'Single-Tasking'
(audio coming soon)
A busy brain jumping from one thing to the next. Walking the dog and listening to a podcast and Googling something whilst avoiding that puddle. Eating a meal and watching something on Youtube and writing a shopping list whilst watching the neighbour outside. I'm guilty of these things, you'll have your own set of favourites to juggle. Simply put, doing all of the things, but not necessarily doing any of them well.
We've become accustomed to cramming more and more into our day either by allowing distractions in or actively adding more to our list in search of being 'productive'. BUT none of that really helps our attention span. Frustration kicks in when we're working on something important or creative for longer than 5 minutes and it all seems like an impossible task.
I heard of the term 'single-tasking' in Paul Jarvis' book A Company of One and now I can't un-hear it. Where meditation is to bring your attention back to your breath, single-tasking is to bring your attention back to just one task. It sounds stupidly obvious... and it is. Sticking to it long term is where the real work is done.
Have you ever been in the car and you can't concentrate on the road names or house numbers because the music/radio is too loud? Think of the mental clutter and noise, turn it right down and allow your brain the space to think, if you make enough space, your brain can wonder off a bit too - and if you're extra lucky, you might be rewarded with an 'ah-ha!' moment.
Where do you have your best thoughts? The shower? Driving somewhere familiar in the car? Doing the washing up?
More on being productive:
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