In one of the many letters he wrote to his son in the 1740s, Lord Chesterfield offered the following advice:
“There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time.”
On Saturday, I found myself simultaneously trying to spend meaningful time with my grandson Bryson, watching a movie, and using the Internet to plan some travel. And… I was doing none of them very well.
The reality is that we do not multitask, but move back and forth between multiple tasks. Recent research on a number of fronts has shown that what we call multitasking actually reduces productivity and adds stress to our lives (see The Myth of Multitasking in the New Atlantis Journal).
I find this especially true when it comes to relationships. It is only when I make the time to be fully present with another human being that I really connect with them, on a deep, personal level. That is the level at which I desire to live my life.
Clearly there is work left to be done… Let me know what you think.
Hi, John--
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree about the downside of multitasking. I'm not very capable of accomplishing it with tasks, and I know it doesn't work when I try to juggle people in the mix. No one likes to feel "juggled" and the juggler often comes away feeling like a disservice was done to at least one person. Thanks for the thought. --Mark