Arrgh! Why can’t I multi-task?

[AuAL]

OK, so tonight I was putting dinner on the table. I put the cast-iron casserole on the cork heat pad on the dining table and turned away. My wife said, “What about the lid?”, so I turned, checked the lid (it was hot but not too hot for me to handle) lifted it off and started to take it into the kitchen. Now my wife said, “Look out, it’s dripping!” Yes, there was was some condensation dripping on the floor. But now I’m in “Kernel-mode stack override - stop the drips on the floor; put the lid down on the kitchen bench! Now!” So I turn to the bench and move the cast-iron baking dish, fresh from the oven (baking the potatoes) to make enough room to put the lid down on a heat-insulating surface. I now have second degree(?) burns on the finger-tips where I moved the baking dish.

The point of this (yes, I habitually digress, according to those nearest and dearest) is that, most of the time, left to my own devices, I will muddle through and get things done. I notice that I periodically “freeze”, even during my regular patterns (breakfast is one of these, with particular implements laid out and used in particular sequences) waiting for the next task to pop off the stack for execution. (Why am I standing in front of the fridge?) But multiple, concurrent tasks? Ha! (This is ironic, as I have spent decades developing concurrent algorithms, but I digress, again.)

I am aware that “multi-tasking” is a boojum (c.f. Lewis Carroll) made up to cover for people who do not have sufficient focus to stay on task. (Please excuse my hyperbole if you don’t agree.) But why does this keep happening? (Outside interruption = major sequence collapse.) Is this common? Is it just me?

 

[Misty Avich]

I have focus issues due to ADHD, but some multitasking I can do while other things I can't, for some reason. Like I can hold my phone to my ear and chat away to my aunt whilst sweeping buses at work without leaving any litter behind (I'd know if I did leave litter behind because I'll soon be told about it from management). So if that isn't multitasking then I don't know what is lol.
Yet I am no good at cooking in the kitchen with several things doing at once. I think multitasking that requires conscious thought is more difficult for me than multitasking that requires less conscious thought. Sweeping buses doesn't require much conscious thought (which is why I find the job waaaaay too boring and repetitive), and neither does talking on the phone. Tasks like cooking involves more conscious thought, as in logic, and it takes me longer to process logic and prioritize.

Maybe that's what's happening with you? It doesn't mean you're stupid or anything.

 

[Judge]

I pride myself on being able to multitask. Maybe up to three, even four things at once if not too complex. Of course it's not equivalent to physical "juggling" of objects either. Nor rubbing your head while patting your chest...lol. That's uh...different.

However there was and is always one major caveat to it in my case. - That it cannot involve communicating back and forth to another human being. Probably no surprise to this audience!

 

[marc_101]

I don't know why it happens to you, but it happens to me when my mind is playing movies and thinking about many things except the task at hand. You could try --and I know this sounds trite-- being "mindful," which in this case means focusing all your attention to the task. It's like training a muscle.

And I agree. No such thing as multitasking. Our focused attention can't deal with more than one thing, although some people at better than others at switching tasks quickly.

 

[Forest Cat]

At least you didn't pour the food into the sink. I was making spagetti the other day and my mind was wandering, I was thinking about something. So I did what I always do, carried the casserole over to the sink and dumped everything into the strainer. Something seemed wrong though... took a few moments before I realized I forgot to put the strainer in the sink. So I just dumped everything directly into the sink. Such a stupid thing to do.

 

[Judge]

At least you didn't pour the food into the sink. I was making spagetti the other day and my mind was wandering, I was thinking about something. So I did what I always do, carried the casserole over to the sink and dumped everything into the strainer. Something seemed wrong though... took a few moments before I realized I forgot to put the strainer in the sink. So I just dumped everything directly into the sink. Such a stupid thing to do.

Oh yeah. Me too...when my hands were not in sync with whatever it was I was thinking about. It happens.

 

[jsilver256]

Stop using spinlocks and blocking CAS calls! Slap a futex or two in there somewhere instead and let the OS take care of it. Ensure spatial locality to prevent RAM thrashing, look up aligned_alloc and keep things within cache line size.

(Found your technological analogies amusing.)

 

[Rodafina]

I find I can multitask happily when I am alone, but when another person is present, all of a sudden I can only handle one simple thing at a time.

I think multitasking can be a way to try to maximize the efficiency of activities - dry the dishes while the water in the kettle heats up or brush teeth while doing leg lift exercises. Some activities make more sense to do in conjunction with each other. But it takes a lot of brain power and energy and anything that depletes those things leaves me capable of only singular, simple tasks.

@AuAL, I can't help but notice that in your example there were interjections from your wife. I wonder if her input was somewhat disruptive to your focus and sort of threw you off course a bit.

 

[Au Naturel]

OK, so tonight I was putting dinner on the table. I put the cast-iron casserole on the cork heat pad on the dining table and turned away. My wife said, “What about the lid?”, so I turned, checked the lid (it was hot but not too hot for me to handle) lifted it off and started to take it into the kitchen. Now my wife said, “Look out, it’s dripping!” Yes, there was was some condensation dripping on the floor. But now I’m in “Kernel-mode stack override - stop the drips on the floor; put the lid down on the kitchen bench! Now!” So I turn to the bench and move the cast-iron baking dish, fresh from the oven (baking the potatoes) to make enough room to put the lid down on a heat-insulating surface. I now have second degree(?) burns on the finger-tips where I moved the baking dish.

The point of this (yes, I habitually digress, according to those nearest and dearest) is that, most of the time, left to my own devices, I will muddle through and get things done. I notice that I periodically “freeze”, even during my regular patterns (breakfast is one of these, with particular implements laid out and used in particular sequences) waiting for the next task to pop off the stack for execution. (Why am I standing in front of the fridge?) But multiple, concurrent tasks? Ha! (This is ironic, as I have spent decades developing concurrent algorithms, but I digress, again.)

I am aware that “multi-tasking” is a boojum (c.f. Lewis Carroll) made up to cover for people who do not have sufficient focus to stay on task. (Please excuse my hyperbole if you don’t agree.) But why does this keep happening? (Outside interruption = major sequence collapse.) Is this common? Is it just me?

Multitasking is a myth promulgated by employers who want you to work simultaneously on multiple projects rather than sequentially. In reality, you are shifting single-tasking back and forth rapidly, which introduces huge inefficiencies in the system. This is a very poor management style.

Your wife is not being kind to you.

I call what you are experiencing here, "brain farts." They happen. As you get older, they will happen more often. Voice of experience here.

 

[Aspychata]

I am quite amazed at being able to multi-task in an office setting. But put me in a kitchen? I will forget ingredients, l will forget steps to recipe, if l don't actively stay in the moment. I am not sure if cooking just involves to many steps and dealing with hot food, and moving around, it's a disaster just waiting for Inspecter Cluseau to muck everything up.

 

[Hypnalis]

Do you mean "why might it be happening, and what can I do about it?".

Or is this just a general discussion?.

Note that actual multi-tasking isn't "natural". People who do it a lot get less done than if they sequenced their tasks.

But, for example, cooking a full multi-person meal alone requires it, and/or quite good micro-management of your own tasks.
Interestingly, if you do something a lot, and have a good "wired in" routine for doing it, it becomes a lot easier to switch between ongoing activities. Which possibly explains why men can learn a recipe and how to make the dish from women, but should never learn to cook a full meal from them

BTW - your wife didn't handle that situation ideally.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

@AuAL,
@Au Naturel is correct in saying that multi-tasking is a myth. One may be quickly alternating between 2 or more tasks, but no one is truly multi-tasking, per se. Certainly, some people can do this alternating better than others, and it has been stated and actually demonstrated that females, in general, can statistically do this better than males, in general, due to enhanced conductivity and connectivity between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. In practice though, even if one's brain has enhanced abilities to flip between tasks easily, what it typically results in is 2 tasks performed relatively poorly, as opposed to doing one task well in a highly-focused manner.

Now, throw in the other variable, autism or any other condition that is associated with an imbalance of excitatory-to-inhibitory neurotransmitters. In many cases, it is the lack of inhibitory neurotransmitters in autism, GABA, for example, that once glutamine fires across the synaptic space between neurons, GABA is there to quickly inactivate it, which allows a single firing of a signal. However, because there is insufficient GABA, some glutamine may be left in the synaptic space, allowing it to fire other signals. Hence, repetitive thoughts and actions, not allowing the person to quickly pivot from one thought to the next, or one action to the next quickly, creating those frustrating delays, "locking up", "stammering and stuttering", etc. that you and others will notice. It may be what you experienced in terms of responding quickly to a verbal command, it may be playing a fast-paced card game with friends, trying to dance, emergency maneuvers while driving, and a long list of other things.

 

[AspieChris]

Is this common? Is it just me?

My wife sats “How can you be so smart and so stupid!?!”

It’s not just you. I do the same exact crap, and it’s frustrating. And it’s way worse when someone is watching (particularly when it’s someone who will judge me for failing at a task…. like my wife).

I’m really good at solving problems. If I create a secondary problem while dealing with the main one (i.e. serving dinner but spill a little food on the kitchen floor), I’ll just fix it (i.e. get a paper towel and wipe it up). BUT…. If someone such as my wife or boss is watching me, I freeze up.

I think it comes from fear. I’m so worried about getting yelled at for my mistakes that I can’t do anything but try and not make it worse. It ends up looking like my brain shuts off.

 

[Hypnalis]

@AspieChris

"Watching in order to criticize" is not good behavior.
It might be an irresponsible dominance game; "defending territory"; genuine distrust; or various other things.

If it's something like the first three, it has to be checked firmly, or you have to work towards not performing the activity. There's no "zero-cost" option.

Check/discuss is best of course. But if it fails, don't play the game at all.

 

[AuAL]

Thanks for all the interesting responses and support. (I posted this and then spent 12 hours on bus/train to visit my father. That’s just to get here; I’m wondering whether I’m “looking forward to” the return journey.)

On reflection, it was perhaps less a matter of multi-tasking per se (which, as has been noticed by several, does not really exist) but the rapid, superuser-interrupt-driven context-switching needed to respond to unexpected events.

To be clear, this is a gentle, general, interrogatory discussion. I am not resentful of the situation, though the burns were rather painful at the time. Lessons are being learned, all the time.

 

[Hypnalis]

This was an actual mistake on your part, probably due to a lack of routine.

A comparison: in a professional kitchen:
* There are a lot of sharp knives
* There are people moving quickly carrying things to and from

So there's a rule with knives - always carry them from place to place with the knife beside you, point down, blade facing back. Anything else, and sooner or later a mistake of some kind will happen, and someone will get cut/stabbed.
Ditto you never try to catch a dropped knife - jump back so you don't get it point down in your foot.

Rules like this make exception cases safe.

Your mistake: if something is hot enough that it will eventually burn your skin, carry it with something to protect you from the heat. No exceptions.
(anything "wet" out of the oven will be close to boiling point, so it's too hot).

In terms of errors in your routine:
* You picked up something hot with your bare hands
* You didn't have a place ready for the hot object
* You didn't have anything to "buy time" - i.e. something to insulate your hands.

In terms of routine the order is reversed of course.

* Chefs always have a rectangle of heavy cloth around their waist or tucked into their belt.
* Messy workspace + hot objects isn't good. Prepare first, then take things out of the oven.

When you remove the lid from something, it comes up one side first, then you check (you often see this in kitchen shows and movies - professionals can't not do it).
Carry a lid it upside down if necessary (but with your hands insulated OFC so there's no rush).

I wrote but then deleted something about routine as an essential part of multi-tasking. The things above are examples of preparation and simple techniques that make it possible to switch between tasks without getting problems.

As with an operating system, context switching isn't immediate - first save status, then switch.
The equivalent with IRL pseudo-multitasking is to create (in advance, or just before switching) a stopping point.

 

[AuAL]

@Hypnalis, thanks for your comments. I keep my knives razor sharp - sharpen on the steel whenever I pick them up/out of the block.
I picked up a lid that was hot - I could handle it, it was not too hot.
It started dripping condensation, which was pointed out to me. My bad - I had not immediately inverted it. My mistake. There was not a place to immediately put it.
My excuse I’m now in “interrupt-mode.” I am not a professional chef - I don’t have a heat-pad immediately to hand. (It was nearby, but I’m not acting logically at this stage - obviously, burning myself is not logical.) But I am not taking anything out of an oven. I got distracted, accidentally moved a (very) hot item out of the way that was on a heat pad in a domestic kitchen.
My fault!
I completely accept this - I am, perhaps, just trying to gain insight into my mental processing.
If I work to routine, I routinely present multi-dish meals to my family, in a variety of cuisines, without injury.

 

[Hypnalis]

Actually I wasn't trying to allocate blame. Everyone has to make mistakes like those a few times.

It's like trimming your own fingertips occasionally when you start learning to use a chef's knife properly: you're learning through discomfort and inconvenience, but you don't forget the lessons

The real point was to demonstrate that there are a lot of small things that need to refined to the point you have good routines that are resilient in the face of exceptions. IMO recognizing there are a few more to go and working on them is a positive sign. You'd definitely have lost status points if this was the third time though

BTW I'm not a chef - not even a good cook. I'm fast with knives though.
I worked in bars and restaurants when I was studying. I still remember the time I asked someone why they held the knife in such a weird way. I was a wine waiter, so of course I was told the most likely people to get stabbed if knives were carried carelessly was wine waiters /lol.

 

[AuAL]

Actually I wasn't trying to allocate blame. Everyone has to make mistakes like those a few times.

It's like trimming your own fingertips occasionally when you start learning to use a chef's knife properly: you're learning through discomfort and inconvenience, but you don't forget the lessons

The real point was to demonstrate that there are a lot of small things that need to refined to the point you have good routines that are resilient in the face of exceptions. IMO recognizing there are a few more to go and working on them is a positive sign. You'd definitely have lost status points if this was the third time though

BTW I'm not a chef - not even a good cook. I'm fast with knives though.
I worked in bars and restaurants when I was studying. I still remember the time I asked someone why they held the knife in such a weird way. I was a wine waiter, so of course I was told the most likely people to get stabbed if knives were carried carelessly was wine waiters /lol.

I’m not VERY fast with knives, perhaps “quick.”
This was a one-off - I have not sustained an injury like this in a period that stretches into years. Which is part of why I was wondering about it. I like to understand how and where my mental processing fails. And I agree with finding the small things to eliminate. Excellence is the only acceptable objective. (A, for me, very destructive goal I am trying to relinquish.)