A Wicked Discovery

First, some background.

At work today I participated in a conference call with a group of project management types. We are trying to get to the bottom of why our construction costs seem so high, and some members of the group had just collected and analyzed a great deal of data on all aspects of field construction labor productivity. As rarely happens, the data actually pointed at a pretty clear conclusion. We quickly moved to an action planning discussion -- how about we change this multiplier and that approval process, and how will that play out in the field, and does this conflict with any contractual obligations, etc.

So this was a fairly deep discussion -- lots of technical information, plenty of difficult issues to address -- amongst ENGINEERS. None of us is a compelling speaker. None of us. And most of us are participating BY PHONE.

I am a multi-tasker by a nature. I can't just watch TV. I have to watch TV and fold towels/knit/do my grocery list. I carry my sock knitting with me everywhere, because I can't stand to just wait for a kid to finish a 30 minute music lesson or for the dental hygienist to call for me. And so teleconferences are very difficult for me. The lure of e-mail is nearly always more than I can stand, even though I know darn good and well I CAN'T listen and do e-mail at the same time.

Today, however, after I got my cup of tea, closed my door, and dialed in, my Jaywalkers began calling to me from my purse, under the desk. "Susan!" they called. "You're on mute except when you're talking. They can't hear you knitting!"

And so, the very very wicked discovery:

I CAN listen to AND participate in detailed, complicated work conversations WHILE I KNIT. In fact, I am a more effective participant when I knit than when I try not to read my e-mail.

This seems extremely subversive. It seems like the sort of thing I ought to get disciplined for. It is certainly the sort of thing that I would frown upon if I caught one of my engineers doing it.

But I contributed nicely to the meeting's outcome. And I finished the gusset decreases and am 1/2" into the long fast run to the toe...