When you are sitting at home and watching television, for instance, are you normally doing anything else? Personally, I tend to play a video game or do laundry or something. Many of us have been raised with the normal expectation of multitasking. If only doing one thing, most people tend to either get bored or feel inefficient. But, do you really catch what happened in the show you were watching? When I have re-watched the show, I know I seem to have missed a lot of what happened.
Teenagers are not the only ones who have a difficult time focusing. I joke with friends about how we rarely see young people without some type of screen in front of them - especially in relation to our fears of teens learning how to drive. As new drivers who are used to instant gratification in communication and information, focus can be a challenge. Learning something new while in control of a large piece of machinery that can injure or kill them or others is a large responsibility. Unfortunately, teens are not the only ones who have this challenge.
We have been pushed to get more done, both in quantity and variety, and maximize efficiency. Technological advancements and pressures on time have increased our expectations of our time and other peoples' time. These expectations tend to lead to a lack of satisfaction with ourselves and others - but they are fallacies. These lies can increase depression, frustration and problems in the workplace.
Many researchers have discussed the myth of multitasking. Try doing a web search on the subject. Try doing one or more of the tests and see how well you do. You will likely find that there is higher efficiency and proficiency when doing one thing at a time rather than trying to do multiple things at once. This feels like it goes against our national norm and can be very challenging.
For your own personal growth, start small. Try to watch a television show you enjoy and focus on just it. Try to do a simple project from start to finish with no interruptions or distractions. Try to focus on one easy goal you want to accomplish and do it. After getting a few easy victories, try to build to more difficult situations - perhaps both at work and home. Evaluate how much higher the quality of the final product is with focus, how much less time it took and how much better you feel about the project.
When you have become proficient at a task, you likely feel proud and accomplished which tends to lead you to other similar decisions. Mastery makes people feel happier. Employee job satisfaction leads to greater retention and higher productivity, which benefits the organization and the employees. Win - Win!
To learn more about how to increase your Win-Win situations and build strong teams contact Mako & Associates at DeeAn@MakoEd.com or 206-992-7484.
