Sometimes I need to have two things going simultaneously. If I'm going through data, I like to play music. It helps me sit still. If I'm watching TV, I MUST do something else, like play cards or do a puzzle. I actually don't watch TV so much as listen to it!
I'm not a particularly kinesthetic learner, more visual-verbal. But I started knitting and reading when I was in high school, and it helps me concentrate and sit still.
I use the Continental method of knitting, so the yarn comes off my left hand with very little movement. (Most Americans knit with the right hand, and they have to move the whole right arm to make a stitch. I move one finger a tiny bit, and all my fingers are close to the work, so I can feel where things are.)
This method allows me to knit without looking at my work as long as the pattern is simple and doesn't require counting: a whole row of knits or purls or something like that. Voila! knitting and reading at the same time.
Knitting and reading at the same time is what got me through all the gosh-awful French literary theory I had to read during grad school, actually. It kept me anchored to my chair even when I would have loved to run away from my reading. (Oh, I *SO* would have loved to run away...Ick!)
So I hear you about doing two things at once helping you focus. It works for me.
