Useless neurotic and compulsive behaviour

>>18624308
Do you keep a planner? That'd probably good for dealing with double appointments and scheduling mishaps. Plenty of calendar apps for that. Just put events into it the second you learn about them.

As for relaxing in general meditation might help. There's a lot of materials online for it but basically you just sit for about half an hour each day and try to focus on your breath. If you keep it up it works well for anxiety, at least in my experience.

If you're interested I found this book pretty good on the subject. Some parts get a little religious/new-agey for my taste, but the practice tips are good.
https://mega.nz/#!xm5AlQyR!Jkn2uCRZed0HPE_ew-wEYedDszNZUZWr2nhNUdqVwb4

>>18624397
I use a planner, and it mostly works. The only catch with that is the kind of situation when I get called up for work on the middle of the road and have to make a wild guess about my availability, as I am using the device I can use to check or make a note of the day to call.

As for mediation, it didn't work much if by meditation you mean doing breathing excercises while sitting in a lotus position, but things like writing down my thoughts or listening to some meditative music while working with my hands at least helped to calm me down. Unfortunately, they did not change my neurotic tendencies by much.

>>18624429
Can you put the phone on speaker mode to check while calling? Or is it more you don't want to be looking at it while driving?

Sorry to hear the meditation didn't work out, I suppose it does depend on the person. Out of curiosity what were the issues you ran into when trying it?

>>18624458
I would say the first part is a combination of fearing pressing the wrong button and accidentally hanging up and checking everything I need to realistically make sure taking too long. I guess neither is completely reasonable now that I mention it.

As for the mediation, part of it is that when I try it, I get strong doubt of whether I am doing it right and if it is even worth it when I don't. Another part is that rather than clearing my mind, it makes me think of a lot lot of things at the same time, kind of like the white elephant effect. A third part is not having access to the kind of completely quiet natural places recommended for meditation, but I take it that's not necessary anyway.

>>18624478
I suppose an overboard option would be to just have a copy of your schedule in the car.

>Another part is that rather than clearing my mind, it makes me think of a lot lot of things at the same time, kind of like the white elephant effect
That's actually exactly what's supposed to happen at first. You sort of get into a cycle of try to focus on breath -> random thoughts pop in head -> completely forget about focusing on breath -> remember and refocus on breath. It's sort of analogous to doing one rep in a physical workout. Eventually you start being able to focus for longer periods and forget about the breath less. I think if you keep that idea of refocusing on your breath and not getting discouraged you shouldn't worry about doing it wrong. Having a quieter place is definitely helpful though. Is the place you sleep in relatively loud? I generally meditate next to my bed.

>>18624521
The place I sleep is not loud and I will try again. I was unaware of meditation being supposed to be like that at first, thanks for letting me know.

I thought of some hypotheses about what is happening, but it'll take a couple of hours until I got the time to spell them out. Meanwhile, all advice is appreciated.