Instead of “multitasking”, what about just “tasking”?

It’s no wonder why people are likely to be more anxious when they’re multitasking – there’s too much going on! I’ve been a victim of it for too long. It’s always like:

• I can do this while x is happening
• *does whatever the ‘this’ is*
• Well now I gotta make sure I do ‘this’ right
• *goes through process, but then something happens where I remember a thing I have to do before I forget it*
• *stops, does that, leaving the ‘this’ unfinished
• So now I’m doing that, then I’m like oh wait, I forgot I was working on ‘this’
• *does ‘this’*
• Gives up because now I’m mentally exhausted and don’t have the same energy as I did when I started ‘this’
• *remembers how I got here in the first place: x is happening (is it gonna give it to ya? Haha).
• Goes back to x. Don’t even remember what to do.
• Now feels defeated, because although I had intentions of finishing tasks as I go along, I got nothing done.
• Womp womp.

So how do we go about trying to fix this? Some ideas I’ve come across that helped me:

• Lists. I know I can come back to that and forget about it for a while with confidence that I’ll know what I need to do when I get to it.
• Timers. Either give yourself a time limit on a task or as a reminder to get back on task – this depends on how you function.
• Routine. Create one, so you’ll know what you have to do sequentially, and lessen the chances of deviating from it until you finish the first thing first. It also helps track if you’ve missed something.

It’s a short list, but it’s really all you need if you make good use of them! Remember that it only works if you do.

What will you get done today? Think about what the best version of yourself looks like and go be it (one step at a time)!