For the last 2 decades, I prided myself on being able to do all of the things, all of the time. This was a 24/7 ordeal too. Not only did I expect to be juggling everything at home, I darn sure was going to get the multitasker’s award at work too. I didn’t consider myself an expert in any particular area but when it came to my skill sets, I would always use this quote: jack of all trades, master of none. No matter what else I had going on, if you needed it done, I was the girl to do it.
Oh, how wrong I was. I mean, being good at lots of things is wonderful and has nothing to do with multitasking. It’s the surface-level amount of focus you give to everything you have going on in your life that’s the problem. Don’t forget the guilt that follows when you can’t possibly get your impossible list completed. Talk about a trap. And what hurts the most is you set it for yourself. Well, that’s all about to change. I’ll definitely write a post about what I’m going to do differently but I first wanted to document all the reasons why multitasking just won’t work for me anymore. Getting clear on my why should hopefully, make sure the new habits stick!
Multitasking affects my memory
Now, I don’t have the best memory to begin with but I started to wonder how much of it was old age and how much was bad habits. I used to be quite sharp and can still remember crazy things like the random and long-for-no-reason wifi password but have trouble remembering what I actually did yesterday. Make it make sense, Jesus. I started to pay attention to the way I was performing activities and noticed that when I do too many things at once (aka multitasking), I have a harder time recalling details the next day.
So am I saying that listening to a podcast while cooking and shopping for back to school shouldn’t all be happening at once? Uhhhh, yeah! The point is to soak in as much as possible and give yourself the opportunity to burn those pictures into your brain. I’m ready to have an actual answer when someone asks me what I did yesterday. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to recall last week!
Fun is not even a consideration
When your focus is split between two or more tasks, trust and believe the last thing on your mind is fun. For far too long, multitasking has been synonymous with excitement. I tricked myself into thinking that crossing items off my list was the adult definition of fun. No shade on productivity but in what world should that replace legitimate pleasure? We will straight up lie to ourselves, believe the lie and then recruit other people into our fake club in order to justify the foolishness we’re doing. I’m at a point in my life where living my life in alignment with my values is a priority for me. I’m trying to have an actual good time not a pretend one. Mommy is no longer just the creator, manager and distributor of fun. She is a full-fledged participant and proud of it. Watch out now!
Tasks take longer when multitasking
While multitasking can feel great in the moment, it can affect your ability to focus even when you’re only doing one activity. Have you ever noticed the amount of time it takes to get into the groove when switching to a new task? I’m not only talking about work related activities. If I try to talk on the phone while grocery shopping, it can take me twice as long to grab my staples even with a list. How long can it take to pick out bananas, you ask? Longer than you think when you’re distracted. Every single time I do this, I leave the store kicking myself because I’m literally wasting my own time. Yes. Me. No one else but me squandering the precious resource that’s worth more than gold at this point in my life.
Now, you can find me happily ignoring any beeps and whistles coming from my purse when I’m slinking down the grocery aisles. I get in, grab my items and am out the door in a jiffy. My life is better for it and I still have plenty of time to do all the things I NEED to do. Emphasis on need…
The opportunity to set boundaries is missed
This wasn’t something I considered until after I made the decision to quit multitasking. When your autopilot is set to multitasking mode, you are convinced that you can do more than you should. You end up saying yes so much that it becomes expected of you. Then when you actually want to say no, it’s difficult because you haven’t had enough practice. Suddenly, turning things and people down not only feels foreign makes you feel hella-guilty. You are constantly reinforcing that you are not the master of your own time and you’re sending the message to others that your time is not valuable. If they always have access to you because you choose not to set boundaries, they will begin to feel entitled to your time and energy.
Like any bad habit, though, this can be “cured”.
My peace is constantly eroded by multitasking
My child actually missed his first day of 3rd grade because I was captain of team too much. After chemo, I had so much I wanted to get done that when I stepped back out into the real world, I lost my mind. I spent most of July and August playing catch-up while taking on new and unnecessary tasks. Of course, I was going to drop the ball on something. It was only a matter of time.
I just could not have imagined it would be something as important as missing Jackson’s first day of school. I knew his school started on the 23rd but I somehow convinced myself that day was a Wednesday. Here’s the crazy part. I scheduled his back to school physical for Monday, put it on my calendar and at no point did it hit me that it was the same day he was to start school. I felt so terrible, y’all. Please know that was the straw that broke this camel’s back.
No longer will I say yes to every request, put endless amounts of pressure on myself and set myself up for failure. Life was way too stressful and I don’t need that kind of energy in my life. So I’m saying a big, fat giant NO to doing more than one thing at a time. When you make that decision for yourself, the weight that is lifted off your shoulders is absolutely priceless. When you see me floating down the street cause I’m so light, you’ll know what it is!!!
Conclusion
Multitasking is not worth it for this girl. I am creating better habits by time blocking and focusing on doing one thing at a time. It’s been absolutely glorious and I’m actually producing better quality work in less time. Who knew? Somebody sure did. Well, if you happen to be on board the non-multitasking train already, let me know in the comments what works well for you.
Until next time, Namas-stay-focused!
