Day 308: Women vs. Men: In the Time it Takes Them to do One Thing, We've Done Eight

I often say that the difference between the way men and women think is their focus. Women seem to concentrate equally on any number of tasks or problems. Work, kids, bills, cleaning, diet, errands, friends and family are just a few of the things running through your average woman’s mind at any particular moment. Men on the other hand, prefer a streamlined approach and by streamlined, I mean that they pretty much only think about one thing at a time. If a man is at work, he’s thinking about work. When the same man is driving, he’s thinking about driving. A man has a gift, but it’s not multi-tasking.

If you want to know the real reason most office managers and executive assistants are women, it’s not because they aren’t ambitious, it’s because men could never do that job. One patient at a time, one meeting at a time, one girl at a . . . oh, well, that might be the exception. Anyway, I’ve been in several relationships and befriended more men than women and I keep coming to the same conclusion. What I envy, about these limited creatures, is their ability to focus so intently on a single thing. I have never been able to that. My mind moves a million miles a minute, which is great for the big picture, but often precludes me from the ability to delve deep into one thing for extended periods of time.

I admit, I sometimes hate that Jeff is not more detail oriented. The little things slide a lot with him and I come off looking like a nag, simply because I know if I don’t follow up, he will not remember to follow through. They say marriage is about communication, but I’d posit it is just as much about understanding what is not communicated. The husband will never be one of those people who tell me everything that happened with his day, that he remembered to call the doctor, and that he sent the rent check. I might get one of the three, but never all. At the same time, two days after I’ve mentioned some problem with him in passing he will have a solution. He may not have done anything else in the meantime, but that one thing he will have solved. I kinda love that about him.

I still think it’s better to be a woman. I mean there are so many things that need to get done. Can you imagine if we left them up to the men? Two, maybe three things would find their way to being accomplished and that’s not going to cut it. My feminist friends would surely criticize me for saying there are any differences between men and women aside from the obvious, but I’m more of a humanist and let’s be honest there are some very real distinctions. Any woman who’s been witness to a man turning something over in his mind can testify to my theory that it is the only thing going on in his mind. We love them, but that “to do” list is only getting longer and we all know who’s doing the majority of the tasks.