CHAPTER 2
Two Things at Once
TRUE STORY: A HUSBAND ENTERS TARGET to buy a few necessities for the family on his way home. Pulling a handwritten shopping list from his pocket, he reviews it and begins to collect each item.
Toilet paper? Check.
Laundry detergent? Check.
Spaghetti sauce? Check.
He continues this process until he reaches the last item on the list. It’s nearly impossible to make out what it says, as it appears that the pen used to write it had run out of ink. The husband pulls out his trusty smartphone to call his wife in order to get clarity on the last item.
“Hello?” his wife answers.
“Hi, sweetheart. I’m at Target going through the shopping list you gave me this morning. What’s the last thing on the list? It says ’S-E-’ something. I can’t make it out.”
“That’s all right, honey. Just get the cheapest one,” she replies.
“What? I’m trying to figure out what you wrote on the list.”
“No—uh … wait. … Honey, I trust your judgment. Just pick which one you think is best.”
In the background, the husband can hear the faint clicking of a keyboard and mouse.
“All right, babe. I’ll handle it,” he answers.
“Thanks, honey.”
Soft clicking sounds in the background.
“Sweetheart, one more thing. Target’s got a great sale on big-screen TVs today. The prices are the lowest I’ve seen, so I’m going to pick one up, okay?”
More soft clicking sounds in the background.
“Sweetheart? I’m going to pick up a TV, okay?”
“Uh … sure thing, honey. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
With that, the husband hangs up, turns off his phone, and heads for the checkout line.
We all have seen others do it. More than likely, we’ve done it ourselves. It might have been talking on the phone while driving, or talking to a friend or loved one while typing an email or reading a text. Parks and playgrounds are filled with parents who are simultaneously spending “quality time” with their children while replying to emails from work. In modern parlance, this is referred to as “multitasking.” Multitasking is the act of doing two or more things si
