Nearly a decade ago a colleague of mine told me that she didn’t believe in multi-tasking.  I didn’t say a word, but internally I scoffed at her statement. I used to pride myself on my magical multi-tasking abilities. Her comment affronted an aspect of myself that was convinced I was more efficient and productive when I took on more than one task at the same time.

Fast forward a good 7 years and here I am today, writing to you about how I’ve decided that multi-tasking isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, I’m multi-tasking less and less these days – even with a very curious, mobile 2-year-old and a business in tow!

Most women don’t think twice about multi-tasking, and as a general rule most women are really good at it. You could probably easily conjure up several moments from today when you found yourself multi-tasking. I’ve always thought it was the golden road to getting more done in a smaller amount of time.

It can feel nearly addictive to be accomplishing so much in any given day. Personally, I love the “high” I feel when I’ve gotten a lot done in a small amount of time, and you might be able to relate, as well.

But since having my son and finding myself being “stretched” in ways I’d never been stretched before, I realized a couple of things about multi-tasking – and productivity in general – that I’d never seen before. In a word, I now feel that both are overrated.

Don’t get me wrong. I love to save time, and efficiency is one of my mottos these days. But as much of an over-achiever as I am, productivity in and of itself isn’t my motivator in life.

Being present and enjoying the journey – these are the things that light me up.

Multi-tasking requires you to diffuse your focus and your energy. In order to do more than one thing at a time you have to fan out your attention and track multiple things at the same time. This also means that you lose the ability to be really present in the moment and to the task at hand.

For example, think about the last meal you ate while you were alone. Did you grab a book, or your iPhone, or some other form of distraction/companionship while you ate? Did you watch tv during your meal? Most likely, the answer is yes.

By dividing your attention away from your meal and onto something else, you took your focus away from the meal you were eating. This can lead to a meal where you don’t really appreciate or even taste your food. It can lead to not recognizing when your body tells you that you’re full, resulting in overeating. It can mean that you and your body miss out on the nourishment that is sitting in front of you in the form of nutrition, beauty and pleasure.

When you aren’t present in the moment you miss – skip over even – a lot of the joy that would otherwise be available to you. You could be missing the most rewarding and fulfilling moments of your day because you have too many things going on at the same time.

To me, the “high” I get from feeling productive and getting things done pales in comparison to the sheer bliss I feel when I’m fully present for dinner with my family, reading books to my son before his bedtime, and how the warm rose scented water feels when it caresses my skin during my evening bath.

The more present you can be in any given moment, the more you can receive from that experience.

I think as a culture we’ve all become a bit ADD, and we feel almost compelled to multi-task so that we can keep up with how fast things are moving and all of the demands that we place on ourselves. But I’ve learned that all of it is can become a trap. It unnecessarily leads to a chronic state of low-grade anxiety, near overwhelm, exhaustion and dissatisfaction.

It took some practice and a good dose of trust to let go of my near compulsory multi-tasking. I had to bear a bit of discomfort when it came to slowing down. But in the end I’m actually more productive than I used to be because when I am working on something I’m pouring my undivided attention and energy into it. And who knew? It turns out this is a more efficient way to get things done – all without sacrificing my enjoyment of the rest of my life.

I invite you to lay down multi-tasking for one day. Practice focusing your attention on one task at a time and see how it feels to you. It may feel foreign for a bit, but it may also feel like the breath of fresh air you’ve been looking for.

Now I’d love to hear from you! What’s your relationship with multi-tasking like? And if you accept my invitation to lay it down for a day, what do you notice? What becomes more enjoyable to you that you might otherwise have missed out on altogether?

Leave me a comment below. xx