Improving attentiveness

[TSandM]

One piece of feedback I get on a regular basis is that I am slow to react to signals. I don't know whether I don't see them, or don't recognize them as signals, or just get too focused on something else and lose general awareness (although I seriously TRY not to do that).

I'm wondering if anybody else had the same problem and came up with a way to fix it. Whether it's a mental trick or a training exercise that helped or anything, I'd love to hear it. Just reminding myself to be more attentive isn't doing the job.

 

[The Kraken]

TSandM,

I tend to think that most of the problem is unclear signals.

Unless you're diving with another diver on a regular basis and have established a common set of signals, trying to communicate underwater can be haphazard at best, and impossible at worst.

Add to that the person giving the signal knows what s/he's trying to communicate and is probably giving the signals faster than you can process them, due to the unfamiliarity with the signals.

My wife and I purchased a set of the Sea-Signs cards. They're great.

the K

 

[Walter]

Often there is not any contrast to allow you to see hand signals. Divers will wear black gloves, then hold their hands in front of their black wet suit while they send you signals.

 

[TSandM]

To clarify -- for example, yesterday, one of my buddies was trying to get my attention with her light. Apparently the slow back-and-forth "attention" signal didn't get a response, and she ended up having to shine the light on my mask to get me to react. This is typical.

Once my buddy HAS my attention, whether I can interpret the signals or not is another thing altogether. It's getting my attention that appears to be difficult.

 

[Walter]

Wake up when you dive. Seriously, is this a problem at shallow depths or just when you're deep?

 

[Lightning Fish]

That's a good question by Walter. Could narcosis be a problem? When I first got certified one of the instructors said he gets super focused when he is narced, to the extent that he has to force himself to be aware of everything else.

Is the difficulty in getting your attention limited to just diving or other activities? As an ER doc, are there times when you have to be really focused on what you are doing to the exclusion of everything else around you? Could this then carry over to your other activities?

Cheers,
Bill.

 

[Cacia]

yea, thats what I was wondering....

 

[H2Andy]

To clarify -- for example, yesterday, one of my buddies was trying to get my attention with her light. Apparently the slow back-and-forth "attention" signal didn't get a response, and she ended up having to shine the light on my mask to get me to react. This is typical.

i would suggest always knowing where your buddy is. check every few seconds.

assume they are trying to get your attention. check to make sure THEY AREN'T

in other words, don't be passive in waiting for them to get your attention.

know where they are; keep checking to see if they want your attention.

i know it seems cumbersome, but once you get in the habit, it just takes
a couple of seconds.

see where their light is. can you see it? if not, search for it. you really
should ALWAYS have contact with your buddy, either by seeing their
light, themselves, or by a series of quick visual checks at regular intervals.

 

[TSandM]

I definitely NEED to wake up when I dive, Walter! It is a problem shallow and deep. I don't think narcosis is a big part of it, although yesterday, when I was worst, we were deep. It's a possibility.

But Lightning Fish has put a finger on it -- I drive my husband crazy because I don't see anything going on on the side of the road when I drive. I have an incredible ability to focus, which serves me well in many settings, but not in diving. I have tried very hard to adopt the mantra Steve White gave me: "What's my depth? Where's my buddy? Look at the fish . . ." It's just that, during the "What's my depth" or "Look at the fish" phases, I don't seem to pick up light signals.

I'm thinking about doing some dives and asking my buddy to signal me and then whack me HARD if I don't respond; or write on a slate every time I fail to react and make me pay a fine or something . . . there's gotta be a way to make this better.

 

[DBailey]

I have a similar problem with my dive buddy. She (girlfriend) will usually start flashing signals when she *thinks* I am looking her way. Typically, I think the signal means she wants me to steal home on the second pitch.

For example, she was instructing one weekend, and I was her divemaster. She was flashing signals; however, I was looking at the student beside her trying to figure out what trouble the strudent was trying to get into. When I noticed she was signalling, I asked her to repeat it. Of course I get the eye roll, but then I get the signals again. She assumed I was looking at here, instead of in the general direction. We now start the signal giving with the OK?-OK exchange of signals.

Granted that comes back to knowing where your buddy is and how often you check on them.