Lately I've come to realize that having singular focus is supremely important. Whatever I am doing at the moment needs my complete attention, otherwise the results will be suboptimal. For example, when I write on this blog I can't have music on in the background because I'd have difficultly stringing words and thoughts together.
Or perhaps my playlists are too good and engrossing for its own good.
Is this need for singular focus a byproduct of getting old: a deterioration of attention-ability? Back in high school and college I'd multitask the hell out of everything and it turned out fine. Studying while having the baseball game on was a tradition, and I graduated with honors.
Fast-forward to the present and even a wandering mind can be detrimental. Whenever I listen to podcasts I have to rewind more frequently than I'd like to admit because when my thoughts goes off to a distraction I absolutely cannot pick up any of the podcast's dialogue during.
I thought learning a third language and reading many books would keep my mind tack sharp (mental exercise), but I guess not?
Some people can watch a television show while keeping tabs on social media on the smartphone (or playing Candy Crush) yet they suffer no loss of detail from the particular episode. I am definitely not one of those people.
Focus on the task in front of me: no distractions, no multitasking. That shall be my process to producing/attaining quality.