I was recently watching a live entrepreneur virtual conference on the web that featured a different entrepreneur each hour - all of them men. This hour's particular speaker was in Costa Rica with some entrepreneur friends where they were having a conference talking about their next big ideas. They were at a restaurant and watching this speaker have his hour via the camera on his laptop. Within the span of about 15 seconds he:
- talked to us (the audience) about a particular topic then,
- in mid sentence interrupts himself and talks to the waitress and introduces her via the camera then,
- solicits feedback from his friends around him on whether or not he is funny then,
- eats a few chips from the bowl in front of him and then,
- lifts his beer, looks straight into the camera, takes a swig of beer and says, "I'm multitasking"
Ok Dork. =)
From Dr. Oz episode called "Battle of the Sexes" and specifically on Multitasking:
In the womb the developing brain is exposed to hormones that affect how it forms; boys get more testosterone, which favors development of the left side of the brain and girls get more estrogen, which sparks more connections throughout the brain. This, in part, explains the difference in communication and perception between the two sexes. Imaging studies have shed light on these differences as researchers examine brain parts that "light up" during verbal exchanges. Essentially,
Women: Always processing information, multitasking. Talk things out, review things over and over and take a non-direct route to get to the point. Language and speech are highly developed and we have more to say, and use more words to say it. Ability to zoom in on problems. Remember all details and we have a greater biological need to have order and solve problems.
Men: Low attention span (channel changing). Get to the point directly, quickly, using as few words as possible - overwhelmed by lots of words. Act first, talk later. They generally don't remember the details. Focus more on spatial and mechanical things (things that don't require words).
Multitasking is a trait that hormonally is just stronger in women. There are many times when I am watching a movie, a load of laundry in the washer and dryer, dinner in the oven, PVPing with the hubby, thinking about a blog post, and talking to my husband about my random thoughts on all of these subjects and more - all at the same time. Meanwhile, when the PVP battle has ended his response to my random stream of thoughts that I have just verbalized is often, "huh?". =)
I always thought that multitasking is a good thing. The ability to complete many things at the same time should mean that I have more time to do the things I enjoy - right? Instead what I found is that I didn't really enjoy much of anything. I found that I would only delve far enough into a topic to find the solution, find the reason, find the cause, speculate the solutions, play out each of their scenarios, apply the solution, fix the problem, complete the task - and then I move on - meanwhile dealing with many other "issues" at the same time. I was just.. getting things done. Do this job, done. Finish this task, done. Watch this movie, done. Watch this series, done. Do this task, done. Have this meal with friends, done. All the while I was also working/doing/completing and thinking about other topics, other tasks - you know, multitasking.
About a year ago, though a series of events and conversations with my loved ones I realized I had been doing this for.. ever. When a particular thing was done I didn't sit to enjoy something to a richer or deeper experience, I went on to DO more things, to check off more things on my never ending (and multiple copies) to do list. I would eventually even rope my husband in this. He would take on some of my tasks with the hope that it would free me up to spend more time with him, and instead, I would find more things/tasks/responsibilities to fill the free time he had created for me.
Since this realization I have been working on simplifying my life. Responsibilities that I had taken on that no longer applied to my personal goals and objectives - eliminated. Responsibilities of a complicated life disassembled and taken apart to create a more simple existence. So far it has been great! This has done a few things for me:
- Reduced Stress
When you aren't constantly moving, worrying, thinking, doing - you have time to actually relax. When you relax you give yourself the ability to let your mind wander, to enjoy one thing at a time - the company of another, a song, a movie, the stars in the sky. This is really what our life is about - experiencing life. I literally got rid of my to do lists. I no longer have an ongoing to do list of items. I know what needs to be done, and if I find that I do need a list, I just make a short list each day of what I intend to accomplish that day to keep me on track at the end of the day the list is trashed.
- Increased Creativity
Without being burdened all the time with the "omg what if I don't get this done, and this, and this.." I now have time to think, explore, try and do things that I just simply never felt I had time to do before.
- More Space
By cleaning out the things that no longer applied to my current life objectives and hobby priorities I created more simple space. This also allowed me to rethink our space and dedicate space to new areas of our life - like fitness.
- More Life Enjoyment
When your life isn't complicated with things that just simply don't need to be there - there is more time to really enjoy life and all that is around you. =)
- Better Overall Health
Now that I am committed to healthy eating and exercise, and when done right they both take time and focus. Thought, planning and execution are important for both tasks and they are now at the top of my priority list rather than being almost to the bottom or non-existent.
OK Dork, Noah Kagan, maybe you really do have something here. Maybe your kind of multitasking is really what I should be focused on - Costa Rica, beer and chips, surrounded by friends and taking just over an hour to share my knowledge with hundreds of other people who want to be in my shoes. That sounds like some pretty enjoyable and yet life effective multitasking.
Good job and thank you. =)
