Many of us would like to relearn the art of single tasking.
Achieving goals depends on it.
Sanity depends on it.
Lately I’ve been looking into grad school again. I wanted to make headway on my plan over the weekend. I committed the whole delicious two-day stretch to figuring out the best type of program for what I want to do (behavior economics). Also, the best schools, the best cities for students with dogs, and the types of companies and jobs I might want to work at after graduation.
By Sunday night, I had under my belt: 43 webpages open in my browser. A post-it slipped into a Time magazine article about my chosen field of study. 10 pages of lists. Two web charts. A Dean Martin Christmas playlist. And five golden cups of coffee. (Cue the carolers.)
I felt frazzled. Far from the relief I expected from covering so much ground, I was stressed and the plan of action wasn’t clear at all.
Then it occurred to me, Monday morning, that there was one question I hadn’t answered. And that was: should I go to grad school?
Truth be told, I’m not sure.
All of my ‘tasking’ had fig-leafed the most important part of the grad school plan.
Without this foundation, it was no wonder I still felt lost.
This brings us back to multi-tasking, and how it’s a great way to get a lot done — without actually accomplishing anything.
Starting with the big picture
There’s a saying that editors use: “Cut big, then small.” Don’t spend time tweaking the wording if you might end up deleting the whole paragraph.
When you’re working toward a goal, it’s hard not to let your mind elope with new ideas, factors, details. All seem critical to the outcome.
But if you work them in too soon, they muddy the big picture.
To create a solid goal foundation, you need unflinching focus. Which requires mental clarity. Which requires the absence of details. Which requires single tasking.
Obviously, I failed at this.
The very first thing I should have done Friday night is meditate. No internet. No post-its. No coffee. No nothing.
Meditation
Leo Babauta, author of the blog Zen Habits, talks about single tasking. “Life is less tiring when you single-task,” he says. Multi-tasking causes fatigue and burnout. Also, a lack of productivity, and thus a lack of a sense of accomplishment. It can even cause you to over-snack (or in my case, over-caffeinate). It’s a loss of mental control.
To accomplish more, you have to do less, Leo says.
Hypnosis is good for this. I know, I know: we have to hypnotize ourselves into focusing? But we do.Hypnosis helps to create mental clarity because it is a quiet, single task space. You are not also driving or cooking. You are not also giving the dog a pedicure. You are still, in a quiet room, relaxed, listening, accepting a self-guided tour through your mind.
Here, you have no choice but to be fully present in what you’re doing. Which is, with IdealShape’s hypnosis series, preparing to achieve a goal.
Goals aren’t tasks
Jeff Davidson writes books on how to use your subconscious mind to achieve goals. “Breakthrough thinking doesn’t happen when you’re multitasking,” he says.
Before you start working on your goals for the New Year, take time to teach yourself self-control. Build a foundation for each of your goals. Or maybe just the most important one.
Don’t let it become just another item on your to-do list.
By the way, I didn’t include any links in this post because I wanted you to enjoy reading it without interruption. For further reading on single tasking, you might enjoy these:
