Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 21st

The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness. - Abraham Maslow

Confine yourself to the present. - Marcus Aurelius

In a 2009 Stanford research study, participants were asked to focus on the red rectangle and ignore the blue rectangle.  For those individuals that considered themselves heavy multitaskers, they were not able to focus only on the red rectangle.  Various studies were conducted on the heavy multitaskers to determine if they had a special talent and the Stanford research team came to the conclusion that the heavy multitaskers just could not stop thinking about the tasks that were not being completed and there was not anything different or unique about these individuals.  

When I read this study, I knew it was about me and I think many people in this world.  We are always on the go and thinking about the next thing we need to do.  We think we can multi-task and this study showed that trying to do more than one thing at a time prohibits someone from focusing and the person is not able to complete the various tasks to the quality they need to instead of just doing one task at a time.

I am a MAJOR multi-tasker.  I run and think…I watch television and clean out email….I sit in meetings and think about things I need to do…

I decided that I want to be present in the moment because I lose out on so many things in life if I am 

trying to do too many things at one time. 

Here is my tip for the day…I often will sit in meetings and remember things I need to do and I can honestly say my Friday morning Toastmaster meeting is the place this happens most often.  I came up with a solution that I hope will help you.  When I am at Toastmasters and need to be present to hear the various speakers, I take a notepad or grab a piece of paper and write down everything that comes to mind.  Sometimes I walk out of meetings with 20 things to do and other times it is only 3 things to do.  By writing them down, I know what I need to do, but I was still PRESENT at the meeting.

BE PRESENT TODAY!!!!

Resource

https://www.dailyworth.com/posts/3419-3-reasons-you-need-to-stop-multitasking