The Sudoku Lobe

I made an odd realization yesterday.

I work in a very detail oriented job.  Most people don't seem to understand what I do, and this isn't what I do, but I think a computer programmer (coder) would be the closest approximation.  Very detailed.  Miss a tiny thing and must go back and fix it.  That sort of thing.

I have a Sudoku app on my phone, and about halfway into my job break, I started playing again.  For no apparent reason.  But I really started playing.  Playing for speed.  Playing to learn to play better.  Devoting real time to it each day.  I think there was a part of me that also felt like I was keeping myself mentally fresh.

What I realized yesterday is that I stopped, almost as soon as I started working again.  I tried a few times, but didn't seem to be able to hold my focus.

A few months back I went to hear one of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson, speak when he came to town.  And one of the things he said was that he wasn't able to write when he was working a certain kind of day job - I think he actually said computer programming.  And the only thing he could figure was that it used the same part of the brain as the writing.

I think that is what this is.  I think when I am doing this sort of job, it is using the same part of my brain as Sudoku uses.  The logical part that loves putting everything into nice orderly rows.  That part is used up (completely) every day.  Therefore, no more Sudoku for me.

Weird, right?

(I guess I need to find some sort of game app that doesn't use my work brain.  No idea what that would be though!)