The Sin of Multi-tasking
Dear Girlfriends,
Is your typical day best described as spinning plates, herding cats, and juggling knives, while simultaneously dancing en pointe? Yes, me too.
I confess. I am a bona-fide, professional, ace multi-tasker. I can solve business dilemmas, arrange for home deliveries, cram for my Bible study, and work through family opportunities, all while running on my treadmill. As a young mother, I took great pride in my circus-act expertise. Today, I no longer consider this skill and state of mind an attribute, but a character flaw. Actually, I'm beginning to think that my multi-tasking might even be sinful!
Samuel Johnson wrote that "He who wants to do a great deal at once will never do anything." Well, clearly Sam wasn't a working mother! I can get everything done at once! But is getting stuff done the end game? Is ticking thirty-four action items off our to-do list the measure of a day well-lived?
I've decided the answer is "no", and in order to harness my tendency toward multi-tasking I now plan my day knowing that I will reflect back on how I invested my fixed time and energy. I ask myself:
What did I accomplish today that brought me great satisfaction?
Specifically, what was the one thing that I delighted in?
What did I accomplish today that was excellent?
What did I do to the very best of my ability that I am proud of?
What did I accomplish today that will have a profound effect on another human being?
What did I do today that is bigger than me and my personal agenda?
We should readjust our priorities to be proud not of how much we get done
but what we're able to achieve with a sense of enjoyment.
Alexandra Stoddard Multi-tasking, as defined by Webster's, is the concurrent or interleaved execution of two or more jobs by a single CPU. So here's the problem! Multi-tasking isn't something that was even designed for us; it's a function of a computer - not a HUMAN BEING. No wonder we're spread too thin. We need a re-boot.
Doing less could mean more - not only for others but for you. Focus your attention on the few things that will really matter at the end of the day: your personal delight; your achievement of excellence; and your contribution to mankind.
Getting a lot less done with a lot more joy,
Ellen
Posted by Ellen on May 8, 2007 1:49 PM
| Category: Spread Too Thin
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