Transcript

Increasingly, I find that people believe that they have to do multiple things, multi-task to get through the day. I don't know where this is written but increasingly people say that unless I do this, this, and this at the same time I'm just not going to make it. Well, all the studies I've ever come across point up to the fact that you can't be as effective trying to tackle multiple tasks as when you simply give your time and attention to one task at a time.

Let me tell you a little story. I belong to a health club in my home town of Chapel Hill, NC. And in this particular health club they have what's called stair climber machine. Do you know the stair climber machine, yeah I'll bet you've seen one. Now, our stair climbers, in Chapel Hill, NC, all face TV monitors so that while people are on the stair climber they can at least watch television even if they can't hear the sound. A woman gets on next to me and she's wearing a walkman. Now, this is nothing unusual I've seen this before. You've seen this before.

Here's the part that really throws me: after she puts on the walkman, you know that ledge that sits right over the handle bars? She whips out a book. Not just any book but about a 600 page hardcover book. She opens it up to where her bookmarker is, it's someplace in the middle, and while she's on the stair climber, looking at the tv monitor, listening to whatever's playing on the walkman, she's reading a book. Now, I'm astounded. I'm the author of Breathing Space, and The Joy of Simple Living. I almost go over to her and say, "would you like some gum?" but I refrain.

The point I'm leading up to is this: The next time you find yourself multi-tasking, whether it's for work, leisure or anyplace in between, think for a second, "who told you that you have to double up and triple up, even quadruple up on the tasks or activities you're engaged in?" 99 times out of 100 you took it on yourself to engage in multi-tasking and 99 times out of 100 the perception will be that your time is passing by faster, you don't enjoy what you're doing and you're wondering where the day went.