Health & Wellness > Multitasking - Avoid it
Have you ever been on the phone with someone when the other person suddenly asks a question and you realize that you cannot answer - not because the question is too difficult, but because you have been busy focusing on the TV news, thinking about all the stuff you still need to do or dealing with your kids, or just typing an e-mail...?
Well, how do you feel then, and, even more importantly, how do you think the other person may feel?
In our busy and hectic life multitasking has become more and more the rule because people believe that e.g. doing emails while talking to someone on the phone helps saving time.
However, there are two watch-outs to it:
1) Is multitasking really more efficient? It takes quite a while for your mind to be fully engaged with one task. If you switch you need some time to get to the other topic and then again time to switch back to your original thing. Loosing time in between often makes multitasking less efficient then focussing on one thing at a time and finishing it before switching to the next one.
2) One word: Respect. Pretending to listen to your colleague on the phone or to your kids while doing your email or listening to the news, is something the other person will sooner or later realize. We know people who used to have a boss who continued doing his email while having a one-on-one discussion...and trust us, this person was not recommended for the 'manager of the year' award.
What to do about it? Here the core tips:
1) Never multitask if something is really important. If you talk to someone over the phone or in person, focus single-mindedly on that person vs. diverting part of your activity and energy to cooking, cleaning etc. The other person and you yourself will feel the difference.
2) Set dedicated time to be 'full on' for things that are important to you. Not the time, but the quality and the focus you put into it are important. Would you not want to rather have 30 minutes of focused, intense conversation with your spouse or friend versus two hours of small talk while the TV is running and while working on your emails? Your kids will also value this 1 hour time fully decidated to them more than 4 hours with half your attention.
Get started now: Be 'full on' when doing something important! And every moment is important.
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