D.A.D.
on My Thai (Thailand), 15/Feb/2011 03:39, 34 days ago
Well, along with the many life threatening diseases that seem to have passed undiagnosed during my recent medical, it transpires that I am also afflicted with D.A.D.Divided Attention Disorder, to look beyond its catchy but potentially confusing acronym, is apparently a consequence of the constant stream of information coming at us via computer and mobile phone technology. Communication is now so instantaneous that we are allegedly losing our ability to think with any depth or concentrate on a given task for any sustained period of time. You can read more about it here as the good old World Service strikes againhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12406677.I’d like to think that I’m not an extreme case and I certainly don’t check my emails 30 times an hour as “many of us do”, but I’ve definitely succumbed...At present I have two work documents open (neither of which I’m concentrating on, obviously!) along with the ever present email homepage and BBC radio iplayer tab as a treat for later. That’s quite restrained by D.A.D. standards, I suppose. It’s also very restrained by my organisation’s standards as many’s the time I’ve seen the Director clickingabsentmindedly around Facebook during a meeting.In addition to my own technical distractions I am now sat looking through open doors, beyond the organisation’s many gas guzzlers, at the builders opposite the office; marvelling at their Spiderman-like agility, bamboo scaffolding and lack of safety gear. There are flies and mosquitoes that demand a lot of swatting attention and the whereabouts of the live-in dogs are also something I try to keep a closeeye on. In addition to all this there’s the much needed hourly reminder that yes, Iwillbe going to the gym today.All in all, it’s amazing I manage to get any work done whatsoever!