Mindfulness and Multi-tasking
By Sherap Andrea Winn, psychotherapist
Saying these two words in the same breath... is this blasphemy?! Perhaps. But since we practice both mindfulness and multi-tasking so regularly in modern society, it’s worth taking a moment to explore their relationship.
Mindfulness involves bringing presence and attention to the task at hand. We often practice mindfulness when changing a baby’s diaper, talking with a loved one in distress, or making love to someone we really care about. We are bringing our full attention to what we’re doing – our full self.
Multi-tasking involves dividing our attention across several tasks at the same time. We are often prompted to multi-task when we are using a computer to work on a project, a ding announces an incoming email so we switch to that window to see who emailed and what they want, and suddenly we remember something we forgot to note from an important meeting yesterday and open another window to write it down before forgetting it again. Whew! This can happen just as easily at home. We walk in the door with some groceries; as we start putting them away, we think we should start to boil some water for the pasta for dinner. Meanwhile, our cat is meowing and we pity this poor creature who is dependent on us and start preparing her dinner. Wallah! We now have three projects on the go at once!
Take a moment now to reflect on how you are living your life, doing your work, participating in your relationships. How much mindfulness are you bringing to yourself and your life and how much multi-tasking are you doing? How do each of these approaches feel? What are the rewards of each approach and what are the drawbacks? How fulfilling is each approach?
Although we often think of multi-tasking as doing several activities at once, in fact we are only capable of paying attention to one thing at a time and we are switching our attention from one activity to another repeatedly. When we are focusing on a project and switch our attention away, once we return to the initial project it takes several minutes to get back to the level of focus we were at before the distraction. If this happens repeatedly then we are seriously compromising our productivity. We can also erode our enjoyment of work by fragmenting our attention in this way, and in more severe cases, we can impact our emotional and physical health. There is a growing body of research advocating the benefits of single-tasking and mindfulness.
So, how can we bring more mindfulness into our approach? First of all, make an intention at the beginning of every day to single-task. Prioritize your activities for the day and be reasonable in your expectations of what you can accomplish; being overwhelmed puts you at greater risk for succumbing to multi-tasking. Set aside one or two times a day when you check email, and disconnect from email the rest of the day.
Another key to developing your ability to bring mindful attention to tasks is to train your mind to deal with distractions effectively. Mindfulness meditation is likely the best way to train your mind in this way. The meditation practice we do at Lifecycles Wellness involves (1) good posture, (2) placing your attention on your breath, and (3) recognizing your thoughts and letting them go. This practice specifically develops awareness of when thoughts are intruding and strengthens your ability to resist going into them. We do not need to be controlled by our thoughts; we can take charge through cultivating our mindfulness. In the same way, we need not be controlled by the variety of demands that happen in our day; we can make wise, mindful choices in how to deal with those demands.
Mindfulness is a key skill needed for living well and in good health.
We are pleased to offer a path at Lifecycles to help you integrate mindfulness on a daily basis into your life.
Our next Kick Start Your Meditation workshop will be held September 12th, and we will begin a 30-day Meditation Challenge on October 10 to challenge participants to meditate every day for thirty days straight.
Click for more information on our Meditation and Psychotherapy services at Lifecycles Wellness.
By Sherap Andrea Winn, psychotherapist
Saying these two words in the same breath... is this blasphemy?! Perhaps. But since we practice both mindfulness and multi-tasking so regularly in modern society, it’s worth taking a moment to explore their relationship.
Mindfulness involves bringing presence and attention to the task at hand. We often practice mindfulness when changing a baby’s diaper, talking with a loved one in distress, or making love to someone we really care about. We are bringing our full attention to what we’re doing – our full self.
Multi-tasking involves dividing our attention across several tasks at the same time. We are often prompted to multi-task when we are using a computer to work on a project, a ding announces an incoming email so we switch to that window to see who emailed and what they want, and suddenly we remember something we forgot to note from an important meeting yesterday and open another window to write it down before forgetting it again. Whew! This can happen just as easily at home. We walk in the door with some groceries; as we start putting them away, we think we should start to boil some water for the pasta for dinner. Meanwhile, our cat is meowing and we pity this poor creature who is dependent on us and start preparing her dinner. Wallah! We now have three projects on the go at once!
Take a moment now to reflect on how you are living your life, doing your work, participating in your relationships. How much mindfulness are you bringing to yourself and your life and how much multi-tasking are you doing? How do each of these approaches feel? What are the rewards of each approach and what are the drawbacks? How fulfilling is each approach?
Although we often think of multi-tasking as doing several activities at once, in fact we are only capable of paying attention to one thing at a time and we are switching our attention from one activity to another repeatedly. When we are focusing on a project and switch our attention away, once we return to the initial project it takes several minutes to get back to the level of focus we were at before the distraction. If this happens repeatedly then we are seriously compromising our productivity. We can also erode our enjoyment of work by fragmenting our attention in this way, and in more severe cases, we can impact our emotional and physical health. There is a growing body of research advocating the benefits of single-tasking and mindfulness.
So, how can we bring more mindfulness into our approach? First of all, make an intention at the beginning of every day to single-task. Prioritize your activities for the day and be reasonable in your expectations of what you can accomplish; being overwhelmed puts you at greater risk for succumbing to multi-tasking. Set aside one or two times a day when you check email, and disconnect from email the rest of the day.
Another key to developing your ability to bring mindful attention to tasks is to train your mind to deal with distractions effectively. Mindfulness meditation is likely the best way to train your mind in this way. The meditation practice we do at Lifecycles Wellness involves (1) good posture, (2) placing your attention on your breath, and (3) recognizing your thoughts and letting them go. This practice specifically develops awareness of when thoughts are intruding and strengthens your ability to resist going into them. We do not need to be controlled by our thoughts; we can take charge through cultivating our mindfulness. In the same way, we need not be controlled by the variety of demands that happen in our day; we can make wise, mindful choices in how to deal with those demands.
Mindfulness is a key skill needed for living well and in good health.
We are pleased to offer a path at Lifecycles to help you integrate mindfulness on a daily basis into your life.
Our next Kick Start Your Meditation workshop will be held September 12th, and we will begin a 30-day Meditation Challenge on October 10 to challenge participants to meditate every day for thirty days straight.
Click for more information on our Meditation and Psychotherapy services at Lifecycles Wellness.
