Lately multitasking has come to the attention of the field of stress as an activity that produces high levels of stress, reduces workplace productivity and dilutes our ability to experience life more fully. For the most part I agree with that but not because multitasking is intrinsically counterproductive, but because people have not been trained on how to multitask effectively.
Let’s take a close look at how the average person multitasks versus how someone trained in mindfulness multitasks. The average person has not been trained in focusing attention and letting go so consequently when it comes to multitasking as they move from one subject/activity to the next, part of the previous subject/activity comes with them and after awhile it all becomes a mish mosh of unfocused confusion and does in fact cause stress.
On the other hand, when someone trained in mindfulness multitasks and they move from subject/activity to subject/activity they are able to let go of the previous subject/activity and move cleanly onto the next without the usual spill over from the previous. On the outside it may look the same as the untrained person, but on the inside there is a clean movement from task to task with no residual left over from the previous. Multitasking then becomes faster, more efficient, more productive and frankly, fun to do. Rather than produce and perpetuate adrenaline addiction, it produces and perpetuates what the Eastern traditions call Chi, or positive modulated energy.
This reminds me of a story/legend of a famous Yogi who would ask the many gathered people who had come to see him to ask him a question all at the same time. He would then proceed to answer every one of them. I don’t know if that is a true story but it got me thinking many years ago about the potential of attention and the story has stuck with me all these years.