Most of us have lives that seemingly require us to do more than one thing at a time. This is getting increasingly more common as we carry our lives, I mean our technology, around in our pockets. You can send an email while you picnic, surf the web in the car, and post a Facebook status any minute, anytime, anywhere. Obviously, multitasking has simply become a way of life and is almost an expected part of our daily functioning. Unfortunately, feelings of being stressed, worried and overwhelmed are also becoming a part of our daily lives. As a mental health professional, I obviously read up on issues related to wellbeing. I recently read this quote from “The Mindful Way through Anxiety” by Susan Orsillo and Lizabeth Roemer.
“Multitasking on a regular basis, particularly in an automatic, habitual way, increases stress and decreases productivity…In addition to interfering with our concentration and productivity and diminishing our connections with others, moving through life on autopilot can prevent us from making significant life changes.”
When we find ourselves frequently multitasking, we often miss out on truly enjoying the moments we have been given to enjoy. Instead, if we put our energy into one thing at a time, we enjoy it more, get it done quicker, and feel more satisfaction in its accomplishment. I know this might be hard for you hardcore multitaskers to accept but if you find yourself drained, unable to concentrate, disconnected, or “just going through the motions”, maybe multitasking has gotten the best of you.
Did you know that you can also multitask in your head? We can entertain an endless stream of overlapping thoughts every minute. Have you ever found that you have driven all the way to your destination but didn’t remember how you got there? How about catching yourself (or more embarrassingly someone else catching you) staring off into space for several minutes? That is your mind multitasking! It’s running on auto-pilot with a seemingly random train of loosely connected thoughts.
So this is my official launch of Project Boycott Multitasking (Should I make signs? Maybe T-shirts?) The Mission: Keep attention focused on what is happening right now. Reject pressure to continuously do more than one thing at a time.
The Expected Result: Take more opportunities to grow, be a friend, show love, feel peace, and so on.
