Different Modes

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Does your brain/mood seem to have different modes that it finds it difficult to shift gears out of or multi-task in different areas with?

To explain:

I have different modes such as study mode, art mode, shopping mode and very rarely social mode etc.

When I am in study mode I cannot switch over to doing art or socialising or an unrelated topic...I can multi-task but only if the jobs I am doing are related to that particular mode (ie study related). If asked to socialise or study at the same time...I cannot do it. I also often have trouble getting my brain to switch modes quickly. So I can't jump straight from studying to doing art for example. I need a bit of time to change modes.

If asked to socialise while shopping I get annoyed and struggle because my mind is on doing my shopping, not on making social chit chat. When trying to study in groups I cannot follow non study related topics of conversation and so on.

Does anyone else have this problem?

yus, very much so...

Funny because I never really realized the multitasking within the mode aspect.

I get into "work" mode at work, which means I am accomplishing small tasks that typically require waiting in between them (pulling reports waiting on replies to email etc) and can switch to another similar task knock out like 5 things at once...

However if I am in work mode for 1 task or 5 tasks and my co-worker in the cubical next to me decides its time for us to be social and chit chat (so annoying) I either have to ignore here, which she will intentionally be persistent until I pay attention and eventually I have to pull away... usually I let myself slowly switch while she starts going on about some useless thing or another.

Then, luckily I enjoy chit chatting with her because the topic is usually TV, movies, or things of interest. She's actually one of the reasons that over the past 5 or 6 years I've gotten somewhat skilled at chit chat as long as the other person is flexible enough to follow my style of chit chat (bring up a topic, discuss until quiet, bring up new topic discuss until quiet, when no more topics are available conversation over)

but I cant go back to working again until talking is done... and even then I stare blankly into the computer for a couple of minutes trying to let my brain warm back up to the idea of being in work-mode...

When discussing a topic or project in a meeting and others break into off-topic discussion I've learned that I can ignore them completely and continue thinking about the topic and pick up RIGHT where we left off without problem. As a result meetings lead by me are more productive than most other people I know. Its not so rigid that they cant do their useless chatter, but once they are done we keep going, on-topic at full speed.

Interesting as I find that in conversations I get left behind when conversations move on while I am thinking deeply and talking about things about the conversation that was being talked about so many minutes ago.
And yet online where I have time to think deeply before I reply I can be accused of going off topic which is different from real life chat where I can be a few subjects behind.

Yes I get stuck in some particular "head space" as I call it, and it takes me some time to move over to a different one. I was once told that when I'm talking I flip between artistic and scientific very rapidly. Maybe I do, but I can't do it to order.