By Published On: January 26, 2015

I was at a seminar for Mindfulness in Business recently where the question was asked, “How many of you are really, really, good at multi-tasking?” Nearly everyone raised their hand.

We’ve all seen the data about the destructive force of multi-tasking, the research that shows it adds stress, creates memory problems, reduces work satisfaction, and most importantly, keeps us from doing our best work. Divided attention equals divided output.

I hate to admit, I’ve always felt that this research did not relate to me. Why? Because I strongly believed I was a great multi-tasker. I’ve considered people negatively effected by multi-tasking simply to be bad multi-taskers. Turns out, being really good at a bad thing is not all that good. It’s like saying, I’m really good at obsessing, or needless worry, or procrastination.

Multi-tasking is a difficult habit to break, but small things can make a difference.  Simply check emails a little less frequently, keep cell phones out of meetings, stop reading emails while on the phone, and every so often, take a minute or two stop, focus and breathe.

-Maureen

About the Author: cat-tonic

cat-tonic
Born of curiosity and enthusiasm, we’re a scrappy group of smart, passionate marketers who work hard and play hard. We show up every day and fight for our clients who are making the world a better place. We listen with curiosity, explore deeply, ask hard questions, and sometimes put forth ideas that might make you squirm. Because we believe the status quo is good for growing mold but not much else. The way we see it, change is the way forward and the magic happens when curiosity, math, science, instinct, and talent intersect.
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