We all come across job advertisements including multitasking as one of the key attributes they require of a candidate. Indeed, we all resonate with multitasking. We drive while texting, keep to our computer/phone screens when talking to people who come to our offices for different
reasons, we eat while checking our phones, we open different tasks on our computers and tell ourselves we are working on all of them at ago, we go for meetings and majority us are glued to our phones.
Multitasking takes away our full engagement and enjoyment in what we do. In fact, it causes stress in doing. We can never fully enjoy what we do, our productivity and engagement is lost, and it compromises the quality of the work we do. Yet we have within us self-deception that we are productive and that is the best way to do things. The situation is exacerbated with information overload due to social media, the internet, multiple tasks awaiting us etc.
Studies show that only 2% of people actually multitask. And they can only do it while engaging in two cognitive tasks. Unfortunately, we all find ourselves multitasking and rarely do we evaluate whether that is useful or change is required to instead monotask.
One way of monotasking is to bring our full attention to the NOW. TO BRING OUR WHOLE SELVES TO THE ONE ACTIVITY WE ARE ENGAGED IN AT A TIME. IF IT IS DRIVING, GET FULLY ENGAGED IN DRIVING DON’T BE DISTRACTED, DON’T CHECK YOUR PHONE, DON’T TEXT. Feel, engage, enjoy, commit to one thing you are doing at a time. If it is sleeping don’t look at your phone, eat without interruption, talk to someone with uninterrupted attention, in a meeting fully get involved and put aside distractors.
For some time, it might look difficult but the results will be worth the resolve to take another course of action. Do one task and move to the next. You will be more productive, enjoy and engage in what you are doing and more likely enjoy better quality relationships with those you
engage with.
THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT. TRY AND SEE THE DIFFERENCE.
Henry Nsubuga
Manager, Counselling and Guidance Centre,
Plot 106, Mary Stuart Road (Opposite Mary Stuart Hall),
Makerere University
Email: henry.nsubuga[at]mak.ac.ug
Tel: +256-772-558022