Find focus: learn to monotask
Juggling. Doing it all. Multitasking. Is it time to rethink our to-do lists and reap the benefits of getting on with one thing at a time, asks journalist Marianne Jones.
Which of you career-making, child-rearing, dinner-cooking women has heard of monotasking? A show of hands, please (if you have one free). Thought not. In fact, I bet you’re reading this while simultaneously chopping a carrot, prepping for a meeting or studying a paint chart. We live in a permanent state of distraction. Even when relaxing in front of the TV, how many of us focus on the plot? I’ll habitually scroll through my WhatsApp groups or brush the dog, then annoy my husband when I can’t remember who the killer is. From the year dot, women, in particular, have not only been reared to multitask but encouraged to be rather proud of it. It’s the sort of skill we add to a CV alongside ‘works well under pressure’.
However, wellbeing experts increasingly believe that far from being a badge of honor, multitasking is bad for us. From this, a new buzzword has emerged: monotasking. It is the art of focusing on one job until it is complete, rather than being constantly distracted by interruptions… such as the pings from your Insta feed.