“You get so much accomplished; you must be a multitasker.” It was third time in as many weeks that a friend had labeled me.
The dictionary defines human multitasking as “the apparent performance by an individual of handling more than one task at the same time. An example of multitasking is taking phone calls while typing an email.”
Over coffee with a friend this week, I’d shared my confusion over my new label. We’re both involved in a lot of personal and work activities, but neither of us feel like we “multi-task.”
She shared that her ability to get a lot accomplished was the exact opposite. She identifies the most important things in her life and than she plans time to work on each thing, ONE at a time. She devotes all her time and energy to only one activity, not worrying or being anxious about other things in the future. Each activity has her undivided attention with no distractions. She always schedules time in her busy life so that she can have space to be singly devoted to concentrating on God.
I read further in the dictionary and it became clear: “Multitasking can result in time wasted due to human context switching and apparently causing more errors due to insufficient attention.”
I’m not a multi-tasker, I’m a single-tasker. I select the most important things and budget time for each one and time for God is at the top of my list.
Blessings,
Agatha
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