My Autistic Musings ... On Systemising

In this episode of My Autistic Musings, I reflect on systemising — a tendency many Autistic people, particularly late-identified Autistic women, recognise in themselves. Systemising can show up in subtle everyday ways, bringing calm, focus and satisfaction through organising ideas, environments or information.

Recently, I decided it was time to finally organise my nutrition. What followed was several hours of cutting, pasting, sorting and carefully arranging breakfast recipes from old downloads, courses, meal plans and recipe books. Pages were organised, photocopied, filed neatly into folders… and for a moment, everything felt beautifully in order.

Six months later, I’m still eating the same breakfast I always do.

But this musing isn’t really about meal planning. It’s about the quiet joy many Autistic people find in systemising — the sense of calm and clarity that comes from creating order, even when the system itself never quite gets used.

As a late-identified Autistic woman, I’ve come to recognise how systemising shows up in everyday ways: organising the home, planning outfits, structuring routines, or bringing order to information.

In the moment it brings a sense of calm and wellbeing — and perhaps that’s reason enough.

If you recognise this tendency in yourself, this gentle reflection on the Autistic love of systems, patterns and organisation might resonate.