I have been thinking a lot about keeping focused lately, maybe because life seems like it’s moving at such a high rate of speed lately, or it could be that I have been over committed and I’m just trying to re-focus. Either way I feel like a one-armed paperhanger, multitasking because I want to get more done and triple-tasking because I want to stay ahead.
Multitasking has given me a certain sense of accomplishment through my life, but choosing to do so many things all at once is not at all productive. While multitasking appears to be an unavoidable task, with the constant influx of information from various sources, choosing to do multiple things at once may work to your disadvantage. Our bodies, especially our brains, find it difficult to execute multiple tasks all at once.
Of course we are able to do simple multitasking, like walking while talking or cleaning while listening to music. However, most tasks need brainpower and multitasking is highly disadvantageous. The lack of focus results in information not being stored efficiently in our short-term memories. In this case, multitasking becomes a hindrance, making us inefficient instead of adding to the supposed speed at which we expect while doing more than one task at a time.
You can do two things at once, but you can’t focus effectively on two things at once.
There were several times while writing my book Framing Faith, I had to remember that for greater impact I need to avoid multitasking and choose to focus on one thing. Studies have shown that by focusing on a single task, people experience higher productivity as well as an increase in creativity. While many people see focusing on a single task as an inefficient way to tackle different projects, choosing to focus on a single job results in a faster completion time for a certain tasks.
As a creative, I need to be as creative as possible. I need to discover the details of the stories and projects I’m working on in order to reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary; otherwise they will fall flat and not connect. While I’m still learning to bring focus into every facet of my life, I have learned in order to accomplish things successfully it’s about choosing to do single tasks at a time, it’s important to prioritize those tasks carefully. In doing so, we will be able to immediately finish our work at a faster rate. While an adjustment like this may be difficult, it can lead to significant changes that can help you become more creative and productive without the frazzle and stress of juggling multiple tasks all at once. In a world moving way too fast, we need to focus and not fill every “spare” moment. Lets forget the multitasking and let us find the beauty in doing one thing at a time.
How can you be more focused?
