I don’t learn about you, however I usually really feel just like the to-do lists by no means finish. Between work, life and new mama-hood and trying to sneak in moments for self-care each time I can get them, it’s a lot. I’m not going to misinform you, I really feel continuously overwhelmed and typically, it looks as if multitasking is the one strategy to get all of it carried out.

However for me, it’s not working. It’s not working to be half there in every thing. It’s not working for me to hold with my household whereas texting, responding to an e-mail, writing a publish, cleansing the home, and cooking all of sudden. Are you able to relate?

However right here’s the opposite factor about multitasking: we glorify it. 

I don’t know the place all of this began, however it appears to me that popular culture and social media have been sending us messages about how proud we must be of ourselves after we’re in a position to juggle one million and one issues… and all on the similar time. We hear phrases like “having all of it” and “doing all of the issues” and “I don’t understand how she does it!” and all of it tells us one factor — we must always rack up numerous duties, then do all of them gracefully with out letting anybody see us sweat. In doing so, we turn into extra “spectacular”.

We glorify busy, we glorify multitasking, and guess what occurs? We burn out.

And nobody desires to burn out. 

I need to work more durable the place it issues most fairly than juggling twelve issues on the similar time. I need to hold my “checklist” shorter so my efforts can produce outcomes I’m pleased with. I would like the power to be current in only one factor, and actually, that has moved away from me in a valuable time the place I would like that essentially the most.

I need to cease over-planning and over-stressing, for one million causes, however a brand new one being as a result of I do know my each day temper makes the climate. Get what I’m saying?

“It’s my private method that creates the local weather. It’s my each day temper that makes the climate.” – Haim Ginott

With a brand new yr simply across the nook, I need to empower you to — look forward to it — do much less, or a minimum of to do fewer issues on the similar time. That’s proper. I’m about to provide you (and I) permission to cease multitasking, even when it means that you may’t get all of it carried out as shortly as you’re used to.

In truth, I’m about to make the case in opposition to multitasking and let you know every thing you might want to learn about why it’s really not the best strategy to sort out your to-do checklist. I’ll even make the argument that I generally is a higher spouse, mother, buddy, sister, daughter, boss, and co-worker, if I cease multitasking.

Yup. Neglect every thing you’ve ever heard or examine multitasking and the way it could make your life higher and extra productive. Let’s speak concerning the downfalls of multitasking. Earlier than we begin breaking down multitasking’s many disadvantages, let’s take it method again to fundamentals.

Based on Merriam-Webster, multitasking is the efficiency of a number of duties at one time. Appears fairly apparent, proper? 

Nice. Transferring on. 

Listed here are a number of the darkish sides of multitasking…

Psychology In the present day, Ellevate, and Profession Development word a number of disadvantages. 

It might really be dangerous on your mind. 

You learn that proper! Whereas multitasking might prevent a while, it may possibly injury your mind in the long term. Members in a 2014 research who had been recognized as frequent multitaskers confirmed reductions within the gray matter of their brains. Extra particularly, injury happened within the areas of the mind associated to cognitive management and the regulation of motivation and emotion. 

That is largely as a result of the truth that a lot of the multitasking we do nowadays revolves round media and expertise! Most of the disadvantages and risks related to multitasking are additionally tied to the disadvantages and risks of standard display use. 

Multi-tasking makes you much less environment friendly.

Engaged on a number of duties on the similar time would possibly make you are feeling such as you’re doing extra issues, extra shortly, but when your consideration is split, your effectivity could also be compromised. Once you give one thing your undivided consideration you permit your self to concentrate on the small print of that job and keep away from making errors. 

And since making errors will solely price you extra time in a while, your valuable time might be higher spent getting one thing carried out in a targeted method the primary time round! Simply take your to-do checklist one merchandise at a time! In the long term, this technique will make you extra environment friendly. 

It’s related to reminiscence loss.

Numerous research have confirmed that common multitasking could cause reminiscence and/or consideration loss long-term. Individuals who do loads of multitasking typically have a tougher time switching between duties and don’t carry out as properly on reminiscence assessments. 

It might make you extra harassed.

You already know precisely what I’m speaking about. Image this: you get up to a kind of lengthy to-do lists I discussed earlier. As all the time, it seems like there aren’t sufficient hours within the day, so that you instantly swap into multitasking mode. You’re taking good care of youngsters and checking on dad and mom and cleansing the home and tending to your work and making dinner… all of sudden. And whereas this would possibly make you are feeling like Wonderwoman, it additionally leaves you feeling harassed and exhausted. 

Are you harassed simply fascinated about it? Similar. 

In case you do that continuously, that stress goes to construct up, and it’s not going to be fairly. Stress feels crummy, however it additionally causes complications, bother sleeping, hypertension, stomachaches, muscle stress, speedy respiration, and a weakened immune system, amongst different issues. It places you in danger for a slew of extra critical well being points, as properly. 

All since you’ve been multitasking! 

Clearly, multitasking is abruptly sounding quite a bit much less interesting.

And it’s necessary to notice that it’s by no means been simpler to multitask. I discussed screens and expertise earlier than in relation to sleep, however it’s value repeating. With the ability to perform just about something from the palm of our palms comes the stress to, properly, accomplish just about something from the palm of our palms… whereas we’re doing different issues. 

One strategy to in the reduction of on the quantity of multitasking taking place in your life is to pay shut consideration to what you’re doing in your cellphone or pill. Subsequent time you end up scrolling by means of a display whereas you’re doing different issues, pause! Take a step again and take into consideration what stage of multitasking is happening in that second.

Due to expertise, we’re so used to multitasking nowadays that we regularly don’t even understand we’re doing it. Paying nearer consideration to this specific type of multitasking is a good way to begin reducing again in your total multitasking. 

Alternate options to Multitasking

Listed here are a couple of different alternate options to multitasking and straightforward productiveness suggestions that may prevent from these adverse unwanted effects…

• Prioritize your day. As a substitute of feeling instantly overwhelmed by your lengthy to-do checklist at first of a day — which can probably tempt you to begin multitasking — determine what really has to get carried out and prioritize accordingly. It might take a couple of minutes to get these priorities so as, however from there, you’ll be able to concentrate on one job at a time and save your self the difficulty of juggling all the issues without delay.
• Determine your most efficient time of day. A few of us are morning folks. Others of us can get quite a bit achieved at evening. Generally, our most efficient occasions of day are dictated by youngsters and different commitments. Determine when you are most efficient and plan your duties based mostly on that. Time block: block intervals of time for particular duties, and don’t open your e-mail (for instance) throughout these occasions. Plan to perform crucial and/or difficult gadgets throughout these difficult intervals and provides your self permission to do extra senseless duties at different occasions. 

• Reduce distractions! I get that you may’t eliminate each distraction, but when you’ve one thing particularly necessary in your itinerary for a given day, see if you may get forward of these distractions as a way to focus and remove the necessity for multitasking within the first place. 

• Assign completely different sorts of duties for various days. You would possibly discover it simpler to remain on observe with one job at a time should you can group your to-do checklist into classes and concentrate on a unique class day-after-day of the week. This might be simpler in your mind, because you gained’t have to change between such drastically completely different actions. 
• Discover an accountability buddy. If you end up multitasking quite a bit — and also you’re now questioning if it’s such a good suggestion — likelihood is that there are different folks in your life who’re in the identical boat. Anybody who’s in the identical stage of life that you simply’re in can in all probability relate to the way in which you multitask! Every thing’s higher with an accountability associate, so why not go forward and ship this publish to a buddy or member of the family and see in the event that they’re up for a little bit anti-multitasking problem this month? Decide to reporting in to one another any time you wander into multitasking territory — and to checking in at times to see the way you’re feeling about your new, multitasking-free routine! 

The extra you’ll be able to shift from multitasking to “monotasking” (AKA doing only one job at a time), the higher off you’ll be. This shift would possibly look completely different for everybody, however it may possibly profit all of us. I feel psychologist Dr. Debi Silber mentioned it greatest on Ellevate: 

“Monotasking doesn’t imply that your different tasks gained’t get achieved, it simply implies that you’ll get them carried out, one after the other, with out the sensation of being fragmented and harried, whereas being extra productive, current and engaged within the house you’re at the moment in and with the duty you’re at the moment engaged on. The considered being utterly submerged in a single job brings a way of aid to my thoughts, a leisure to my physique, and a satisfying smile to my face.”