Quote of note: 

We think of America as a sleep-deprived nation, but we are becoming deep-thought deprived, too. A closed door does not stop interruptions, because we are packing the weapons that can shatter concentration or quiet contemplation. Our fingers are always on a button.

Let's I.M. as You Read This
By CAROLYN CURIEL

I have the television tuned to a news channel as I write this, my voice mail box is spilling its contents over the speakerphone, and I pause occasionally to flip screens on my computer to check e-mail messages. Still, something feels missing. I think of the executive who positioned his office computer above a treadmill, so he could walk constantly, keeping fit as he ran a business.

The pursuit of maximum moments drives many a multitasking life and an often-distracted mind. Cabbies chat away on the cellphone, even though laws in many places forbid it. Pedestrians text-message, leaving it to others to navigate around them.

Studies show that people may pack the equivalent of 31 hours of activities into a 24-hour day by doing several things at once. That's impressive, although I wonder if any study has figured out how to count the tasks still being tackled during sleep, as the strands of things done too hastily or inattentively deprive us of real rest.