The art of doing one thing at a time

Doing more than one thing at a time is a given in today's modern world. 

If you're not doing more than one thing at a time, you're considered as "unproductive", "inefficient", "slack" and the like. 

Being a "great multi-tasker" - whether it be in or outside the home is often placed on a pedestal. If you're juggling a million and one different things all at once you're doing a great job because you're doing more stuff and you're getting more stuff done - or so we think. 

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It's only natural to pride yourself on being able to check your emails while listening to a podcast, while you're scarfing down lunch, while checking off your to-do's on your iPad and tending to messages on your phone (exhausted yet?), especially when it's a societal norm. 

We think that multitasking is allowing us to get more done and if we're getting more done it must mean we're being productive and efficient. 

There are countless studies showing that multitasking can do the exact opposite, negatively affecting our brain performance: more mistakes due to distractions from a multitude of tasks (the irony). We are unable to enter the "flow state" - the full immersion of ourselves in a task that is meaningful to us. Everything slowly begins to blur. At the end of all of it, lost in the so called productivity cyclone, we ask ourselves, what did I actually "engage in"? After all the task-switching, do we ever truly feel we've accomplished anything? 

Most likely at some stage or another we have all been guilty of multi-tasking. Cutting this habit of multi-tasking and turning our attention solely on a singular task sounds equally simple as it is challenging - because habits are challenging to break. 

It takes practice to single-focus on an activity and mindfully engage in it. No wonder we refer to these as mindfulness practices - it is a continuous practice of bringing back our attention and redirecting our focus when it wanders. 

So here's a challenge: Even it it's just one thing, one activity, one task in a day - do it with complete mindfulness. Because when you slow down and engage in something with complete focus, the experience is richer, greater in substance and meaning. 

Perhaps doing one thing at a time isn't about forcing a slower pace. When you're fully present, the moments stretch out a little longer and time seems to slow down. Slowing down, focusing on one task with full attention might be exactly what propels us forward and gives life greater meaning. 

This blog was inspired by:

• Hasan, M. K. (2024). Digital multitasking and hyperactivity: unveiling the hidden costs to brain health. Annals of Medicine and Surgery (Lond), 86(11), 6371–6373. https://doi.org/10.1097/MS9.0000000000002576 

• Pluut, H., Darouei, M., & Zeijen, M. E. L. (2024). Why and when does multitasking impair flow and subjective performance? A daily diary study on the role of task appraisals and work engagement. Front Psychol, 15, 1384453. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1384453