Today’s a little cooler than yesterday and I felt it was just about comfortable enough to hit the gym – I’ve been rather lazy of late and it’s starting to show.
So, after my workout and feeling absolutely exhausted I headed for the change rooms. But it seems someone had a more hectic session than me. Some poor guy had obviously fallen off the treadmills or tripped going down the stairs and was lying concussed on the landing. Someone had bandaged up his head with a towel but the poor man looked very pale and not very well at all.
I really felt for the guy. I too have come pretty close to injuring myself (and others) while trying to multitask. It’s happened more than once that my earphones have got tangled up in my arms sending my ipod bouncing off the treadmill and hitting the person on the cross trainer behind me. Once I was running while watching Loose Women (I’m an unapologetic fan!) and burst out laughing at some quip and then ended up having a choking fit. There was a serious runner next to me – you know the type, Nike from head to toe – and I don’t think he was terribly impressed.
And it’s not just at gym that this happens. Most days I get off the train not looking where I’m going, engrossed in putting on lip balm, searching for my keys or trying to get to my phone before it stops ringing. I’ve tripped any number of times and bashed into other people; last week I almost lost a shoe on the track. On my walk home I am incapable of just enjoying the scenery so always call a friend for a catch-up, then – I’m ashamed to admit – forget to watch where I’m going, blithely crossing roads without looking.
Clearly I’m no good at multitasking (and I suspect there may be a hint of a klutz in my genes) but there is one thing I never try to do at the same time as anything else: read. Reading needs my total, undivided attention. I can’t have a TV on in the same room, can’t listen to the radio and forget entire conversations with my husband if he happens to talk to me while I’ve got my head in a book. If I’m on the tube and I know my destination is about five stops away I put away whatever it is I’m reading; if I don’t, it’s fairly likely I’ll miss my stop.
Now back to work, what was I doing again…?

Lara Crisp, Managing Editor