I Think, Therefore I Can Monotask.
©Thatcher Wine
Let’s face it. Many of us have a lot going on in our heads. We use our brains to think about what’s happening right now, plus we often simultaneously think about the past and the future. We try to keep up with what others want us to pay attention to all the time. Thoughts come at us from all directions to the point that often we are not thinking clearly.
We may not think about all that thinking as multitasking, but that’s what it is. Any time we try to use our brains to do more than one thing at a time, even if it’s thinking about two things, that’s multitasking.
So what if we isolated thinking as a separate task all on its own? Could our dedicated thinking time help us get more good quality work done? Could we reduce the stressed out feelings we might be experiencing? Monotasking thinking can achieve all this and more!
Here are some quick steps to monotask thinking.
Acknowledge that modern life is designed to make you multitask all the time - your devices trick you into thinking you’re good at multitasking, and there is always pressure to being doing and achieving more.
Make a conscious decision to try monotasking and ideally monotask multiple parts of your life - my book describes twelve monotasks. You may find some of them easier than others, and some can act as a warmup to prepare you for monotasking thinking. For example, try reading, walking, listening, or other monotasks first.
In order to monotask thinking, give yourself permission to do one thing at a time - to think, and to think about only one thing.
If your mind wanders, that’s normal, just acknowledge that it did drift and bring it back to your monotask.
You may only be able to focus for a few seconds or minutes at first, that’s also normal in the world we live in. With more practice, you will be able to focus and pay attention for longer over time.
Don’t overthink or wear yourself out! Build your monotasking muscles over time, don’t overtrain them when they’re not strong enough. The goal is to have strong monotasking muscles that you can call upon whenever you need them.