... and one thing ONLY.

I used to pride myself on being a high-functioning multitasker. It made me feel mentally agile, like a modern-day Superwoman. The catch? It’s not exactly desirable to be good at giving multiple things a fraction of your attention. When we multitask, no one thing is ever getting our full bandwidth. While doing multiple things at once in some capacity may make you feel like you’re being “uber productive,” studies have actually shown that it’s bad for you. In other words, when you try to engage with Twitter while a friend is over having a conversation, dinner is cooking on the stove,, and you’re also swiping on a dating app, well, your friend may slightly resent you, your tweet could have misspellings, dinner will more-than-likely be burnt, and you could miss a major red flag about your next first date. 

Over the past year, as ambient anxiety has made doing any one regular task feel increasingly difficult, I’ve become more and more focused on sticking to one thing at a time — and doing it well. But yesterday morning, I was in my kitchen when I fell back into my old ways. With a loaded work day on deck, I found myself trying to assemble three beverages at once (an Athletic Greens shaker bottle in my left hand, a Nespresso brewing in front of me, a Brita water pitcher in my right hand). While I waited for the coffee to finish, I started to walk toward my bathroom to put my hair in a bun, telling Alexa to turn on the newest episode of Group Chat, still carrying two liquid vessels. I stopped in my living room, looked up, and thought “what the hell are you doing?”

“One thing at a time.”

Fun fact: Our brain receives 11 million bits of information (so to speak) each second. But, it can only process 40 of them. Forty. Is the dopamine hit that comes from the brain stimulation associated with multitasking nice? Sure. But you know what’s really nice? Being present. Enjoying the taste of your coffee as you take some deep breaths before diving into the first item on your to-do list. Having meaningful conversations with people you care about without holding your phone in your right hand. 

One thing at a time.
… makes everything feel a little less overwhelming, doesn’t it?

PROMPT: What’s ONE thing you’ve been putting off that you can dedicate some attention to and check off of your to-do list right now?