An Introduction to Monotasking

What is monotasking?

The concept of monotasking is pretty simple: do one thing at a time with your full attention.

However, monotasking in the world we live in is harder than it seems.

We are constantly tempted to multitask - by our long to-do lists, by our devices, and by our own brains. When we do more than one thing at a time, we become less efficient and more error‑prone. Our systems get overloaded and we crash.

So whether you call it monotasking, mindfulness, being present, or any other name, the goal is the same: Give your focus to one thing at a time and do it with your all. When we do things with our full focus, completely tuning our bodies and our brains in to one activity—like reading a book, listening to someone in a conversation, or paying attention to our surroundings while we go for a walk—amazing things can happen.

So, how do we monotask? We need to train our monotasking muscles.

• In my book, The Twelve Monotasks: Do One Thing at a Time to Do Everything Better, I provide an easy to follow plan for building monotasking muscles in everyday activities

• The 12 monotasks I write about are: Reading, Walking, Listening, Sleeping, Eating, Getting There, Learning, Teaching, Playing, Seeing, Creating, and Thinking

• Practice these with your full attention (monotask them!) and you will be able to call upon your monotasking muscles whenever you need them for any task at home, at work, or in others parts of your life.

• Strong monotasking muscles will help you pay attention, be more present, and more connected to other people.

• You will be more productive, less stressed, and happier in all that you do!