I dislike the term "multitask". It implies that accomplishing one task alone is insufficient somehow; that you are better, faster, and more productive if you can juggle several tasks at once. Actually, if you think of multitasking in juggler's terms, it probably takes more focus to keep everything in motion. Multitasking can be exhausting! I do believe there are some people who are natural jugglers, who possess an amazing ability to balance multiple activities and give adequate attention to them. But there are other souls, myself included, who excel at being single-minded, people that must focus on one enterprise at a time to do it justice. Multitasking distracts me, makes me wonder, "What was I doing and why was I doing it?" In order to accomplish a task that has many steps to it, such as creating a complex bead or piece of jewelry, I must collect up all the ingredients I need, lay everything out in a somewhat orderly fashion, and then methodically work it through to the end. On the other hand, I know some incredible multitaskers who can accomplish so much at once. If they do happen to get momentarily distracted, they use that distraction as a springboard for new ideas. Distractions inspire fresh ideas for me, too. However, there is a risk that I might not recall my original idea if I dwell for too long on ….. now what was I doing?
But I digress. Let me ask you: do you multitask or focus on one thing at a time?
"If you can't ride two horses at once, you shouldn't be in the circus."- American proverb
