The other day I was making dinner. While talking on the phone. While wearing my daughter in the Baby Bjorn. While supervising my son as he played in the sink. While listening to music. While making a grocery list for our shopping trip the next day. It was a little chaotic.
My little man was getting impatient for some attention. I bent over to pick up a cup he had dropped, and he put his pudgy little hands on my cheeks, “Mama, do this! No more!” He’d had enough of my multitasking, and was asking (demanding) my full attention.
I’ll be honest, I’m pretty darn good at multitasking. Most of us are. We pride ourselves on how much we can do at once. We watch TV while folding laundry, we work out while listening to an online sermon. We check our e-mail on our phone while we wait in line at the dry cleaner. We make our phone calls while we drive to work. We are always busy, always doing at least three things at one time. We are productive, even in our “downtime.”
There is a degree to which this multitasking is necessary and highly beneficial. It allows us to cross multiple items off of our To Do lists at one time. It can make an obligatory task enjoyable. We save a great deal of time by multitasking.
But I have been wondering about the cost of multitasking. I want to live in a way that is wholehearted, fully–present and fully-engaged. Is it possible to be fully present when your attention and resources are divided three ways? Or do you end up being just sort of present for each task and interaction?
We have become so accustomed to being split and divided, to doing several things at one time, that we feel profoundly uncomfortable when all the pulling and splitting stops. We don’t really know how to stop, how to focus on one task or activity. Our natural reaction to this discomfort seems to be either to shut off completely (usually by falling asleep) or to dial it up and add more activity and stimulation.
I believe that the answer may be found in the opposite, completely unnatural, reaction.
Stop. Stay in that uncomfortable place. Do one thing. Just one thing at a time. Just listen to music. Just do the dishes. Just have a focused and undistracted conversation. Just eat dinner. Turn off the radio, the TV, the computer, and the phone. Single task. And single task with all you’ve got. If you are playing with your child, just play. Don’t play while you text, don’t play while you balance your checkbook, just play. If you are reading, just read. If you are watching a movie, just watch. If you are talking on the phone, just talk. If you are going on a walk, just walk.
Be fully present for whatever task or activity that you are engaged in. In our busy and demanding lives, it may feel strange and uncomfortable. But the practice of single tasking can be incredibly rewarding and energizing. It can allow you to be fully present for the activity of the moment, drawing all of the richness of the experience. It can allow you to tune into your thoughts and feelings in a way that is not possible when you are split between tasks and experiences. I believe that single tasking can open us up to peace, calm, and stillness in a way that our busy lives often prevent us from.
For just a little bit, do this. And nothing more.
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