BTT: Multitasking

I apologize for the scarcity of posts here again! I’ve been a bit busy with real life and work, so blogging has kind of taken a back seat, but just a bit! Last night I went to a concert, and while I intended to read in the morning, I wasn’t able to because I slept the morning away after Ash Wednesday mass. Yesterday also marked the first day of my Lenten sacrifice, which is no bookstores. Ergo, no book buying, too, until Easter.

Anyway, I haven’t been posting much non-review posts in the blog, so I thought I’d participate in today’s Booking Through Thursday. :) This week’s question is:

Booking Through Thursday

Do you multi-task when you read? Do other things like stirring things on the stove, brushing your teeth, watching television, knitting, walking, et cetera?

Or is it just me, and you sit and do nothing but focus on what you’re reading?

(Or, if you do both, why, when, and which do you prefer?)

Oh, I definitely do. Okay, it really depends on what kind of book I’m reading and what I’m doing. Examples:

  • When I’m in the gym and I’m not attending class nor feeling like running, I’d hop on a bike, play some music and open a book. I end up finishing quite a lot of pages (and sometimes even books) when I’m doing that. It’s good to get lost in a book to forget about the physical pain of working out. ;)
  • Again, at the gym, or also when I’m at home. When I’m drying my hair, I tend to have a book open in front of me. Usually, this is an ebook, because it’s hard to keep paperbacks open while I hold a hair dryer and a brush. This is slow reading, but it keeps me from being impatient with my hair drying which really takes some time.
  • Sometimes, when I’m brushing my teeth, I read an ebook on my iPod. I only get as far as two or three screens before I finish brushing my teeth.
  • I tend to read while watching television, but that’s only when someone else is watching with me. Right now the TV is just ambient noise.
  • I read a lot in the car, too. In daylight, I read a book, and if it’s night, I read from my iPod. I used to get dizzy doing that, but now I’ve gotten so used to it that I never feel that anymore.
  • I’ve never tried listening to an audiobook so I don’t know how much work I’ll have done with that. I want to try, though.

Usually, I reserve reading on my Kindle or my iPod when I’m multitasking. Actual books, I focus on it because it’s hard to flip pages when your hands are doing something else. :) I hear hardcover books are easier to use for multitasking, because it’s stays flat on the table. I can’t remember if I ever tried that, though.

This just goes to show how much of a multitasker I am in real life. But they say you never really multitask — you just divide your attention over different actions and switch them around for a quick period of time. Agree?

So, do you multitask when reading?

16 Thoughts on “BTT: Multitasking

  1. I can’t do anything except listen to music when I am reading! I gotta turn to Audio books! Only way to keep up with reading!

    Here is my BTT: Multi-Tasking post!

  2. Oh yeah. I forgot about that one! Reading while working out is great. I haven’t been able to do much of that though since injuring my back. Oh! I should have added another one that I have. I’ve been going to therapy for my back and I read while doing some of that stuff too LOL!

    Here’s my BTT!

  3. I didn’t think anyone could read while brushing their teeth :) lol

    Here’s my Multi-Tasking (Booking Through Thursday) post!

  4. I totally multitask.. actually I take breaks. I check my email and twitter. I will go make some tea. Feed the cat. Go look up something online. Stare into space. It’s hard for me to really sit and concentrate for more than an hour or two at a time. When I do, it is will total focus, but I need breaks. And it seems like the older I get, the more easily distracted I am. Probably because I often have work things and life things and online going through my head.

    • Oh definitely, especially if you’re managing a household! I find that I get more reading done when I’m eating breakfast or when I’m commuting somewhere. Or when I have absolutely no choice but to read, like when I’m waiting for someone. But when I’m at home, there are just too many distractions sometimes. :D

  5. * WITH total focus!

  6. I can’t read while blow drying my hair, but I have read while brushing my teeth. TV is often in the background while I read.

    Here’s my BTT Post

    • I know reading while brushing your teeth is possible. :) And yes, TV is often ambient noise nowadays, right?

  7. I find that flipping pages, even on the Kindle, is hard to do while multi-tasking…the TV, though, that’s another thing.

    Here’s MY BTT POST

  8. Mostly, I like reading in a quiet place.

    • Hi Mary Ann! I’d love that, but sometimes I can’t pick where I read. :)) I even read in my commute if I have to. ;)

  9. Sounds like you are an excellent multi-tasker – very impressed.
    Sally.
    http://theelifylop.blogspot.com/2011/03/booking-through-thursday-9.html

  10. I multitask too, and quite often on my Kindle to avoid having to put the book down to turn pages. I actually didn’t think that anyone could brush their teeth without reading at the same time, I guess I’m learning something today ;-)
    http://mostraum.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/booking-through-thursday-multitasking/

  11. I have a completely one-track mind when I’m reading a physical book. Whenever I’m reading, I prefer it to be quiet, because I’m easily distracted. No TV noise. No music. Nada.

    However, if I’m reading a book on my iPhone using the Kindle app, I tend to hop back and forth between Twitter and Kindle. I’m extremely ADD when it comes to reading on my phone. =)

    • I think my multitasking back when I was studying carried over to my reading habits. I can’t listen to new music while reading though; it has to be something old so I won’t get distracted by the lyrics. So far, my favorite reading music is anything by James Morrison. :)

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