Is Multitasking Really Beneficial?

This is a question I have really been ruminating over lately. Because if you asked me this about a year or 2 ago I would have answered with a resounding YES! I am a single mom trying to work and clean the house and do the laundry and cook dinner and of course be the best mom in the world and try to have a life for myself too and get to the gym and run my errands....breathe. :) You get the picture.  I could multitask with the best of em'. I could get so many things done at once that I would actually be really proud of myself for what I could accomplish at one time! I felt that if things didn't work like clockwork and I didn't get a million things done at one time all my structure would start falling apart. You know how you just KNOW the sh*t will hit the fan if you don't accomplish every little thing and more on your to do list. Right?!?!?              Breathe.

Just writing that gives me slight anxiety. Because if you ask me that question today, is multitasking really beneficial, I will loudly tell you NO!!! Multitasking helps you get many things done but nothing experienced. It gets you whooshing through this thing or that with half attention on each and full focus on none. It gets that task done with half of my mind over here and this thing done with the other half of my mind over there and absolutely none of it am I fully present for. And when I started to suspect all of this, I started to slow down. And I decided to explore whether if I didn't try to do everything at once, if I took the time to actually focus on what I was doing, to do it to the best of my ability and to be fully present for it,  that would mean that I would get less accomplished.

And you know what the funny thing is? Since I have done away with all the multitasking, I still get as much done. If not more!! Because when I am fully focused on one thing, I am there altogether with it, with all of my senses in tact. I don't forget things here and there or have to go back to something that I made a mistake on because I wasn't paying enough attention to it and because I am fully present with what I am doing, that is where my attention and energy is. Not spread too thin and all over the place. And because I am singly tasking and being fully present, I truly feel that I am being blessed with all of the time I need.

When we can slow down, enjoy our processes, take the time to do something fully and right, it's amazing how things can shift. Today my challenge to you is to attempt to do one thing at a time. Focus on it. Be present. See if it doesn't actually get done in "better" time for you. Notice your physical response to not doing too many things at once. Notice if it makes a difference in your overall time. And do your best to do things with joy!
Have a great day!!

For a complimentary coaching session I can be contacted at info@heatheroneillcoaching.com.