I am amused by all the people who like to tell me [and/or other adults, children, etc.] to 'sit still and pay attention!'
These folks seem to be under the impression that one cannot simultaneously move
and focus.
I'm curious where that idea came from, because the way I work is quite diametrical. I need to move
in order to focus.
Of course, this mostly has to do with all the extraneous noise and whatnot. Textbook pages turning, people whispering, the annoying aftertaste of coffee that won't go away, writing noises, fans...possibly the worst distraction of all is that my calculus teacher always leaves the window open. Noises occasionally drift up from the parking lot, and on windy days [like today], the chain to adjust the blinds clicks against the wall
the entire period. Despite sitting across the room, that never fails to drive me crazy. How am I supposed to listen to my [fairly quiet] teacher with that
clicking noise going on? Not that anyone else seems to notice it.
Anyway.
The more distractions, the more I fidget. I pull at my hair, stretch/tap my hands and feet, flutter my fingers, rub the desk, run my nails along my palms, shift around in my chair, pick at the skin on my lips, chew on things, doodle, scribble, pull at my eyelashes and ears, press on my eyes, grind my teeth, and a million other small things. I sometimes catch myself rocking slightly in my chair. If I'm at work and standing up I'm definitely going to be shifting from foot to foot, rocking back on my heels and then up onto the balls of my feet, bouncing up and down, moving my hands...
I think I need to find myself a worry stone, like I had when I was a kid. You can keep it in your pocket and rub it and no one will even notice.
Yeah.
The entire point of that being, when I create controlled sensory input, it decreases the amount of things I can focus on. If I'm focusing on the teacher and whatever my actions are, I can't focus on all the
other distractions, which would draw my attention away from the teacher. I don't need to pay attention to my fidgeting, because I know exactly what's going on and that it's not interesting and not going to change.
Or something like that >_<
So! Stop telling me to 'sit still and pay attention', so I can actually pay attention. Mmkay? Mmkay. :)
EDIT: random side-note...never talking to people is doing odd things to my writing style >_< I sound like I did back in middle school...BEFORE I realized that most people don't have my working vocabulary. Apologies if I sent you off to a dictionary at any point, I'm fairly certain I managed to tone it down...
