One Thing At a Time
I am a proud multi-tasker. I'll watch videos while washing my dishes, listen to podcasts while doing laundry, have two or three things going on at one time while I try to get things done. A conversation online while I'm trying to plan for DnD + music. Two computer screens, one with what I'm writing, the other with what I'm researching, all with a podcast or music in the background. I can't say I get more done this way than otherwise, but having multiple things going at once helps me focus, counter-intuitively. It's like that at work, too. When I have distractions and multiple things going on around, I have more focus and can get more things done than when I'm by myself and no one comes in to bug me about a timesheet or an absence.
But I've discovered that while I can multi-task that way, I can't multi-task when it comes to storytelling formats. Not in the "at the same exact time" kind of way, but in the "some time for this, some time for that" kind of way. I can't be reading and also trying to keep up with a TV show. I can't be watching a TV show and still have brainpower to play a video game. For my storytelling consumption, I have to put my whole mind into that format to the exclusion of everything else. I just don't have the brain power to focus on multiple stories, characters, plots, etc. Which is why sometimes I binge watch dramas for weeks at a time and get no writing or reading done. Or I'll sit and read for hours and ignore the tv show I'm trying to finish.
It's been interesting noticing this, because now that I know this about myself I can plan around it. It's like going through seasons. This is the season of video games, and then the season of tv shows, etc. Sometimes the season lasts weeks, sometimes just days. When I know what season I'm in, I don't have to feel guilty about letting other storytelling things fall to the wayside. Because in this way, my brain gets the rest it needs, the appropriate stimulation for the season, and when writing season comes back around (someday), I will be ready to dig in deep and focus.