Today’s San Francisco Chronicle has a column that I find charming, even though it’s by a writer I generally find annoying. It’s available right here. (This columnist was originally an SFGate-only columnist, then the print newspaper added him. Maybe a mistake.)
“Don’t feel any urgency” because the last thing I want to do is add to the epidemic of adult deliberate attention deficit/”continuous partial attention.”
I’m beginning to realize that there may be yet another answer to the old question, “How do I get so much writing done?” While “I’m lazy, but I’m efficient” is an honest answer, another one may be that I don’t try to do two or three things at once (except for watching old B movies while exercising). Focus does wonderful things for effectiveness, and maybe even quality.
I found other things in the column resonated. Maybe I sleep reasonably well because, at home, I have one cup of excellent Kauai coffee around 6:30 in the morning (and don’t drink either regular tea or soft drinks, so that’s about it for caffeine)–and because I don’t make any effort to stay on top of multiple things at once.
As always, YMMV–but I’m increasingly convinced that multitasking as a way of life is a great way to do many things badly instead of a few things well, and I wonder if it doesn’t mess up your mind and body in the process. Time will tell–or won’t, because in our “post-truth society” people will ignore evidence that doesn’t suit them.
