In our hyped up culture we wear our ability to multitask like a badge of honor. Introverts often feel stretched and squeezed – like there is something we forgot to do or did half-baked. The cultural pressure encourages us to eat lunch at our computers and answer emails while on conference calls. Yet this is too much stimuli to process all at once. And we can’t. At least not effectively. Research shows that multitasking makes us less productive and accurate.
So the antidote is “monotasking” or what I call “mindfulness” where we focus all our attention on one task, person, conversation at a time. Check out this article “One Task At A Time” in the Aspen Times where I offer ideas for how to monotask. Read the article here.
Great Blog and article. I remember in the company I worked for the majority of my career that multi-tasking, work work work was all part of the culture. I often wondered why I felt overwhelmed over the years. I used to say, if you have any iota of workaholism in your body, the company would suck the life out of you. It did to me a few times. Don’t get me wrong I loved my job and career, but until the last few years did NOT realize how unbalanced and tired I was. Now looking at it in terms of being an introvert – I finally get it.
I really do better when focused on a few items versus the way I worked for a long time which was like a whirling dervish.
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