Multitas... (sorry, had to answer the phone) ...king

Remember when multitasking used to mean listening to the radio while you did your homework? These days, people are multitasking all the time. First of all, we’re either talking or texting on our cell phones while doing just about everything else. At the office, you might listen to your iPod while working, sending emails, chatting with colleagues, and munching on a snack. On top of that, you probably have several documents, workspaces, webpages, etc. open on your computer at the same time. I’ve found that I’m developing a shorter and shorter attention span as I get older, simply because it doesn’t occur to me to focus on one task at a time anymore. There’s just so much to do and hardly enough time in the day to do it all!! Fortunately I usually do fairly well working on multiple jobs at the same time and somehow manage to complete them all without losing anything important in the shuffle. But sometimes I wonder why we feel the need to go charging through life with so many irons in the fire at the same time. Even when I’m reading a magazine or a newspaper for enjoyment, I have this habit where I read a couple of sentences into a particular paragraph, and then skip to the next paragraph like I’m skimming for the most important highlights. I recently discovered this idiosyncrasy, and now I’m noticing that I do it quite often, and I’m really not sure why. It makes me wonder if other people do the same thing. My favorite activities are simple times like when I’m on a bike ride, playing volleyball with friends, having a great conversation with friends over a lingering dinner and a bottle of wine, or hugging an appreciative cat or dog. It’s nice to de-clutter your mind once in a while and just focus on one thing at a time.