Take Life One Thing At a Time
Think back to the last hour or so of your day. How many things were you doing, or attempting to do? Our “need for speed” comes from all kinds of motivations: striving to perform at work and in school, seeing to the needs of our families, getting from where we are to where we need to go, and even pursuing our own goals and dreams.
Considering all of the things we need to do in a day, it’s incredibly easy to get stuck in a rut of rushing around. This mentality cues the brain to multitask, flitting from one thing to the next and back again. It can also put the brain in fight-or-flight mode, which makes us more reactive rather than responsive.
So what’s the payoff for all this rushing? Not much, according to scientific research. In fact, as researchers wrote in a 2019 paper, “Multitasking is almost always a misnomer, as the human mind and brain lack the architecture (the cognitive and neural building blocks and systems) to perform two or more tasks simultaneously.” Instead of putting your mind and body under this extra strain day after day, you can learn to embrace the process of doing one thing at a time.
Try these three strategies to switch from multitasking to monotasking:
1. Focus on what’s in front of you. When our thoughts are on the ten other things we have to do, we miss out on all the details of the moment we’re currently experiencing. “We are adept time travelers,” write Eric Langshur and Nate Klemp, “physically here in this moment but mentally thinking about the next.” Explore these four steps plus a mini-practice to stop time-traveling so much and attend to the now.
2. Shift from “doing” to “being.” As Zindel Segal explains, “doing mode” is goal-oriented, while “being mode” softens our grip on what we want or need to accomplish. This doesn’t mean we kick back and throw away our to-do list, but rather we change our perspective in a way that helps us stay present. “In being mode, there is a sense of freedom and freshness as experience unfolds in new ways,” says Segal. Try this seven-minute audio practice to disengage from an overly busy mind.
3. Release the need to rush. “Time pressure is the uncomfortable gap between how we wish we spent our time—and how we think that would make us feel—and how we’re spending it and feeling now,” writes Kira Newman. If you feel constantly frazzled, part of the problem may be your inner restlessness, not just your schedule. Here are four ways to help you notice your sense of urgency and intentionally take back your time.
Warmly,
The Mindful Editors