I am sure other people have made this discovery before

[edenfalling]

I find hemming pants and other sewing projects extremely tedious and hard to do in a timely and efficient fashion. I always think there are more interesting things I could be doing and wandering off without finishing the job... or I just don't even sit down and get started in the first place.

I also find it very difficult to listen to audio storytelling. I can't focus on sound alone the way I can focus on written words alone, and constantly find my attention wandering off so I miss significant parts. (This happens with music, too, but missed sections are less vital there.)

It turns out that these problems solve each other! Sewing occupies just enough of my attention -- on a completely non-verbal level -- to let me pay attention to podcasts, and listening to podcasts keeps me from getting frustrated and bored by sewing.

In other words, today I hemmed one pair of pants and tightened the straps on a bathing suit while listening to the first six episodes of Welcome to Night Vale, which I'd been curious about for a while. (Verdict so far: it's cute and I like it.) Tomorrow I think I can get through another pair of pants and another five episodes. I'm not sure what to do after that, though -- I don't have an endless supply of repairs and I don't really have any craft-type hobies that are similarly non-verbal.

Maybe I could take up finger-weaving again?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Decorative pillow covers are pretty easy to make if you've got fabric that you like sitting around and liven up a room? I like to make bags to use as purses. Finger weaving sounds like fun too.

[edenfalling]

First I'd need to buy some pillows, though. *wry* Finger-weaving is fun, but I never know what to do with the finished products, so it's more of a mindless time-filler than I really like. On the other hand, at least at the end I have something to show for the effort, whereas making temporary popsicle-stick arrangements is really pointless.

...Wait. I have a bunch of yarn. I also have a crochet hook. I should try to relearn how to crochet!

[(Anonymous)]

That's an excellent choice too! And you get blankets or scarves or hats from depending on your level of attention span. Some of my scarves were very short and the hats were scaled for fingertips.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

Given your description, I am guessing that you learn by doing, that using your hands (somehow) helps you to concentrate, and that listening to a lot of words tends to make your mind go blank (unless you have something to work on with your hands). This makes you very much like me. There is a name for this: KVA. Kinesthetic/Visual/Auditory. I learned this about myself more than 10 years ago in a great 2-day workshop (for work!) called Perceptual Thinking Patterns. Here's a good article that summarizes the concepts: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/perceptual-thinking-patterns/.

xo

[edenfalling]

I think that's a little too dogmatic as presented in the article. Both the "conscious" and "subconscious" descriptions for kinesthetic AND visual learning fit aspects of how my mind works, and even the auditory ones aren't entirely wrong -- for instance, I speak well in front of people and sometimes sort information by talking out loud. Obviously not all people are going to fit neatly into the suggested boxes! But everything except the "shy or private when talking" part of the auditory unconscious learning is accurate to my experience, while the kinesthetic and visual unconscious learning descriptions are completely untrue of me. So there's definitely something to the idea. :-)

I do tend to fiddle with my hands while listening to presentations, though the distraction factor is not nearly as high as with podcasts or audiobooks -- probably because there is also the visual aspect of watching the presenter, and maybe looking at slides or a chalkboard. But I still tap fingers and feet, twirl pens, and doodle a lot to keep myself focused on what I'm hearing. *wry*

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

I tend to put on Mythbusters while I'm sewing. I don't have too pay too much attention (unless there's something cool being shown), and it's educational, which is fun.

[edenfalling]

I am more in need of crafty things to do while listening to stuff than stuff to listen to while doing crafty things, but I should maybe try watching Mythbusters one of these days anyway. I hear it has lots of explosions, and it's hard to go wrong with explosions. :-)

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

They have a collection specifically titled "MythBusters: Big Blasts Collection." :)