Make those last-minute calls while you balance your checkbook while you read your e-mail while you open your bills while you…well, you get the picture.
Our time-crunched schedules have turned us into multi-tasking maniacs, says Nancy Christie, author of The Gifts of Change (Beyond Words Publishing, 2004). But while we think we are being very efficient, the truth is we are shortchanging ourselves and heading for “occupation overload.”
“Like most people, I thought that the more I could do within a given time, the more effective I was as a person,” says Christie. “But gradually, I came to realize that what was missing was a sense of accomplishment. I was so busy rushing to the next task that I never gave myself time to notice what I had done.”
In the chapter “One Thing at a Time,” Christie advocates a three-step process to resolve this dilemma. Step one is to focus on doing just one thing at a time for twenty-four hours instead of the customary two, three or four.
Step two requires that you pause after each task to acknowledge and appreciate what you have done. “No one else may know or care about what you did,” writes Christie, “but that doesn’t matter. Value your labors and your many different roles. If you don’t, how can you expect anyone else to?”
Step three is “zero-tasking,” explains Christie. “Inject little moments of inaction into your life,” she writes. “Each time you complete a task, imagine that you’ve reached an intersection where the light has just turned red. Stop and recognize where you are at that moment—at the corner of What-I-Just-Did Avenue and What-I-Will-Do-Next Street—before rushing down the next road.”
Christie has also created a “Multi-Task Evaluation” worksheet as part of The Gifts of Change online workbook, available at www.giftsofchange.com, to help identify how much multi-tasking is part of your daily routine.
“By tracking how much we cram into our day, we will begin to realize that much of our stress originates because we never notice when a task is completed. All we can see is what is left to do. We gobble up our time the way we gobble up our meals. And, in the end, we are left physically and psychological unsatisfied.”
Converting from multi-tasker to zero-tasker requires a shift in our perception of what constitutes productivity, notes Christie, as well as a change in priorities. Both can be challenging, she admits.
“This was one of the hardest processes for me,” she acknowledges. “I also thought that the more I did, the better person I was. It took a major shift in my thought patterns to realize it wasn’t quantity but quality that really mattered. Cutting back on multi-tasking not only made me more productive, but also made me feel more satisfied with my life in general. That was an unexpected gift that came with change.”
For more information about Nancy Christie and The Gifts of Change, visit her web site, www.giftsofchange.com or contact her via e-mail at info@giftsofchange.com or by phone at 330-793-3675. The Gifts of Change is available online, in bookstores nationwide, and in select military exchanges worldwide.
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