I will admit to a character trait that can be both positive and negative in its consequences. I am prone to becoming almost totally consumed with something that I sink my teeth into. When this happens, I can tune out most other things and concentrate intensely. Let me give some examples.
At college I was working on a major computer lab project (designing and constructing an electronic calculator from discrete digital parts). I was so engaged that sleeping and eating became a nuisance and I worked all day and all through the night on it. I don't recall that there was a particular deadline driving the behavior. I was just consumed by it.
At college (and since) I tend to perform better when the heat is on and I immerse myself totally in an assignment (working like a madman the day and night before something is due, rather than sanely over multiple days).
I can be mulling something over in my head and become largely oblivious to conversations or events around me. This can come across as rude when I seemingly ignore or am unresponsive to those around me.
When I planted our grass lawns at our new house in Idaho I was obsessed with them. That's all I wanted to talk about at the dinner table. Each day I would observe how the grass blades were growing, how to water it, what the weeds were doing, etc.
I love troubleshooting problems. This has been a great plus in my engineering career, as various product development efforts have had significant bug finding and fixing activity. When I'm hot on the trail of troubleshooting it is hard to break free and go home to dinner. This has yielded significant job satisfaction for me, as well as contributions (and rewards).
Last week I did a bunch of research and decided to upgrade our computers at home to Windows 7. Once again, it was heads down doing research, installation, and troubleshooting, and all other life activities became a nuisance.
I think a downside is that I don't multitask very well. When multiple things enter my brain I tend to latch onto one and drive it hard.
I'm sure I'm not unique with these qualities. I see them in my father, and I'm sure I have passed them onto my children to some degree. I suspect males are more apt to be this way than females (Suzanne reminds me often she can't afford this behavior when there are kids around to watch over).
"At college (and since) I tend to perform better when the heat is on and I immerse myself totally in an assignment (working like a madman the day and night before something is due, rather than sanely over multiple days)."
ReplyDeleteThis is SO true of me. I think it makes other people nervous, but I always come through, usually with stellar results.
"I can be mulling something over in my head and become largely oblivious to conversations or events around me. This can come across as rude when I seemingly ignore or am unresponsive to those around me."
This is SO true of YOU.
I am definitely a procrastinator when it comes to college papers. Yet I produce a much better product when immersed in it the night before. I need that feel for pressure or something. I have not gotten anything less than an A on paper yet...
ReplyDeleteBeing able to intensely focus on something is a gift in ways. But once I came home from errands when our 3 small kids were at home w/ you, and Blair was broken out in hives (you hadn't noticed), and Daniel had cut off Bridget's hair (you hadn't noticed)!
ReplyDeleteI remember the days of your fascination w/ pens, inks, paper, Chex cereal, country music, waterproof clothing, and lots of other stuff.
I have this trait as well, but perhaps not to the same degree. It both helps and hurts me at work and home depending on the situation. I really have to work not to tune out the kids for example. I'm sure Teresa could tell similar stories about me.
ReplyDeleteKevin's first two sentences apply to me. And it's probably good I never had kids. I'm not the best at multi-tasking. I excel when able to focus on one thing at a time. I sometimes even consciously choose which one thing to focus on. I hated when I had two finals on the same day in college. I'm thorough and methodical. I need to go through the task in order, whereas coworkers seem to be able to work on different parts of the task at different times. I can lose focus if I do get distracted and can have trouble resuming where I left off. Everything I've accomplished I used this approach, in high school, college, court reporting school, music. I always waited until the last minute to complete or even to start a project or paper for school even from junior high. A lot of times I overdo it, am more thorough than I need to be or seem to have a higher standard than others around me and I am surprised what others are satisfied with in their work assignments, etc. If I got started early, I would just keep trying to make it better and better up until the deadline. I think if there wasn't a due date I wouldn't be able to complete anything! I have a hard time living in a balanced way. I just want to grab whatever is handy to eat when I'm getting out an appeal transcript for the due date, and I prefer to keep working rather than take time to shower or get dressed, just focused on the task at hand. I came to depend on the all-nighter until at one point I started to notice physical burnout symptoms, which I have learned can come from relying on adrenaline too often, missing out on sleep, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise (which can help with too much stress). I have tried to modify my behavior to some degree to avoid total burnout. I need to make it to retirement!
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