Is trying to multi-task ruining your health, fitness,
wellbeing or weight-loss efforts?
We women pride ourselves on our reputation for
multi-tasking…
…but are we actually any good at it?
I don’t think I am!
Today was a prime example. A clear day to get caught
up, no interruptions, no excuses…
…but my focus was elsewhere.
There was so much going on in my head, I was constantly
distracted and ended up having to watch the first 10
minutes of my seminar 3 times!
So that “multi-tasking” actually cost me 20 minutes –
20 minutes when I could have got something else done.
I took myself in hand – removed everything from my desk
bar the one thing I was supposed to be doing and got it
done.
We’re so easily distracted these days though. We
shoehorn our lives around children, work, house and
husband….
We are modern women who multi-task….
Or are we?
Do we just put too much pressure on ourselves?
Walking around later this afternoon, I was more aware
of the distracted look on many frantic Mum’s faces.
On the ultimate distraction – social media – I see
tales of frazzled Mums leaving the dog at mums and
tots, forgetting a part of a costume for little one’s
‘show and tell’, omitting to put money in an envelope
for the upcoming school trip….
I don’t bat an eyelid at any of these stories, I know
exactly where they’re coming from.
It does make me wonder though – when the children play
up, are they being distracted….or are they seeking our
attention to drag us back from the distracted world
we’ve drifted off to?
One of my clients has undertaken to give up
multi-tasking and focus on uni-tasking. This afternoon
it really struck me – I think she’s absolutely right.
Focus on one thing at a time.
Think about your happiest recent memory.
What made it so happy? Bet the fact that you were
focussed 100% on what you were doing is a key part of
that.
Dr Chris Northrup makes the same point:
“Mindfulness is pleasure”
When you give something your full attention, it gets
easier, quicker, more fun.
You live in the present, the moment.
I have long practiced and preached mindful eating –
when we allow that distraction to creep into meal times
and daily lives we eat more, and more of the less
healthy options.
We mindlessly pop food into our mouth, distracted by
the TV, tablet or phone – ignoring our body’s signals
telling us it’s full – then wonder why that weight’s
not coming off….
Eat mindfully and your body digests better, you enjoy
your food more – allowing your brain to join in on the
eating experience – stopping when you are full, feeling
fuller for longer.
Mindfulness works when it comes to eating.
There’s a lot to be said to applying to other areas of
our lives – to be more effective, reduce stress and
enjoy our lives more.
I watched my eldest playing with his Lego this evening
– totally absorbed in what he was doing….and happy.
Focussed and living in the present.
Perhaps we can learn as much from our children as they
from us.
I, for one, am taking up uni-tasking.
If you’d like support in applying these principles to
your health, fitness and wellbeing journey or have any
questions, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from
you.