Think The Grass Is Greener Over There? How Multitasking Wilts Your Results And Relationships

Do you multitask? While many people say they get so much more done in a day doing many things at once, let's take a look at how splitting your focus can impact your results, relationships and overall health and happiness.

For years I've been teaching how you can empower your conscious and subconscious mind to get the most out of life. There are many ways to impact your life. However, one of the most powerful ways to engage your body and brain is so simple: Focus on one task at a time. Then, your brain can deeply engage and your body's senses can fully experience your environment, other people and the situation at hand (literally).

Consider exercise on a treadmill. Imagine you're at the gym and a businessman is working out next to you talking on his phone. To your right, a woman is running intensely on her treadmill solely focused on her speed. What can you imagine how their bodies are doing? The man's brain and body must split its focus between talking and walking on the treadmill. The woman's brain and body has complete focus for efficient running. The woman can send oxygen to every muscle. The woman's brain can fully engage the body as it exercises, storing information for future performance and optimal function. It's likely the man's experience of the exercise will be less satisfying than the woman's. For sure their bodies will have different results. The woman's performance will most likely increase. The man's will most likely plateau.

There's an old saying: You get what you give. So, if you invest 40 percent, it should be no surprise you get only 40 percent of the result you're seeking.

My children went to the beach with me recently. I teach at the Empowerment Partnership, and my wife and I live in Hawaii, so we often go to the beach as a family. While there, I notice couples doing other things rather than spending time with each other. Phones, music headsets and food distract many people from simply being with each other. I watch my children as they play with the sand and speak to my wife as we enjoy the sun. I reflect on the complaints I've heard in my classrooms. Students I teach around the world say they are frustrated with their family members. "She doesn't spend enough time with me." Or they complain, "He doesn't listen to me." I suggest they consider that it's not always a function of time spent together or a lack of listening, but rather multitasking edging its way into the experience. What would happen if they hung up the phone? Or, what if they listened to their partners instead of watching the TV? Your body and brain could then experience a deeper connection with the other people around you. In other words, you could fully experience how green your life truly is.

So the next time you think to yourself, "The grass is greener over there," pause and ask yourself if you're actually focused on how green the pasture is right in front of you, right now. Are you listening to your family with the phone turned off? When was the last time you had a conversation with your family without the television blaring? When your coworker talks to you, are you checking your email? Focus and let your brain and body fully engage and fully experience how green your garden is and can be.

For more by Matthew B. James, Ph.D., click here.

For more on unitasking, click here.

 

 

 

Comments

[John Genryu]

09:41 AM on 03/26/2012

The supposed efficiency of multitasking is a myth that has been debunked in study after study. There are very good reasons why every spiritual tradition opposes multitasking, asking us to focus on one thing at a time. It's heartening to see a sensible article on this here for a change.

[Mrs Robinsons]

10:08 PM on 03/25/2012

I do one thing...
at a time...
I enjoy my life that way...

I am, often, caught by the realisation that I have another thing I need to get done..
and the
learned knowledge
that if I do not start it immediately
I will go to bed that night and realise I have forgotten it altogether..
(my subconcious has an axe to grind with me or something)...

so I MUST
IMMEDIATELY
stop the first task
and at least begin the second task
and then leave myself a big reminder at the scene to finish it...

otherwise
I stop and write it on my to-do list...
which is still not as effective.

I do add leisure time
into my
multitasking day...
in the same manner...

I also move some of my leisure activities
away from
my day to day life...
to not allow me to be distracted
by
"must accomplish"'s.'

[whoknew222]

09:27 PM on 03/25/2012

There are some very good points in this article. I am fairly efficient at multitasking but hubby gets too easily sidetracked to be as efficient. I have found that unitasking creates problems for us. We each have our own way of doing a task and get in each other's way when trying to work on the same thing. Not such a bad thing as long as you can remember that some people are better doing tasks alone.

[jude229]

08:36 PM on 03/25/2012

To each his own. I can multi task. My children are independent thinkers, popular, smart, with lives of their own. My husband and I are still in love after 18 years. We show and tell our children how loved and important they are. Equally important our children tell us how lmuch we are loved. We plan our life together...Not as 2 but as 5. This works for us.

[bdgrizcp]

06:27 PM on 03/25/2012

'I do one thing, I do it very well, and then I move onto the next thing.' Major Charles Emerson Winchester, surgeon, MASH 4077.

[GoldenPen1]

06:12 PM on 03/25/2012

This is a great article! Now I am glad I've always had a one-track mind, lol! I always put myself completely into the one thing I'm doing at the moment, even if I hate it, like washing dishes. You get fully engaged; a consistent sense of accomplishment; and a hint of "stopping and smelling the flowers." It is hard to describe, but even though I am not "rich" in money, I feel "rich" in life. Giving your loved ones your full attention is totally worth it, too. So, concentrating on one thing at a time helps me get the most out of my life.

[french queen13]

04:26 AM on 03/24/2012

What about when people at work have SFA in the choice of whether to multi-task or not? They called it 'multiskilling' in the '80s and all it meant was sacking more and more people while expecting those remaining to cover all the work. And with that entrenched in so many workplaces, it's not a simple "look for a different job" answer.

[Angel Whitebird]

03:42 PM on 03/23/2012

I learned this..If you think the grass is greener on the other side its probably covering up a septic tank!.

[GoldenPen1]

06:17 PM on 03/25/2012

LOL AngelWhitebird. So true! I once went searching, not to see if the grass was greener -- but to see IF it was. You're right, it's not.

[GoldenPen1]

07:01 PM on 03/25/2012

Oops, I'm sorry, I meant, "not to find greener grass, but to see IF it was greener."

[Hyacinth420]

09:30 PM on 03/25/2012

Ha! Good one Angel Whitebird!! :-)

[LauraGiveMe10]

12:00 PM on 03/23/2012

So many things have to happen in a day, sometimes it's hard to concentrate on any one thing. One strategy that's worked for me is to think of events in 10-minute chunks. I may have a to-do list as long as my arm, but I can still take 10 minutes to read with my son, or talk to a friend. The 10-minute length is right for me -- it's too short to feel guilty, distracted or anxious -- and often I find I can stretch it.

Thanks for the reminder!