One thing at a time

I was watching a live program online, using my smart phone to check out something on Google, and looking through the paper all at the same time…when it hit me. Actually, it was a feature story in the paper that hit me. More specifically, it was the headline.

The Myth of Multitasking

While I must admit I am a practitioner of multitasking, I am not a fan of it. In my own experience, I have realized that I can only effectively focus on one thing at a time. Anything else, no matter how important or well-intended, is a distraction.

In my Christian radio days, I hosted the morning drive each weekday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. For most of that time, I was also the station’s general manager. I had a rule that I reinforced with my leadership staff.

“When I am in the control room,
I am not the general manager.”

I knew that trying to make a management decision while I was on the air would distract me from my focus on the listeners and what I needed to share with them. And, I also knew that since I could not give full attention to an important decision while I was on the air, I might not make the best decision for the good of the station, staff, or ministry.

Now, it seems, there is support for that understanding. The newspaper writer, Mark Fadden, says that multitasking has a negative effect on our brains. He points to numerous studies that tell us multitasking can affect our mental clarity, lower our IQ (who needs that?) …maybe even permanently, and makes us less efficient. Yikes!

He gets a bit technical, but here is the gist of it. When you successfully finish a task, a “reward hormone,” dopamine, is released. But over time, constant multitasking releases another hormone that is very negative. It is a stress hormone, cortisol, and it causes us to feel worn down and exhausted. And if that weren’t bad enough, cortisol sometimes blocks our ability to burn fat. Double yikes!!

Seriously, multitasking is not our best use of the time God has given us to serve Him, our families, and others. I’m trying to think of a single time that Jesus multitasked. He was focused. He was single minded. Jesus often pulled away from even his disciples so He wouldn’t be distracted in the most important task He had…talking with His Father.

The Apostle Paul picked up on that, no doubt. His context was a bit different, but the point is still true. Paul talked about not having arrived, or attained it all. Paul talked about his focus.

[blockquote author=”Philippians 3:13-14 NLT” link=”” target=”_blank”]Insert your content here[/blockquote]No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

See that? “I focus on this one thing….”

Multitasking…or monotasking. There may be a time for both. But don’t be fooled into thinking you’re more productive and efficient when you multitask. And don’t neglect the importance of focusing on that single thing to which Christ has called you.