Something that I have suffered from for many years (and especially lately) is the problem where I start multi-tasking out of synch -- I might, for example, start watching a TV show while whittling a tuna. (OK, I wouldn't, just an example). Anyway, the problem occurs when the different tasks get out of synch and I find myself starting another instance of X while waiting for Y to complete, not wanting to interrupt anything halfway.
I've been wanting to put a name to this phenomenon, and remembered the character of "Lintilla" from the Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy radio series who suffered the problem on a more personal scale -- she was put into a cloning machine which only finished half way with one clone before it started working on the next, creating a process which could never be interrupted (until someone legally redefined murder a few million clones later).
So a lintilla would be a situation where one has trouble extricating themselves because they never quite finished with everything at the same time.
I'm not sure if this is a universal enough problem to deserve a word, but in these days of divided attention and multitasking, it seemed like it might be.
Have you ever heard of “task switching deficit disorder”? It's not exactly what you're talking about but it is basically the opposite of a short attention span. But your particular problem sounds more like a sisyphean punishment, so to speak. Maybe you should be asking a psychiatrist these questions! 😉
I like it, I like it, greyaenigma! (Of course, in my case, I think this phenomenon is also called "cooking.") 🙂
But seriously, if "Lintilla" isn't used for this phenomenon, it should be used for something!
I need a verb form for this! (I say after listening to a string of podcasts started because I was not done with something else.)