Day 26 of #LiveWell2017

Today’s practice: Do one thing at a time

In our world of busy-ness , we think we can get more accomplished if we are multi-tasking. Eating breakfast while checking the news on the cellphone, while plotting the day ahead and trying to have a conversation across the table all at the same time. In reality, doing all those things at once is diluting the attention we are paying to each activity and making us less able to do each of them well.

Research shows that multitasking is neither efficient nor good for your health. It causes us to make mistakes, it raises our stress hormone levels, and it ensures that we miss out on the very real events that are unfolding around us in each moment. In fact, multitasking could be hurting our relationships with those we love the most.

Multitasking is the opposite of mindfulness. To be mindful we must be present for the moment at hand. As Ram Dass says, “attend with care to the present activity.”

We must do one thing at a time. So for today, when you drink your tea, just drink your tea. When you speak to your spouse, look him in the eye and speak to him directly. When you walk to the car or the store or the bus, focus on the walk, the movement of your body, the act of walking.

Today, I will practice doing one thing at a time.

If you try it, let me know how it goes.