Multi-tasking has become an integral part of our modern lives. We are rushing to be the best family member, a good performer in the office, the best parent for our kids, and whatnot. Thus, we multitask. Handle multiple things at a time with ease. Cooking, taking care of a baby while talking on the phone. We can handle that! But, how is it affecting us in the long term? Did you ever think about it?
According to numerous brain studies, multitasking can reduce focus, productivity, and attention. This is also associated with anxiety and depression in the long run. Practicing mindfulness is the best way to avoid multitasking.
I am overambitious most of the time, and sometimes luck is at my side. I find it easy to switch between tasks, but I struggle with multitasking. What's the difference?
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| Image by Renan Brun from Pixabay |
Task Switching Vs Multi-Tasking
For many, switching from home mode to office mode and vice versa is tough. They can multitask. Ex: Take care of the baby on their lap while taking client calls. But winding down after stressful work is a different ball game. After work, do you take time before actively taking part in family chores like picking up, dropping kids off at classes, preparing snacks, cooking dinner, etc.? I'm talking exactly about that. In our generation, this task switching is taking more time. People unaware of how to switch easily, carry their work tension home, yell at family members for simple things, and lose patience. A few like me scroll social media with exhaustion for hours before switching to home mode :-)
I think, in my 30s, this was not tough at all. Office, and then after reaching home, no laptop. We used to work with a desktop at the office. We never carried work home. Our emails were never synced to our personal mobiles, and there wasn't any app like Slack that sends notifications in off-hours. Very little or zero distractions from the office. Easy to switch, right?
But now, we have more technology. We gave permission to the technology to access us anytime and made us available anytime. So, obviously, we are struggling to switch between 2 modes.
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| Image by Jocelyn Wong from Pixabay |
Long-term Impact:
Our generation, which is readily available and can finish any task very fast, is facing problems with focus. Being used to overstimulation, our brain craves more always. It always works, lost its ability to relax and focus. I forgot the days when I was just sitting in our patio sipping coffee, looking at the Sky, clouds, and enjoying the weather without doing anything.
I used to enjoy drawing zentangles or other intricate designs, sitting continuously for hours. I used to dance for a long time, using my creativity to do choreography for one piece and practice several times, losing track of time. I think I need to get this kind of focus back. Being able to focus without distractions. I used to work on my blog post for hours - writing, editing, adding relevant quotes, making relevant graphics, blah blah in a focus state, losing track of time.
When I thought about all these things, ... that's when I knew I was writing again.
Until next time,
This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025
