like housework -- we won't go there{it isn't that bad -- but i actually get depressed}

etc., etc,....

[Tallison]

8. I can relate to the depression

My aversion to task-mastering borders on emotional. I still haven't enrolled in those benefits. It's so much more interesting to think about my reaction to it and how things like that affect the nature of people's contribution to society.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

6. I am terrible. This is a real problem for me.

[Madrone]

9. Sign me up for the support group, too.

I'm horribly bad at "detail" - and can even walk over/by something for weeks without seeing it.

Like many who have replied - I also do not EVER balance my checkbook. I don't record checks, and I don't keep or even look at debit receipts.

[Tallison]

10. I tried saving receipts, checks, debit forms, etc., once

but I never went back and did anything with them, like check them against my account statements (which I never open unless I intuit that the "buffer" is getting low), so now I just more or less throw them out. Lots of pieces of paper around just further frustrate my already minimal level of initiative when it comes to herding nitpick details into order.

On edit: I'd bet you John Prine's more idea- than detail-oriented.

[smirkymonkey]

14. Same here - I can't even deal with filling out simple forms.

And haven't balanced my checkbook in years. I just check my balance from time to time, subtract outstanding checks and that's what's left to spend.

However, I love to cook but I never use a recipe - I am just a natural at it.

I think this is a big reason why I do not fit in in the corporate world. Can't deal with all the bullshit.

[Radical Activist]

12. The lamest thing to ever put on a resume or cover letter.

No, I'm not.

[Tallison]

13. I can't imagine putting

"idea-oriented" in a cover letter; you know it'd just sound pretentious.

[Cathyclysmic]

15. Ok....I like figuring stuff like that out

My hubby worries about me, because he claims I'm the only one who reads 'the fine print' and books on how to interpret them. I balance the checkbook and file all our crap.

Thank god I have him to keep me from being too boring!

life insurance?...hell, sign up for it...what will it take out of your paycheck , $2.00 or what? Find that out and read the details later if your overwhelmed. Just assign a beneficiary.

[yellowdogintexas]

16. need help with the medical benefit choices? I am an old hand

with that stuff.

You have the medical knowledge as a nurse, but I have the insurance technical knowledge from years working in the industry.

my suggestion is this: if you are offered an EPO plan and your doctors are in it: take it. it will be the cheapest with the lowest out of pocket.

Sign up for the 401 K at the highest percentage that you can afford that is also matched by the company. If they match 100 percent up to 5% of your income, then have 5% with held.

Look at the life insurance; if they offer you double or triple your annual salary for a small extra premium: do it.

Get a basic term on your spouse if they will let you. IT will be cheap.

anything else, you can PM me if you want to.