Shifting from Multitasking to Singletasking
Most of us feel some stress in everyday life with "so much to do" to "get ready"....enter MULTITASKING. Some of us take pride in being able to multitask, some of us really believe we are effective and efficient when we multitask. I'm not disputing that we may feel quite productive as we get many things done in a short amount of time, but what I do want to gently challenge is just how present any of us are while doing these many things at once.
Neuroscience now tells us that in fact when we do two things simultaneously our mind is able to focus 50% of our attention on each one of those two things. So, if you are spending time with your toddler while cooking thanksgiving dinner you will actually take in only about 50% of what he or she is doing as well as 50% percent of what you are doing in the kitchen. Add another task to these two and each one gets a third of your attention. When we think of it this way, our multitasking leads to us missing out on a whole lot of life. Now, you may be thinking "Stephanie, I have so little time if I don't multitask I cant get everything done". I know we live in a very busy society and that may be the case some of the time but I challenge you to really look at how often that is really true versus a story you have created in your mind.
Living mindfully means slowing down to really experience this moment non-judgmentally with acceptance including all of its sights, sounds, tastes, emotions, body sensations...the vibrancy of now. Its amazing how rich and textured life actually is. And, so many of us have stopped noticing this vibrancy.
Enter...my challenge to single-task. Just for today try and single-task...just once. Pick one moment and focus in. Notice what you see, what you hear, what you smell, and any other important detail of this moment...it might be your child"s smile, your spouse or significant other's desire, the beauty of the bright yellow leaves still falling from the trees, your dog's wagging tail, or maybe the sound of your own breath....now this is being alive.