Sometimes I wish I had a cone of silence of sorts which I could pull over my head that would eliminate any outside AND inside noise-- distractions and thoughts --as I was focusing on the task at hand. If I was busy working on the computer, I wouldn’t be able to think of anything else except what pertained to what I was doing. What was going on around me wouldn’t faze me a bit. If I was baking in the kitchen, I’d only be able to think of cakes, cookies, delicious dishes, and anything food related. If I was on a date with my husband, I’d only think of how wonderful he was and how much fun we were having. And if I was journalling or trying to focus on my reading, 1001 distractive thoughts would not be fighting for their place in my little brain. Unfortunately, I’m not that way. If I’m working online, I’m usually also trying to plan what I’m going to pull out of the freezer for supper, thinking about one of my children, composing a blog post in my head, or I’m wondering how I’m going to get everything else done this week. While on a date, I might be wondering if I actually turned the oven off before we left or why there are so many questionable movies out there, and why so many people pay to see them? While baking, I may also be in another world, trying to tackle all of the world’s problems.
Men aren’t like that, as a general rule. They are more wired to focus on only one thing at a time. They easily compartmentalize, as the book Men Are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti explains. If they are at work, they are AT work. If they are watching TV, they are WATCHING TV. If they are zoning out, they are truly ZONING OUT.
I’d like to be able to do that…just to see what it’s like.
LOL - I know exactly what you mean, though at the same time, I wonder if I'd be as effective? It seems that most of the time a solution to a problem will pop into my mind when I'm trying to concentrate on something else entirely.
ReplyDeleteBeing mindful of the here and now, the present task is a skill worth developing, anyway!
I wholeheartedly agree! Sometimes I love being able to think about lots of things at the same time but most of the time I wish I could just concentrate on one thing at a time. I wonder what that would be like?
ReplyDeleteDo you know, I think that women (esp. Christian women) have been brainwashed to think that multi-tasking is an admirable way to be.
ReplyDeleteI totally disagree, but only after I read almost everything Emilie Barnes had to say on the subject. She's into the multi-tasking mentality, and I guess it got overwhelming to me...all that juggling she recommended. Got to thinking that I was making myself crazy with trying to keep up. Now I make an extra effort in doing one thing at a time, but haven't got that ingrained thinking fixed yet. :)
Emilie is a sweetie...just not for me.
Aneta, thank you for your visit and comment. It's wonderful to meet a new blogger!
ReplyDeleteI try, oh how I try. I just can't do it. There's about a zillion things going on up there!
ReplyDelete