There I was with a whole day set aside to work on homework and business projects and within the first ten minutes I caught myself doing five things at once. Ok, not at once because that is not possible, but pretty close to it. I tried to stop it. I got out my index card and wrote the ONE THING I was supposed to be working on with a black Sharpie on the card. That lasted about 1 minute. I had worked out within the hour, so that wasn’t it. I was well-rested and had just eaten. So, it was clear I had a full-blown attack of the multi-tasking. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to control it for a little bit, so I just leaned in and worked to remove as much of the anxiety as I could that goes with these moments.
Typically attacks like this happen when I am in a really good space of flow and creativity, and I also have to be productive. Those two things merge, and the ideas are just pouring out of me, and the other side of me is trying to get things done. It kind of feels like I am being pulled in two directions at once. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, if I can harness that energy and creativity it can work in my favor.
Here’s my tip if you ever get an attack of the multi-tasking.
Get a piece of lined paper and a pen.
Set the paper and pen next to you at the desk.
EVERY TIME you start something new you write it down on the list.
EVERY TIME you think about starting something new, but stop yourself, add that to the list.
EVERY TIME you complete something on the list, cross it off.
When you cross off an item, see if you can go back to another item and complete it before you start something new.
Do this over and over again until the multi-tasking attack settles down and the creative ideas stop flowing at a record pace.
Then focus on the most important productive things you need to accomplish.
If you are wondering, it took me over six hours for the attack to pass. Multi-tasking might feel productive, but they have done enough research to prove that it’s not. Then I was finally able to settle into the top three tasks I needed to get done that day, I had filled up two pages of little things I had gotten done. None of them were as important as the main things. I know from years of working with my brain, that if I hadn’t embraced the moment, I would not have gotten anything done and I wasn’t ok with that. I have learned to create better results using this trick.
What is your trick when you have a multi-tasking attack?
It’s fun to be a different thinker, it just helps when we share our tools with each other.
Lots of love,
JoyGenea