Multitasking Overloads Our Eyes
©Thatcher Wine
We are bombarded with visual clutter all day long. It seems like everyone wants our attention.
Studies show that we are exposed to as many as 10,000 advertisements a day. Some of them are obvious (a billboard for examples) but many others (mostly Internet ads and phone notifications) are a lot sneakier. You may not think of seeing all visual stimulation all day as “multitasking” but it is - your brain is being asked to do more than one thing at a time (process what you are seeing plus do whatever other tasks you are doing at the same time).
I believe we can retake control of our eyes and use them to see one thing at a time. When we do this, we can truly see what is out there, appreciate it, and not have life go by in a blur. We can reduce our stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. We can apply our attention to what we want and need to get done, and the people we are with. How do we do this?
First, we have to accept that 21st Century life is full of distractions.
Second, we should be confident in our ability to learn how to resist some distractions and to reduce the amount of multitasking we do.
Third, we should commit to seeing with our own eyes as much as possible. When many of us see something interesting these days, we reach for our phones to snap a photo or video. We should resist this temptation and first see with our eyes. We should also reduce how much we process the world through other people’s eyes (e.g., advertisers, influencers, pundits, etc.) See first with your eyes, not your device, and choose what you want to see and take some time looking at it.
Fourth, we need to strengthen and cross-train our monotasking muscles so that we have the ability to focus and pay attention when we need it. My book, The Twelve Monotasks, explains the benefits of monotasking vs. the downside of multitasking. It also provides a clear path for everyone to start building their monotasking muscles, some cross-training is helpful, for example by reading and walking, you can build the muscles you need to monotask seeing.