Multitasking: The end of mindfulness?!

Can multitasking be the reason for stress and lack of energy?

Funny, whilst writing this I realised that my TV was on, my computer is running and my smartphone is right next to me, God forbid I miss any messages or new posts! Maybe you are reading this article whilst having lunch or dinner, or because you got bored by the TV program and started checking your email 😉

Often times we believe that by multitasking we can get more things done, but actually we get less done over all and what we do finish usually lacks in quality, because you were not giving it your full attention. Studies have shown that multitasking may give us a short boost of happiness, due to the fact that we believe to accomplish lots of things at once, but what is the price we pay for it? It is not a seldom thing for an overcharged lifestyle to end up making us feel stressed, get anxiety, headaches or any other sort of physical discomfort, especially the now very common belly problems such as IBS. But how come people are getting sicker and more frustrated when the pharmaceutical industry and medicine claim to have been making ‘astonishing’ progress?

As a meditation instructor and developer, I have been well aware of the importance of a mindful lifestyle for many years, and even I do sometimes get caught in its trap, even if only by accident. Buddhists praise mindfulness and even include it as one of the most important steps in their teachings, so how can we implement this in our modern, western world to achieve the same benefits? Especially since multitasking is almost part of every job description nowadays!

With everything in life, a healthy balance is the key. If you cannot stop multitasking all together, then you can make the effort though to be more mindful throughout the rest of your day. So next time you are bored by watching TV and start reading your emails at the same time, simply turn off the TV and give your emails your full attention. That being said, having the TV on in the background can be particularly dangerous due to the subliminal messaging used by the networks especially during commercials. When you distract you ‘thinking’ mind, any stimuli from your surrounding, such as suggestions from commercials, can enter directly to your unconscious. If you ever find yourself purchasing certain things you did not mean to buy initially, this may have happened to you.

During day-to-day life it is very simple to practice mindfulness, by paying more attention to the current moment and what you are doing.

For example:

• When next washing the dishes, or your hair… pay attention to how the water feels against your skin and how the different objects you are touching feel
• When taking a walk pay attention to your feet – this also opens up the Root Chakra (Chakras are the body’s energy fields), which is in charge of supporting us to achieve our goals
• When jogging through the forest, turn off the music and become aware of the nature around you. What can you hear, smell, see, feel, and even taste.
• you get the idea 😉

There are many possibilities to live a more mindful life, to consciously prevent yourself from any of these modern illnesses and live happier and healthier, enjoying each moment to the fullest.

If you also try out my meditation for mindfulness, you set yourself up for being an absolute champ at being mindful! You can go through it in this video: