NOW WHERE WAS I?

This morning I had a hard boiled egg for breakfast. I did not do that on purpose, but I had broken my rule,”Don’t sit at the computer when you’ve got something cooking.” A pot filled with boiling water and eggs just won’t whistle at you like a tea kettle. When my tea kettle whistles it could bring a whole army unit to attention. Also, hard boiled eggs don’t smell like burnt toast (my mother’s favorite recipe.)

Of course, the saving grace is that I really don’t cook that much anymore. I microwave, and the microwave beeps at me when I don’t remove the contents fast enough.  Perhaps, it would be helpful if all the clocks in my kitchen agreed on the time of day. As much as I have tried to set all of the clocks properly, the stove clock and the microwave clock always choose which minute to drop just as the coffee maker beeps, “It’s time to clean me.” So, when baking I have to remember which clock is timing my cookies.

Recently, an article titled, “Back Into Focus” piqued my interest. The author suggested that there are; “three ways to strengthen one’s attention span,” but then the clothes dryer beeped. My clothes were ready for folding, so I left the “three ways to strengthen my attention” in order to fold my towels. However, folding is really mind numbing so I turned on the TV and watched the news. Towels were folded so I turned off the TV, and I got a telephone call from a friend. While talking to her, I checked the stove to make sure nothing was cooking.

Now, what was I doing before the laundry beeped at me? Oh, Yes, I was trying to find out how to own my attention which was now on a lapsed memory-go-round. Back to the article. The writer claims that when our attention lapses “we are missing 50% of our lives.” However, before panicking and starting to bemoan what you have lost, the book PEAK MIND by neuroscientist Amishi Jha says,”it’s okay for our brains to be pulled away from what the brain attention system is supposed to do.” Whew! However, he suggests that at some point we have to get our focus back. My mother was not a neuroscientist, but I do remember all those times she said, “Esther!  Pay Attention!” Sometimes, I still find that difficult when attending a meeting, because of the invariable circuitous route it usually takes to get to the point.

Dr.Jha suggests that “multi tasking is a myth”, because what you are doing is really “task switching.” So the first of the three tips for improving attention is to “Do one thing at a time.”The second tip is to “Give your brain a break.” I do this when I take a hike in the mountains. The other day, I was hiking and saw a woman I don’t really know, but always greet. She said, “I haven’t seen you in such a long time. Have you been gone?”  I responded, “I was in prison for two years.” She blanched and backed away.  I said, “Covid Prison..Pandemic Prison.”  “OH!” she responded before she started speed walking away. The advice has been to “Give your brain a break.” Nothing was said about what comes out of the mouth.

The last suggestion was “Mindfulness.” By now, you probably have guessed that my mind is pretty full already, but the author means to focus on something like the sensation of walking. I agree that when hiking having your feet touch the ground is really a good thing.  

Okay, so to strengthen my attention span I need to: Focus, Notice when my mind has wandered, Redirect when my mind is off somewhere else, and then Begin Again.  

I guess it’s lucky that I like hard boiled eggs.

Esther Blumenfeld