Asklemmy

I got really used to technical conversations at work going "full duplex" where we'd excitedly talk over each other and interrupt constantly, just to get to each conclusion faster. I had a close coworker join my team, and he was much harder than normal to get a word in, so I got better at jumping in to interrupt until we were at the same pace and the technical communication was synced and flowing well.

Around a month after I'd been working with him, my wife started telling me I was being very rude and interrupting her more than usual. I guess the habit came home with me. I'm still working on it, though it's been over 5 years since I switched out of his team.

I've been the electronic security game for about 25 years and I swear I instinctively notice and look directly at every video camera in every building I enter, and I swear if anybody noticed they'd think I'm casing the joint.

Former land surveyor. Was definitely counting my paces when I was not surveying.

Background: you'd often try to capture a grid of points, or cross section of a road, for example, at regular intervals. You'd roughly know your normal stride length conversion to metres, so if I were doing a 10m grid, it'd be: shoot a point, walk 11 paces, shoot a point, repeat for hundreds, sometimes thousands of points. It wasn't long until you would be counting paces when you weren't actively surveying.

Professionally, my ethics dictate that I speak up and force a change whenever I see any action that can lead to a catastrophic failure. This didn't make someone popular.

I have stress dreams sometimes and about old jobs. Like in my dream I'll wake up and suddenly remember I'll need to be at a job I haven't been at in years. But, the time has still passed. Like I'll be wondering why they scheduled me when I haven't been there in years, and then get even more stressed cuz I can't remember how to do anything.

Another one, I work from home. Off hours if I'm watching a movie or playing a game I'll sometimes look over to check my work laptop :/

Forcing myself not to stare down other people's misbehaving children with the "teacher look" when out in public.

I'm a pilot. At a drive through, I read back the price as a matter of reflex.

Biggest one would be trying to login to my pc with my work password.

When riding trains I look at the concrete cable canal running along the tracks thinking about whether we rent any fibers in that one or not.

I can't watch anyone cook without steeling myself from mentioning their risky knife grip, mess-inducing lack of flow, slapdash mis, etc. 😵‍💫 On the positive side, I always call my status ("behind", "hot", "knife", etc.)

Not catching things. I worked at a leather shop with a lot of very sharp things.

I will just watch stuff fall. Even if it’s a friend tossing me my keys or something. Watch it sail thru the air and land right on the ground. Then I normally say “don’t throw shit at me” as their regular reminder that my instinct isn’t to catch things.

Also the phrase “heads up” doesn’t encourage me to catch something either. It encourages me to check the position of me feet for possible stabs.

I’m a software developer. I get very agitated when I have to sit next to someone who operates their computer slowly.

One of my first jobs was in a call center with a scripted greeting using an assertive voice because the customers always tried to dunk on us. My friends and family would laugh so hard when I answered my personal phone with the script/voice.

Graduated a couple years ago with an English PhD: when I go to read anything, I always pick up a pen or pencil as if I’m going to annotate it. I still have to hold one but don't click it out, like a security blanket, otherwise I feel immensely guilty.

I'm in IT. My personal laptop is perennially broken because I. cannot. stop. tinkering.

Used to work in underground mining, every time there wasn't enough light, I'd reach for my cap lamp on my head

We also used left hand drive cars in a right hand drive country and when I went home I'd get in the wrong side of the car

"behind"

I've been working in high acuity psychiatry for 10 years. I notice when doors don't click shut behind me and if I don't hear a solid click or an electric lock whirring sound I get the urge to check the handle, even at home / in my apartment complex. I can feel people behind me on the street if they're closer than about 20 feet back. I don't like sitting without a wall behind me (it was weird going back to school and explaining that my ADHD preferential seating accommodation was the back row, not the front).

Decades of working IT in various capacities including a lot of support roles at various levels have led me to usually suspect that anyone coming to to me saying that they can't get something to work is doing something wrong, regardless if it's IT or something else completely unrelated.

This is often combined with me trying to suggest possible solutions whenever someone complains or vents. This one drives my wife crazy sometimes and she's had to teach me that sometimes she just wants emotional support and solidarity rather than possible ways to fix whatever she is venting about.

Used to be an Amazon delivery driver. Cursed with the knowledge of what all those stickers mean on my packages.

Also you'll start noticing their massive delivery trucks everywhere.

Doing Uber in a very red state, I have to bite my tongue when people bring up politics. It's turned into me not talking about it around friends who share my beliefs for the most part. And it kinda sucks, cause I really did enjoy a good debate.

I often donate plasma. Sometimes while stressed I will start to unclench and clench my fist as if I’m donating.