http://alisonslife-in-the-slow-lane.blogspot.com/ Life in the Slow Lane: MONOTASKING

Thursday 4 October 2012

MONOTASKING

This morning Kirsty and I were up bright and early to get to our hair appointment (much needed by both of us I may add!). Now I have to say I love going to have my hair done...not only because I come out looking- and usually feeling- much better than when I went in, but because I get to do nothing but look through magazines for a couple of hours without feeling guilty that I ought to be doing something else!

After flicking through a few 'Celebrity' mags..in which I knew hardly anyone!....I picked up the May 2012 edition of 'Red'.....


...much more my style, and I came across an article which really 'spoke' to me (actually there were two articles and I may remember to blog about the other one some time soon). It was entitled 'STOP WITH THE MULTITASKING' and THIS is the link. Don't worry that the first part is about meditation if you're not into that sort of thing: it's the second part that  interested me. Basically it asks the question 'WHY do we feel the need to DO so much?'

I have been asking myself the same question this week and was working towards...when I have a minute ;).......with working on my time management. I feel as though if I don't set time aside for certain tasks, I end up trying to do too  many things at a time- and am beginning to get no enjoyment from any of them. I don't want my blogging and scrapping to become a chore.....and I don't want to walk around with the phone anymore, while I'm loading the washing machine or whatever and therefore not really paying attention to what is being said to me.....and I don't want to be enjoying working in the garden less because I have a head full of other things...the list goes on...

.....so I came home this afternoon and have tried to be very aware of trying to focus on what I've been doing. I ate my lunch WITHOUT sitting with my laptop and checking emails etc.- and I actually tasted and enjoyed what I had. I sat down to talk to mum on the phone with no distractions - and didn't miss ANY of the conversation. I allowed myself an hour reading in the sun, followed by an hour working in the garden- without worrying about the ironing, as I had tackled that after lunch. Now I'm having some blogging time, before I go and watch a DVD with Kirsty...and I'll do a bit of blog visiting before going to bed, instead of watching the DVD with one eye on the laptop!

.I'm definately fed up  with multitasking and am going to try monotasking for a while....

Does any of this resonate with anyone else, or am I just getting old?.....

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

24 comments:

  1. Gosh, it resonates with me! My life has got so very busy lately - and it wasn't exactly quiet before! - so I've been multitasking more than ever. Now, of course, my food injury has forced me to stop.... Not the best way to be made to take stock, but at least I'm doing it!! And now I have this post to help inspire me, too - thank you xx

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  2. That certainly resonates with me as well....I'm off to look at that link.

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  3. oh yes Alison. i am so guilty of talking on the phone while ironing (makes the ironing pile go down quicker!) blog hoping while watching telly (like now!) helping with homework while preparing dinner. Burning dinner whilst trying to prepare a blog post.......oh the list goes on lol!! I hope your monotasking works for you!

    p.s. i sat reading mags in the hairdressers this morning too!!

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  4. I remember reading that article. It's true, I've been known to load the washer and unload the dishwasher one-handed because I've been on the phone at the same time. Why do we do it to ourselves?

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  5. You might enjoy the blog Zen Habits and one of Leo's books: he is eloquent on single-tasking. :)

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  6. Me, too! One of the things I liked about the Ode to Nature class I took was that it forced you to sit in nature and observe. It was such a different pace.
    Rinda

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  7. Think I need to do this. Got very confused in Dallas this week as was trying to do school work at the same time. Not a good mix :0)

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  8. Yep - me too. I am always doing more than one thing at once so I must read that article too.

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  9. Is this what they are calling it now? Its a very old Buddhist thing too, its called being Mindfull. When we walk somewhere, we just need to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, just walk. Mindfull parenting is a big challenge for me but I am striving for it ;-)

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  10. It definitely resonates with me Alison....as you will have seen from my blog post today!
    Fiona x

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  11. Totally resonates with me Alison! And has been the underlying motivation in my One Little Word "Focus" all year. Not that I have mastered doing just one thing at a time yet, but when I do, the results are so much better and more satisfying.

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  12. Goodluck with monotasking. I think we would all benefit from more of that.

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  13. Guilty as charged! I finished my breakfast while I read your post...

    I may never give up multi-tasking completely even though your post makes a good case for it, but these days when I consider adding another ANYTHING to my life I try to evaluate what its benefits against the time commitment needed to achieve the benefit. I still end up doing whatever it was I was considering, but at least I have a better idea of what I'm getting myself into.

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  14. Great post Alison, such food for thought!

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  15. Oh, yes it chimes here too! What a great, thought provoking post. A very enjoyable read - just like those magazines at the hairdressers. They're the only bit about going that I like

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  16. I, too, try not to multi-task as much anymore. I tend to get much more accomplished and enjoy it so much more when I work on one thing at a time. Like now, I'm sitting here with my laptop simply reading blogs, wondering how long I can get away with it before I really need to get my day started! :>)

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  17. That is my life - multitasking. I walk on the treadmill instead of running because I can read if I walk. I really need to work on doing one thing at a time.

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  18. Great post. Yes, multitasking is highly overrated. So much nicer to focus on the task at hand and not have my mind going in a million different directions!

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  19. So with you on the weariness of multitasking. Enough already!

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  20. I don't know why we all do so much. It's not like there is someone standing over us telling us to get it all done. I often feel guilty (!) if I sit down to read something in the middle of the day... Time to take a leaf out of your book, just do one thing at a time and enjoy it! Thanks, Alison. x

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  21. I certainly feel guilty for not giving 100% to things I do when I'm multitasking! x

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  22. This is a great wake-up call for us all. One thing at a time - it worked in the good old days, didn't it!

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  23. Nope I'm with you Allison! People love to tell you how busy they are as a form of boasting. Multi-tasking has become very fashionable in the last couple of decades. My phone is on silent the majority of the time because I don't like being disturbed. I set aside a time for each thing and just do that. So much more pleasant! I can't do it all but no-one honestly CAN!

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  24. Very true Alison - great food for thought!

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