Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am not good at following directions. Actually, I can’t get from A to B even with a map and a GPS, TomTom or whatever other instructional, direction providing device there is out there. I always get lost. I could get lost driving home from the office if I happened to get into a panic on the way. Anxiety overwhelms all landmarks and familiar roads and sights on my route.
Maybe my inability to follow directions has something to do with my obstreperous personality. I was not good at following directions at school and I am not particularly good at following directions in my job either. I like to think backwards instead of forwards and so I come up with the solution and then work backwards to determine the mechanics of a transaction. It makes perfect sense to me. I want to get here and then, how can I get there? I nearly always works I am pleased to say and I think there is quite a lot to recommend my slightly unusual approach in corporate finance. Thinking out of the box is what we are told to do.
When I bake and make fondant creations, I usually don’t follow the recipe or instructions that closely either. After all, I want my own version, don’t I? Luckily for me, 99% of the time my attempts work out. The birds get the 1% disaster.
How good are you at following directions?
This post was written for Linda G Hill’s weekly Stream of Consciousness Saturday challenge. You can join in here: https://lindaghill.com/2020/05/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-2-2020/
roberta-writes.com 
What fun to read your response to the “Directions” prompt after reading John’s earlier in the day! I tend to follow directions when I cook, except for leaving out ingredients I don’t like. (That means you, eggplant.)
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I also read, John’s. I always have good intentions with regards to directions, Liz, in all aspects of my life, but somehow, I always end up experimenting or going away from the beaten path.
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There is nothing wrong with that, Robbie! There would be no innovation otherwise.
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Great write, I too have no sense of direction! 🌺
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Thanks, Holly. I think no sense of direction is more common in women, but I know some men who can’t find there way around too.
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So do I. I think it’s genetic 😊
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I think this makes perfect sense. For whatever reason, when I do a maze (which is not that often anymore), I always start at the end and work backwards. It’s probably not very logical, since it likely makes no difference in completing the maze, but like you said, it seems to work…
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It usually works for me too, Jim. We are the great experimenters in life.
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That’s a nice way to put it!
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Interesting approach. It does make sense when you think about it.
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Hi Janet, I think so, but few people seem to think like that. I am often told at work that not everyone thinks like me. Jolly good thing too, imagine the chaos on the roads – giggle.
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I’m pretty much the opposite. Give me step-by-step directions and I can find almost anything, lol
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I am very envious. It is a terrible thing to not be able to find your way around in a car, especially when you live in a country as dangerous as South Africa. It makes me very anxious when I drive.
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I can follow directions as long as I can read them. As for driving, don’t tell me streets only buildings or landmarks:)
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You are clearly an observant person, Denise. I know you are actually, it shows in your poetry that you observe carefully.
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Thanks, Robbie 🙂
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I cook the way a Jazz musician plays a song: all over the place! That’s why I’m not good at baking – the precise nature of the recipe is difficult for me to adhere to!
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I am not precise in following baking instructions but that is because I know what works here in the highveld. I always have to adapt international recipes. PS Your cookies came out well so you can bake.
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Thanks Robbie, but not sure you can botch cookies – they are SO simple!
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It depends on the cookie, some are quite difficult to make like biscotti or palmiers.
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That’s a good point…I never make them so for me these were pretty easy…just not a dessert person at all!
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I think I’m very good at directions. I’m finally at a point where I can navigate a large portion of my city, and I could probably find my way home without a GPS from anywhere in the state. I can read a manual and follow instructions to get things done. I understand some people aren’t big fans of directions, but I think I’m pretty good at them.
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I am very envious. I am good at many things, but seem to be equally bad at others. Following directions is in the bad bag, sadly.
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Everyone has a bag of their own! 🙂
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🙂 I am terrible at following and giving directions………so happy to see I am not alone!
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Hi Wendi, I didn’t mention giving directions. Maybe because mine are so bad I never do it. I can’t remember landmarks or street names and when I write about places I have to download a map and follow it carefully.
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🙂 I completely understand……..sometimes I swear my phone gets pissed at me when I can’t even follow the verbal directions I am being given. 🙂
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I’ve got a good sense of direction when we’re driving somewhere, but I find pages of written directions to put something together almost intimidating. My son and I fit the male stereotype where we’re confident about getting from point A to point B, and it feels like we’re caving in if we need to ask someone for help.
Thanks for teaching me a new word, Robbie. I had to look up “obstreperous.”
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My pleasure, Pete. I’m so pleased you looked it up. I do that always with new words and then I never forget them. I am envious of your ability to get around, I am simply shocking. So bad that I have to GPS’ and still phone my dad in a panic whenever I get lost.
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I’m always lost in a strange place, even with a map. But once I’ve been there I can usually navigate it a second time. I just need to orient myself correctly.
I can’t follow written directions at all…I need to be shown. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe. I can navigate back to a place if I am paying careful attention the first time and I don’t get lost. If I get lost all I can remember is the panic. My dad used to draw me maps when I was younger and write top and bottom so I didn’t turn them upside down.
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That’s a good idea. Orientation is key for me.
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Although I’m pretty good at following directions when I must, I like to adlib and follow my own vibes in most things even when it comes to recipes. Like you, the 1% disasters can be enjoyed by the birds! 🙂 xo
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I am pleased to know that, Bette. I am good at winging it with recipes but very bad when it comes to driving. I could very happily have a driver to take me everywhere.
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When it comes to driving, I Google Directions and print them out and check them on a map since I don’t have GPS. It would be lovely to simply have a driver take care of all of that! ❤ Have a lovely week!
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You asked how good I am at following directions? Zero, but I don’t panic, usually I find the way in anything I do. Reading instructions is the worst. 😀
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Hi Valentina, lovely to see you here. Creatives seem to be poor at following directions, but we usually get there in the end. Have a lovely Sunday. PS I also hate to read instructions and always try to get a verbal summary from someone.
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How true is that for me as well…Have a good start of the week.
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The birds must love your tiny 1% fail rate!
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They have been hungry lately as everything I do, food wise, has worked out. Thanks for visiting, Laura.
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I’m fine with maps, have never used a GPS. With recipes, I follow them closely the first time, but have no problem improvising or substituting if I make the dish again. As someone else said, it matters more in baking than other types of cooking. As for detailed directions, I had to write what we called “procedures” in my job (cataloguing stuff in a library using a specialized computer system). The best way is to write the directions while executing the actions; that way you don’t forget the crucial small but important details that seem perfectly obvious — except to the person doing the action for the first time.
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That is a great way of doing things, Audrey. Write down step-by-step instructions. I always have good intentions to record my innovations when I bake but I never do and have to start over the next time. I am not very orderly.
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It’s harder to write stuff down while in the middle of baking, I’m sure!
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I’m pretty ordinary when it comes to directions. Maps are okay but written instructions or verbal ones are not easy for me, I question everything.
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I can imagine that you do, Danny. Your inquiring and sharp mind is obvious in your writing.
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I think my mind is in lockdown and I’m worried it won’t find a way out.
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I think it must be anxiety, Danny. I also feel a bit anxious but I push it away as best I can. I can’t stress out my boys.
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Better than that! 😀 I love that you work against the norm.
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Fascinating, Robbie. I’m easily lost too (even in my own back woods. Honestly, it’s ridiculous! And I almost never follow directions. I end up with less success than you do, but I seem to learn best by starting with a mistake and then having to try again. Seems crazy, but I’m usually happy with the result of my second try. Lol. Take care. ❤
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I think it is best to do what works for you, Diana. I think a poor sense of direction is fairly common, especially in women. My dad says it’s because we are not observant. I say its because we are always distracted by kids and other things.
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My sense of direction was great when I lived on the US east coast. Since I moved to the west coast, I can’t find my way out of a paper bag. I think it’s because the ocean is on the wrong side now. 🙂
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See sometimes I am really good and sometimes awful. I got confused in New York, which you really can’t because it just a grid. In Singapore I wanted to see a certain temple, I must have passed it 5 times, before a coach load of tourist came and made me realise – ahhh this is the temple. Sometimes in the UK I get lost, but most times I am okay.
Directions can be somthing😥🤔😜😥😥
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I find it reasonably easy to get around in the UK. There are maps everywhere and everything is in English. I can get on a train or a tube but driving around is something else entirely.
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That just means you’re an independent thinker! I can follow directions, but it depends on who or what is giving them. 🙂
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Yes, that is true, the giver of the instructions is important. I never follow directions when it comes to work, I am a creator.
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I always had to get lost first… then I could retrace my mistake. Before GPS I always had a map in the car… but being directionally challenged I’d end up turning the wrong way before returning to the right way. 😉 I’ve gotten better with my local area even with all the changes in the last 10, 7, 5 years. As we’ve been here around 30.
I used to take one route – didn’t matter if it was longer, because it was the way I knew how to get where I wanted to go. I think though that solving problems backwards isn’t new. And it is good to look at several alternatives. If you can get the end result to where you want it to be does the process matter? 😀
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Great post Robbie 💜
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If the direction resonates or is from my employer then I conform … if it doesn’t resonate I question and this is seldom appreciated. Interesting post, thanks for making me think!
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My pleasure, Kate. Thanks for visiting. I can’t picture roads and how to get to places in my head at all. It is a great failing of mine.
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Robbie you have so many talents and are so super organised I’m glad there is something you need help with 🙂
You are human after all ❤
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