As may be evident already, I love crochet! One of the things that I love is that I can do it whilst paying attention to something else: TV, radio, audiobook, music or conversation. The same is true, for me, of knitting, by the way. Listening and watching do not impair my concentration on the crochet; my hands go into automatic with a tiny part of brain monitoring whilst most of my conscious attention is is on the TV, conversation etc. What surprises me, however, is that when I am crocheting my attention is actually better than if my hands are idle. My mind is more focused on the conversation and, because my hands are busy, I am less likely to be distracted by, for example, checking email. So, whilst it might look rude if I crochet whilst you are talking, in reality I am listening more carefully than if my hands were empty. Now all I need is the courage to take my crochet to staff meetings!