system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why when on the phone do I do repetitious things like walk back and forth, arrange objects, etc.?
gpt
disclaimer: IANANeuroscientist

Attention is really split into two parts in the current view, an audio loop (sound, reading, inner monologue) and a visuospatial sketchpad (vision, geometry, organisation), both of which are controlled by the central executive. A phone call utilizes only the phonological loop, without any visual stimulation. Part of you gets "bored" because of the one sided functioning, and rectifies the situation by doing actions that fill up visual processing time.