Do you ever run on autopilot?  I do.  Sometimes it really freaks me out.  For example, driving on autopilot.  There have been times when I’ve arrived somewhere and didn’t really remember the entire trip.  Or, times when I’ve ended up at the wrong intersection because I drove past a turn I needed to take.

I’ve never been in an accident, so it’s not that I drive recklessly.  But, I am always amazed at the ability of our brains to be doing two things simultaneously, especially when we’re not even aware of it.  Now, admit it, I’ll bet you’ve had the same experience.  How do we do it?

One time I was out of town on a consulting job.  I was driving a rental car back to the hotel after a very long day.  Going down the expressway, I was planning the next day’s tasks. 

Finally, it pierced my conciousness that several cars that had passed me had slowed down for a while next to my car.  It took me another few minutes to get curious about why.  As the car that had most recently been dogging me passed by, I noticed that they were turning their headlights on and off.  Was it possible??  Yes, the crazy foreign car I was driving had a weird control for the headlights.  So, while the lights were on in the dashboard, the actual headlights weren’t.

Then, there was the time I had a rental car because I had just dropped my car off for repair.  It was going to be a busy day, and I spent the drive to work thinking about the day’s activities.  I parked in my usual lot with the attendant who had become a friend.  It’s a good thing, too, because when I went out to head home, I discovered I had no idea what the rental car even looked like.  I had to ask the attendant which car I had arrived in.  Luckily, with a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head, he pointed me in the right direction.

I figure next I’ll work on cloning myself.  Since my brain is already in two places at once, if I could just split the rest of me, I’d get a lot more done.