To be puzzled at knitting in meetings

[JoanThursday1972]

I go to a few cross-organisation working groups and meetings. One woman always brings her knitting - I was really surprised. Is this a thing now to bring crafting projects to meetings?

Definitely helpful for ADHD. I think a lot of people were able to experiment more in lockdown with what worked best for them in meetings, while nobody could actually see.

I'm very senstive to repetitive noises, and I knit. Silently. I'm not 90, I don't use metal needles and clack away. I use bamboo, and you can;t hear me knit.

I'd assume reasonable adjustment until I knew otherwise, knew for certain that is. You may never know but as she contributes well and is well thought of I wouldn't consider it further.

Inattentive ADHD - fidgeting (clicking my pen), or doodling helps me to concentrate, especially with long boring meetings (painful). The harder I try to concentrate the quicker I zone out. Keeping my hands busy allows me to take in what is being said.

Sometimes the sheer act of looking at someone will distract me e.g. nice winged eyeliner - eyeliner tutorial I watched on IG - thinking of another post I saw on IG today - rabbit hole/tangent continues for ages & Ive missed everything that was said!

Also, this doesn’t tend to happen with interactive meetings. It’s generally the ones that are one sided, even if they’re interesting.

Feels like a really strange assumption to make that this is a thing because you've seen one woman do it. If you have a problem just say so but this faux 'is thi a thing' approach is just cringe.

I definitely need something to help me focus on meetings, im a bit out of practice at knitting so it probably wouldn't be that, but no, my knitting technique involves no clicking at all. I hate that sort of sound, I knit pretty slowly and use small wooden needles, there is no clicking. In fact DP has asked me why my knitting doesn't click - his mums did, but she used metal needles and was taught to knit at an eye-watering speed (because she learned when knitting was out of necessity not hobby I guess).

I am really not fussed what someone else does to stay focused in a meeting as long as its not disruptive to others and it works, fine! I am baffled how people can state categorically that knitting IS always noisy though!

It's a long story, but someone was juggling in a work meeting I was in a few days ago. It was an online meeting so I'm not sure if he realised we could see him. Made the meeting very amusing!

It's a great idea for ADHD, sitting in meetings is so hard especially long ones. We definitely need more awareness and understanding out there

I used to live and work in Iceland. It was common to knit in meetings, I loved it.

@NeverDropYourMooncup I would clearly own my ADHD at the beginning of a meeting and would ask very clearly that if anyone had any problems with me knitting, please speak up, and I would stop knitting. Or leave the room

Pressed send to soon.
I am not ashamed I have a ND brain, but you would need to speak up to let me know yours is the exact opposite of mine.
yours would have precedence over mine, I won’t cause upset knowingly to anyone. But you have to let me know. I can read minds yet

Can’t read minds. What a superpower that would be.

But that is what doodling is for, isn't it?

My mum couldn't knit when my dad was around as the noise drove him mad (what we now know as misophonia I guess).

I would find it incredibly distracting myself.

No polite person is going to say anything though are they, they are just going to sit there and suffer and be driven mad by the noise and movement.

But that is entirely my point. I own my ND brain and say this is something I need to do/prefer to do to keep calm in a meeting.

if you are not able to own your own ND brain and say, actually that won’t work for me

it is nothing to do with being polite, and everything to do with being assertive about our own needs

women need to stop being polite and ask for what they need to be comfortable.

I am old and won’t be going to meeting for much longer and I have only been knitting for about 15 years as the previous 25 years I was too polite. And suffered quite a lot as concentrating without my hands moving is impossible

Speak up, I won’t think you rude at all, just an assertive person

wizzywig · Yesterday 10:45
Is it a meeting at Shreddies HQ?“

🤣🤣👏👏👏

Stop making assumptions yourself, please, about what is 'faux' and whether I have a 'problem'. I have never seen it before in any meeting other than the ones this person attends. In most meetings I have been at, people have been challenged if they drifted off or weren't seen to be paying attention. I did think this to be novel.

It was a genuine question. It wouldn't have been happening 15-20 years ago in the workplace but things have changed. I'm allowed to be puzzled.

I do like threads where the OP pretends to be "puzzled" or "confused" or "doesn't understand" when what she's really trying to say is that she doesn't like it, disapproves and wishes it wasn't allowed.

I like threads where posters imagine they are psychic, too.

Your pen clicking would be hurting my ND brain to the point I'm whiling away the meeting thinking of increasingly vicious ways to kill you.

Pen clickers are the worst.

Sounds like there is a battle between ND who find knitting to help them concentrate in meetings (so more productive), and those those who feel murderous due to the sounds of knitting.
If you struggle with repetitive sounds/mysophobia, there are products out there to help. Loop earplug is one (keeps coming up on my FB!). Probably loads of similar out there.

I think its easy for people with one type of ND to forget or not realise their coping mechanisms can have an effect of other people with ND.

This. I’m ASD and I would find someone knitting too distracting. I’m usually the lead for my projects so unfortunately someone who insisted on knitting or other distracting things in essential meetings wouldn’t be able to work in my projects.

If they were silent and at the back of a presentation, how would you know?
That is the only type of situation I'd knit in.