Why Are Multi-Taskers So Stressed Out?

Nothing gets the stress levels revved up like multitasking. We’ve all been there – spread too thin, feeling a lack of satisfaction, perhaps even bitter. Well, there’s a reason multitasking is taking a toll on you. By definition, multitasking is an impossible feat – IMPOSSIBLE! No wonder you feel stressed out.

So what to do when you’re in a time crunch, trying to do 25 things at once, accomplishing very little? While it may sound counter-intuitive, you can actually get more done in less time by S L O W I N G the mind.

Our modern culture demands multi-pointed attention—even though such demands are really quite impossible to fulfill. Simply put, the brain cannot observe two objects at the same time. To provide us the illusion that we are multitasking, adrenaline surges through the body stimulating the brain to move attention rapidly back and forth from one object to another. The elevated hormone levels created by habitual multitasking can depress both the immune system and the mind.

Single-pointed attention actually slows the mind in order to concentrate and focus our creative energy. As a result, we can gain access to the superconscious portion of the mind from which all wisdom flows. One-pointed attention enables us to accomplish more in less time, with fewer mistakes and greater satisfaction.

The greatest artistic, creative and productive achievements in history have been facilitated through minds exercising one-pointed attention. Similarly, at the pinnacle of any Olympic competition, the gold medal is won by the athlete whose mind has been made one-pointed. The winner possesses the skill to remain focused regardless of competing thoughts, desires or emotions that could disspiate both mental and physical reserves. To thoroughly know anything, to discover or create anything, you must give your heart to it—which means our ATTENTION. The greater the focus of attention, the more profound the blessing.