Multi-Tasking

Something I’ve always kind of envied is the ability to multi-task. This includes any number of things, like watching TV while working, or carrying two conversations at a time, or talking on the phone while playing a game. None of which I can do.

For me, I can only keep focus on one thing and everything else is background. So the only things I can really multi-task are manual tasks that I can do without thinking, like cleaning, or exercising, etc. For everything else it’s one at a time or none at all. So when I’m driving, I can’t listen to anything that requires comprehension (language tapes, books on tapes, podcasts, etc.), even conversations with the passengers have to be kept pretty light. When I’m on the phone I can’t chat with someone on IM at the same time.

Just the other weekend, I was over at Dan’s and he was playing a game while listening to baseball on the radio. All I was doing was watching him play the game, and I couldn’t even hear the radio anymore, it might as well have been the refrigerator humming. This became particularly funny, because Dan would regularly make remarks about something that the announcer said on the radio, and every single time I would go “What?” and then gave him a look like he’s pulling crazy talk out of the air.

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