How can it be so hard for you to do those everyday tasks that everybody else manages to get done? What HAVE you been doing all day? Some
people know the alphabet backwards and forwards, and if they have
something to file, they automatically know that K comes after J and
before L. They can do that type of work quickly. In order for me to
remember that K comes after J and before L, I have to hum the alphabet
song. Therefore, I would not make a good secretary, unless I could find
an employer who is fond of the alphabet song. It takes me longer to
file things. It also takes me longer to find anything that is listed in
alphabetical order, like a name in the phone book or a word in the
dictionary. I just keep humming that alphabet song. A
lot of everyday tasks just take longer, because I'm basically
reorienting myself for each step. Sometimes, one task composed of a
series of steps might as well be a series unrelated steps. Now
add interruptions. I am trying to hum the alphabet song and I keep
getting interrupted. NOW how much longer will it take me to do the
filing? This
brings me to the subject of WORKING MEMORY. It's what allows other
people to continue to attend to something from one moment to the next.
Apparently, other people can be unloading the dishwasher, stop to
answer the phone, and then go back to unloading the dishwasher! If I
get interrupted, that may be the end of that. To make things worse, I
interrupt myself. Even when I don't, I'll unload a little of the top
rack, then get bored and unload a little of the bottom rack. I
walk past the laundry area and see a shirt that is only partly folded.
While I was folding that shirt, I must have thought of something else
that needed to be done, and unless I want to forget, I have to do
everything (or write it down) the second I think of it. There sits that
shirt. |
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