One of the first warnings I got when diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis was that “multi-tasking will be harder to do.” What does that mean? Is it about not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time? Is it like the guy who used to be able to sit at his office desk composing an email to the bank, when a worker walks into his office with a semi-important question about employee benefits just as the phone rings with a potential order on the line? And he keeps track of all the separate threads at once and concludes each well?

 If MS reduces my abilities to be in that office worker’s shoes, I am in big trouble, because I couldn’t do all those things when I was twenty-five!  On the plus side, I walk and chew gum at the same time very well.

 I talked to my friend Keith about this concept and he claimed that multi-tasking is over-rated.  “I find I can only do one thing at a time anyway.  My problem is the distractions when working on that one task.” That makes it sound like other MS “symptoms” that are common in the general population, like dizziness from too much ear wax or not being able to stand on one leg when putting on your pants.  But everyone is faced with distractions when working on tasks.  Maybe the question of multi-tasking erosion is more about the limit of distractions you can tolerate.  This sounds more like another MS by-product related to exercise or working in the garden – muscle fatigue.  I asked Dr Jayne what the deal was when my legs turned rubbery after a walk or my arms were worthless after raking.  “That’s muscle fatigue.  Repetitive movements can lead to a temporary blocking in the nerve. When it hits you, the best thing to do is stop what you are doing; it won’t help to try and press through.”

 So limited multi-tasking capability is really task-fatigue.  The tasks mount up or drag out and lead to a temporary blocking in the nerve or brain. And here is what it looks like…

 Suppose you are mounting some blinds on the French doors to the deck, to keep the summer evening’s sun out of your eyes when you watch the Detroit Tigers on TV. This is not a real high priority project because it is only a problem for a few days around Midsummer solstice when the setting sun peeks around the house behind you. And even on some of those days the Tigers are playing the Angels or Mariners on the West Coast and don’t start until after dark.  But even if it’s not very useful project.  God knows the name of that star that shines in my eyes on those Midsummer evenings.  It’s The Sun!

 No matter how useful the project is, it seems like it would be mostly linear – do one thing at a time – measure for where the screws go, mark the spots, make an indentation with a nail, drill the holes on top of the indents, screw the mounts to the door, snap the shade in place. Voilà!

 However, there are two shades with two mounts each. You are not so confident to do all the drilling at once, so you check the process (drill size, right tools, measurements, etc.) with one of the four mounts before doing all the rest. This does not make it multitasking. This is just changing the linear order of events. But making that adjustment does add to task fatigue…. the plastic mounts are slippery on the painted wood door, making them hard to hold and mark at the same time. This is not multitasking either; it is just one of the tasks getting harder than it seemed at the beginning. Again, task fatigue increases.

 Multitasking starts when the electronic screwdriver starts beeping because the battery is low and then you drop the screw. Now besides the linear steps of the project, (a) you are wondering whether you can finish the work before recharging is required, and (b) you have to get down off the stool to chase the fallen screw. The elusive fastener is hiding in the carpet so you have to search on hands and knees. The overload point hits when your wife comes in and asks, “what are you looking for?”

 If you only have one thing to do you can speak well enough.  You will calmly say, “I am looking for the one-inch mounting screw I dropped on the floor while attempting to attach the slippery plastic mount to the French door with the rapidly draining electric screwdriver and God is working all things together for my salvation.” But with task fatigue you have limited options. What you don’t want to do, but you probably will do, is lose your temper, make a face at your wife, and blurt stridently, “SCREW!”

 With the thoughts of measuring, marking, drilling, screwing, snapping, recharging, and searching all running through your brain, the best you can do is point at the pile of remaining hardware and grunt. Fortunately, you don’t drool or fall over or anything like that. You just look like a moron, which all things considered is much better than yelling like a creep. Unfortunately, when you know inside your head what is going on but you can’t communicate it at all, you usually get very angry. That is why it is better to be quiet; you can’t sound nice when you’re ticked off.  But, being quiet also has its disadvantages; you can appear aloof or snobby.  So, warn the people around you.  Maybe you can devise a little sign, like grabbing your ear or tapping your nose the way they did in the movie, “The Sting.” This lets everyone know you have reached task-fatigue and won’t be able to do much else until the temporary block on the nerves clears. 

 I am glad that I know the One True God of the universe, who must be able to multi-task since he knows all of us better than we know ourselves, and he can do anything, anywhere, anytime to keep his promise of working all things together for my good!

 And, I was glad that I could laugh.  I took a rest and finished the project.  I am looking forward to comfortably viewing the Tigers any evening next summer.  Or maybe we will move to a new house.  Imagine the task-fatigue in that project!