Are you a multi-tasker? One of those amazing people who can pay bills, listen to the radio, talk on the phone and pet the cat all at the same time? Visit with friends, dance a little, sing out loud, and not burn what’s in the oven? My hat is off to you all! The minute my mouth opens to speak, I must stop whatever it is I am doing, face the person, and have a conversation. No keyboarding….no onion chopping…no bill-paying…no video watching and definitely no cooking. My past history of scorched foods bears testament to that. (Thank goodness my Navy husband likes the smoky flavor!)
The recognition of my limitation came while engaged with a friend over a game of Sequence, which requires a relative amount of focused attention to play well. Each time she would speak to me, I had to stop what I was thinking or doing to answer. No multi-tasking in my head about which move to make next and all strategy formulations stalled immediately.
I had never noticed this about myself before, but this time it was front and center. WHY couldn’t I multitask? My friend could easily juggle 3-4 activities all at once and none of them suffered from lack of attention.
As I am always seeking the reason behind my actions and limitations, my subconscious is well-trained now to surrender up the answer as soon as I have entered the quest. Gratefully, this time was no different. I heard the subtle voice strains of my mother from long ago saying, “Stop what you are doing, and pay attention.”
Ah ha. The LAW-maker of my childhood had given me the command, and I was still following it! I absolutely always ‘stopped what I was doing’ to pay attention to whomever I was with:
So that explains The WHY of needing to work in silence and to be away from others while working---so no one can interrupt me and I don’t have to stop what I am doing to pay attention.
What to do about it? I shall re-imagine frequently my mother telling me, “I know you can hear me even if you keep doing what you are doing. You are so talented. One of the best multi-taskers I’ve ever known!”
So be it.
The recognition of my limitation came while engaged with a friend over a game of Sequence, which requires a relative amount of focused attention to play well. Each time she would speak to me, I had to stop what I was thinking or doing to answer. No multi-tasking in my head about which move to make next and all strategy formulations stalled immediately.
I had never noticed this about myself before, but this time it was front and center. WHY couldn’t I multitask? My friend could easily juggle 3-4 activities all at once and none of them suffered from lack of attention.
As I am always seeking the reason behind my actions and limitations, my subconscious is well-trained now to surrender up the answer as soon as I have entered the quest. Gratefully, this time was no different. I heard the subtle voice strains of my mother from long ago saying, “Stop what you are doing, and pay attention.”
Ah ha. The LAW-maker of my childhood had given me the command, and I was still following it! I absolutely always ‘stopped what I was doing’ to pay attention to whomever I was with:
- Stopped in the middle of the road if we were walking and I had to answer a question put to me
- Did NOT drive and carry on conversation at the same time or else I always forgot where I was on the road
- Looked up time and time again from my creative endeavors---be they fence building, video-making, or even cleaning---to answer my distractors.
So that explains The WHY of needing to work in silence and to be away from others while working---so no one can interrupt me and I don’t have to stop what I am doing to pay attention.
What to do about it? I shall re-imagine frequently my mother telling me, “I know you can hear me even if you keep doing what you are doing. You are so talented. One of the best multi-taskers I’ve ever known!”
So be it.
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