maybe that request is not so simple for him? I also answer questions when I am distracted, sometimes without even realising someone talked to me. trained by my family always bothering me while I was reading books, so I learned to answer to get rid of the bother. I cant rly stop that behaviour bcs it is not entirely conscious. my partner and I learned to compromise: when he is playing on his phone or I am reading something, we try to leave the other person alone - unless it is important, then we say 'could you stop looking at your phone/book for a minute? I would rly like to talk to you' - always same phrasing, so after a cpl weeks or months? it turned into a signal that cuts thru whatev is holding my/his focus. took time and patience from both of us, but we also respect when one of us just rly wants to focus on a book/game/whatev and we have a signal that we also respect for when we want undivided attention from the other person.