Last year, in order to accomplish everything on my to do list, I was multi-tasking. Every conference call or online class would have me also doing something else – filing, organizing, cleaning. I’d try to catch up on email while cooking. I don’t know if could have gotten everything done if it weren’t for multi-tasking.
Though I got everything done, my mind never had a break. It pretty much never had a moment’s rest. Now that I have simplified and organized, I am finding it hard to let go of that frenzy. I still find myself rushing around and multi-tasking. I don’t like doing it. Nothing gets done well if I’m multi-tasking. I don’t learn as well. I don’t retain as well. Things get a bit sloppy. Food gets burnt.
Each time I catch myself multi-tasking, I try to force myself to focus on one thing only. If I need to quickly make a note to myself about something I need to follow up on later, that’s okay. But no multi-tasking. It’s not easy to break the habit as I’ve trained myself to feel like that’s “wasting time”. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s okay to go a little slower and enjoy this journey.
