Artists record, sometimes compulsively

Artists by their nature tend to, if not document life, at least incorporate elements of it in their work. This frequently leads them almost compulsively to establish some kind of metacommentary on whatever it is they do or happens to them so they can use it somehow in their work later. I read once that when Steven Speilberg's wife told him she was leaving, immediately after ran into the bathroom with his video camera so he could record the sadness in his face. While I'm not quite on that (in my opinion) bizarrely detached level, I often have similar instincts. In me this expresses in a tendency to mentally construct a summary or narrative concerning whatever it is I'm doing as I'm doing it. I sort of compose in my head what I'm going to write or say about the experience later as it's happening to me. On one hand I like this, as it helps me formulate interesting, experienced-based material to draw upon should I need it, even if it's only in the service of an interesting LiveJournal entry. Many of my entries are mostly written while their subject still went on. On the other hand, I dislike how often this tendency takes me out of the moment and keeps me from fully taking things in because I am distracted by the effort to record. I wish I could balance the two better, both crystallize material for the creation of my art but not be so focused on the meta that I lose something of the real experience itself.