Multitasking is Not an Option

As someone who tries to fit the least amount of activity into her life, I was very excited to discover I'm not the only person who likes to just hang out. I've discovered The International Institute of Not Doing Much - a website devoted (when they can be bothered) to slowing down. They live by the "slow manifesto":

"...Some are born to slowness - others have it thrust upon them..."

I have to confess, I used to be a busy(ish) person. I was a skilled, and motivated, multitasker. In fact, I often enjoyed seeing how much I could get done in the shortest amount of time. Apparently, being that I am of the female persuasion, this is quite normal, even expected. There is some thinking, out there in the 'thinking ether', that women are better equipped for the task of multitasking - something to do with their (our) brain structure; blah, blah, blah. I'm not convinced. I've seen men get crazy (ie accomplish) doing many tasks and I've seen women barely able to complete the one task in an allocated time (currently, I would fall into this latter category :). I believe the human brain is reasonably malleable; we can train it to do a thing we really want it to do, and, conversely, not allow it to be trained to do something we really don't want it to do. (Obviously within reason - I mean, sometimes I would like to move heavy objects using only my brain or connect with people telepathically...which doesn't mean someone would want to return my telepathic connection...I'd also like to control people, so that they want to connect with me telepathically!...I don't care how immoral that sounds or, indeed, is...okay, I care a little bit...OKAY, controlling the world to my liking is really, really evil).

I will admit that I've probably taken the "slow down" decree very seriously in recent months, occasionally a little too seriously, but I'm okay with that - it's a lifestyle I'm comfortable embracing right now. But it's not for everyone. For some, too much down time might actually be stressful; extroverty and/or high energy people usually need some degree of tasking to keep them calm, even if they've decided to take things slower. And, to be honest, I also need some activity, if only so I, and others, don't think I've died.


Note: This blog post was written without haste, as are all my blog posts, even if sometimes they read as though they have been.