Not sure exactly if this is the most appropriate catagory for this discussion/rant but it's close enough.

Does anybody else out there get frustrated that you can't really read and multitask?

I can't read while i drive. Some people attempt to.
I can't read while i talk to people.
I can't read while i shower,
or sleep,
or pay bills,
go to the movies,
while i work,
while i read other things,
browse the internets,
or while i play video games.

I can read while i eat, but it's usually more trouble than its worth.
I can't read while i shop.
It's difficult to read while watching a movie. One distracts me from the other.
And I really really hate that i can't read AND write (simutaniously of course).

I know, I know, audiobooks. But you can't let your mind wander very far or you'll just have to keep rewinding the damn thing.

In fact reading and letting my mind wander is about the only thing i can do simultaniously competantly.

Reading and driving at the same time? Point them out to me so I can shoot these people :P

*has a thing about retarded drivers*

I can write and watch a movie at the same time, as long as the movie is playing on the same screen (in a window above the notepad/wordpad).

I can't type and singalong to music though. I usually get stuck halfway through the word forgetting what was the next key I was supposed to press. Luckily listening to music doesn't interfere with anything... other than watching movies I guess

Wouldn't reading while driving result in a car accident?
I mean, you need to look out for other cars and stuff. Of course no one could do that.

i've seen people try to read newspapers and even little books while trying to drive.

Just once i'd like to see them veer into a guardrail and flip off the road.

Why do you want to read while doing any of those things?

You might as well be asking why do i want to listen to music while doing any of those things.
Because i love to read, but i'm quite often busy doing those other things that bar me from one of my favorite activities.


I thought of another one: reading and skiing. I can't do that either.

oh, and during sex, but that's just rude. Unless... i can coordinate it into a book club....

No, no. I don't have that kind of social charisma.

I read at stop lights >.> but not while actually driving. And I read while walking around at work or home and have yet to trip XD And I read while talking to customers on the phone...and if I'm not reading I'm drawing while on the phone.

It is possible to train yourself to multitask.

Anyway, it lessens your ability. I stopped listening to music while I drew and it looked a lot better.

Oh, i'm sure. I do my best writing and drawing (and reading) when i can just tune out the whole world and i've got nothing else going on to distract me, even for relaxation purposes.

That's probably why i come up with my best material when i'm trying to fall asleep for the night. Sometimes when i really desperately need inspiration, i'll turn out the lights, lie down and essentially try to fall asleep.

But i digress. I can read while i'm working on occasion and still supervise clients, but it's hard to get lost in a book, because at least 30% of my attention is still on the external world.

Right, but it's impossible to become absorbed in a book while doing something else. This is something you'll have to accept.

I can't really do anything while reading. that's one of the things I like about reading, though It's so nice to just read that I wouldn't want to dilute it with other stuff.

I do listen to This American Life when I walk the dog, it's like reading but easier to do while I walk


PS I was rear-ended once by someone trying to read her mail while driving. At least she was honest about it...

yeah, at least she was honest.

I can't have silence...I have to have noise in the background at all times or I start getting really tense, fidgety and frustrated.

Same with me. Silence, no good.

But the thing is, I get things done faster when there is silence. I'm not distracted as easily when it's quiet.
I always read when I eat. XD But reading while driving? Or showering? Not sure if that's possible. O__O

I usually need music playing from morning till evening, but on specific days I just listen to the hum of fans/harddrive or I open the window to listen to the storm/rain/birds.

As for multitasking. I draw the best when I fall into this specific mindset and just let the drawings do themselves, and music greatly helps. Doesn't work always though and seems to come up mostly during coloring, or when I do random drawings on paper that aren't related to the story I'm trying to write.

Sometimes I get crazy on backgrounds, but I try to limit that as it makes it difficult to draw the same location again.

Oh, I can't read when there are people talking around me, or if there are kids. In 30 years I'll be a grumpy "grandpa" (don't plan to have kids) shouting at the kids through the window...

actually, I doubt in 30 years any kids will go outside to play :P