Multitasking Isn’t Always Productive

If you’re like me, the little free time you sometimes have, gets hijacked by errands, technology and definitely social media – for work and fun. An “off the clock” mentality doesn’t really exist anymore. We’re often told to slow down and smell the roses…but really, those who slowdown in today’s society are seen by many to be boring, lazy and unproductive – descriptors that none of us want to be associated with. So to continue accomplishing everything we feel we need to get done in a day, multitasking is 100% necessary – isn’t it?

NO!

Multitasking may not always be the answer; there are some problems associated with it:

It causes you to race through life.

When you try to do your whole task list and perform multiple jobs at once, you end up rushing through everything and basically racing through life. This results in you not really enjoying anything you do. It slows you down and causes you to make more mistakes. It takes more time to finish two projects when you jump back-and-forth between them rather than completing each one separately. Switching between tasks has been shown to cause a 40% loss in productivity!

It stresses you out.

When we receive a steady stream of emails all day, we’re often locked in a constant “high alert” mode with higher heart rates. That ‘ding’ you hear when another email comes through, puts you in an ongoing ‘fight-or-flight’ mode, which wreaks havoc on your hormones and can lead to weight gain.

It even causes you to eat more.

Studies show that being distracted during meals can prevent the brain and hormones from fully processing what you’ve eaten. This may lead to you not feeling as full as you should, which can lead to overeating and weight gain.

Try these 5 tips so you can stop multitasking.

1. Give yourself more free time.

Don’t say yes to everything you get asked or invited to do, and don’t fill every second of your day with a scheduled activity. Give yourself the opportunity to enjoy the little things in life by blocking off ‘unscheduled’ time to give you a chance to do something not planned in advance.

2. Complete activities in batches.

I’m most efficient when I complete similar tasks together. For example, I do all my food prep at once, design my fitness programs at the same time each week, pay all my bills all at once. These tasks all require me to be in a different frame of mind, so completing them in chunks helps me move through each one more effectively.

3. Be mindful of each activity you do.

When eating, for example, sit down to eat with no distractions, bring your attention to your food; slow down, listen and feel your physical hunger and fullness cues.

4. Unplug from technology for at least 1 hour each day.

Constant ‘dinging’ alerts from texts, emails, Facebook, etc all day long, are putting us into a constant state of stress. This stress is lessened by putting the phone away and turning off the TV and instead, going for a nice walk outside with a loved one or a pet.

5. Learn how to put yourself into a relaxed state.

Meditation, yoga and relaxation breathing (ie. belly breathing) can all help you relax your body and mind. This type of relaxation can result in making you more effective and efficient with the tasks you’re trying to accomplish.

Consequently, life is busy for us all, that isn’t going to change. What we can change is the way we plan for, and deal with stressors in our lives. Please connect with me if you’d like to discuss more ways that you can slow down to enjoy more life.