I am not a multi-tasker, though I can get lost down that road just as easy as anyone else.
I left my phone and glasses case at the grocery store. Both Eric and John called while I was shopping, and I realized I am one of those people who cannot talk on the phone and do something else at the same time. Heck, I can't even walk and talk on the phone. It leaves me fractured. Then I did the self check-out and because I needed to wear my glasses when I did it, I put my phone and glass case, which were in my hand, on the counter and forgot about them. When I got home and couldn’t find my phone I called the store and they have them there. I got lucky.
As I get older I have to pay more attention to the task at hand, otherwise I make major screw ups. Lose my keys, my glasses, my phone. No more coasting along, half-aware.
I know what you mean, Beth! It's awful to get old. I am trying to look at the situation as a spiritual lesson--a way to learn patience and humility. Terrible to not be able to see properly without glasses, and at the same time to not be able to find your glasses because you can't see to find them. Aargh!
ReplyDeleteSounds familiar, Beth. I find it a call to simplify or declutter one's life. I am pleased if I get one or two major "to-do's" done in a day. My multi-tasking is more sequential: I leave a task half-done (say, the dishes in the sink) and do something else (check my email, watch tv, tidy a litterbox, make my bed). I have solved the losing glasses problem by wearing them all the time even though I really only need them for reading. I think of them as a fashion accessory. ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, it's not like having to stay focused on one thing at a time is a bad thing!
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that I notice about getting older is the feeling of vulnerability. I feel a lot more vulnerable "out there" in the world. So many things can go wrong at any one time and staying focused on one thing seems to be a way of controlling that sense of being out of control.
And maybe, just being rootless, in foreign territory, has me feeling like I have to stay alert!
Anyway, it is comforting to know that I'm in good company!! THANKS!
I am doing the same things lately.I have to focus on what I am doing at home in my real life just as I have always focused myself at work. Boo!! My preference is to laze about in the cosmos. Can't do that now and still remember to take the keys, coupons, grocery list and gym bag...I also amd trying to be OK with working more slowly.
ReplyDeleteIt's not necessarily a sign of impending alzheimer's. It may be just that we're baby boomers. I was discussing this with a 20 something co-worker. Our 58 year old director is annoyed sometimes with him but for "millennialists", that's the norm. The concept of doing things sequentially strikes him as a waste of time and not much fun. Lita and I were talking about this too, in relation to what our kids will be like - she thinks multi-tasking is really doing a lot of things half-assed instead of one thing right.
ReplyDeleteMy job sometimes requires multi-tasking under pressure so I've had to learn to adapt. I'm proud of myself when I can accomplish it and beat myself up when I don't.
Cell phones still annoy the hell out of me. Now I've noticed at our college when people get out of class they immediately start fiddling with their units with their heads down and don't watch where they are going. Same thing with driving (lol).