LIVING WITH HEART

Candace A. Croft, Ph.D.
© 2007 Candace A. Croft

Tasks of the Heart

Imagine the following:

After giving your morning java order, you are asked, “Would you like some whipped cream sprinkled with anthrax on your mocha latte?”

At lunch, you ponder your menu decision, saying, “The egg salad with salmonella sounds good, but I can’t decide.  I wonder if I can extra size the e. coli with the burger.”

At happy hour, you order a zoster seltzer to go with the Ebola appetizers.

If you think the scenario is the most ludicrous thing you have ever heard, I welcome you as a first-time reader to the column.  Of course, the behavior described above seems outrageous.  No one would ever be so obviously self-destructive.  Or would they?  Every day people pride themselves on their ability to manage several tasks simultaneously, a cultural phenomenon called multitasking.

Multitasking is hazardous to your health.  There, I’ve said it.  I have lifted the lid on Pandora’s box and let the ugly reality out.  Detrimental to one’s well-being, any organization that encourages its practice should have a Surgeon General’s warning mounted over the entrance. 

Women, it seems, are especially susceptible to this insidious practice.  We are expected to multitask with the dexterity of the ultimate Superwoman, Devi, and her ten arms that never fail to nurture and protect all within her reach.  As the saying goes, we bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never ever let him forget he’s a man while juggling shopping, cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, laundry, gardening, social planning, bill paying, and tracking family events and celebrations.  We do all of this on minimal sleep and nourishment between jobs and workouts with one child balanced on a hip and a passel of demanding others clamoring around us.  No accolades are given when we turn in an outstanding performance since nothing less is expected of the goddess.  Men, on the other hand, are applauded if they can remember to zip up their pants and put the toilet seat down after using the facilities. 

… Now that I think about it, perhaps the WO separating the men from the women stands for worn-out.  That would explain a lot.  But, where was I … yes, multitasking …

Two thousand years ago, Syrus said, “To do two things at once, is to do neither.”  As it turns out, he was correct.  Multitasking only gives the illusion of doing more.  Frenetic with activity, we actually produce less in quantity and quality.   Counterproductive to health and wellness, it is the fastest route to apathy, burnout, and dis-ease because, even with practice, we do not get better at multitasking, we simply get used to its ineffectiveness.     

… I think I heard the buzzer on the dryer.  I’d better remove the clothes before they wrinkle … Now, where was I?  Oh, right, multitasking and the brain …

We mistakenly believe that, if a computer which was modeled on the human brain can have several windows open and perform more than one task simultaneously, so can we.  In actuality, neither a computer nor a human is capable of multitasking.  Instead of focusing on two operations simultaneously, our brains rapidly switch back and forth from one task to the other.  Each task suffers from decreased performance because the brain needs time to switch between them and, when it does, divides its energy between them all.  In other words, multitasking is inefficient because it ultimately takes more time than a speeding bullet and, with each task receiving only a percentage of energy available to it, complex issues are handled simplistically. 

… I really should surf the internet to locate that lamp for my niece’s birthday.  That only took an hour.  I wish I could have found one.  Where was I?  Oh, the downside of multitasking …

Multitasking increases stress, decreases perceived sense of control, and increases physical complaints like head, stomach, and back aches.  Research by Bruce McEwan at Rockefeller University in NYC demonstrated that stress shrinks the brain by decreasing the number of neurons or brain cells in the prefrontal cortex.  I don’t know about you, but I need all the firing brain cells I can get.  What this means to you and I is that prolonged exposure to stress, such as that experienced from multitasking, alters the brain and interferes with our memory and ability to pay attention.  Because our train of thought is lost more easily when we start and stop multiple tasks, you may not be suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s, just diminished memory due to multitasking. 

Multitasking is an unwholesome activity that causes Superwoman’s mindset to fragment.  She is viewed as fickle because her constantly shifting train of thought makes her appear wishy-washy.  Inducing a type of attention deficit disorder, multitasking conditions us to deal with life in artificially short bursts, rather than persevering and holding the course for prolonged periods.  To further complicate matters, women who have been socialized as nurturers are more likely to juggle interruptions as they arise, rather than ignoring them.  After all, to ignore someone’s call for help, for even a few moments, might be interpreted as insensitive.  Superwoman would never risk having the big “S” ripped from her chest.  Far better that her effectiveness lag or spirit drag.

… Hmm.  A magazine cover on my table mentions an article profiling of a Sufi cardiologist.  Sounds interesting.  Let me mark that for later reading.  Okay, back to—what was it—oh yes, reduced attention span …

When we Superwomen learn to give full attention to one task at a time and stop trying to save the world, our effectiveness will increase.  We will be given greater credit and credibility.  With integrated spiritmindbody, we will walk through life grounded and secure, healed and whole.  We will be able to nurture others from strength, instead of weakness.

We exercise wise control over our lives when we close numerous windows to the world and open those to our hearts.  Doing that, we have fewer niggling distractions impinging upon us and sucking our life force dry.  We can face challenges calmly with the presence of mind to make critical decisions and bring creative solutions to bear.  Letting go and relaxing, we allow our selves to enjoy leisure time for more than two hours at a time.  We feel refreshed by deep, restful sleep.  Being a divine goddess means being in-spirited, not debilitated. 

… Did I send a response about next week’s meeting?  I had better call to find out …

I recently read about a woman who, while driving to work each morning, routinely performed the following tasks:  talking on her cell phone, texting on her blackberry, and using her breast pump!!  She justifies her pumping behavior stating that it would not have come equipped it with a car adapter if it were not intended for such use.  Evidently, the distinction between a driver and passenger was as lost on her as the concept of independent judgment and personal responsibility. 

Who would praise a neurosurgeon for texting on her blackberry while performing surgery or an attorney for answering emails during a trial?  Are the tasks that require our attention any less important?  If they are, perhaps we should reconsider why we are attending to them at all. 

… The Weather Channel says we can expect rain.  Like they know.  What was I saying?  Oh, I remember, responsibility …

In fact, multitasking is as irresponsible as serving egg salad with salmonella.  Not only does it affect your body and mind, it adversely affects your spirit by tearing holes in your aura, that energy field surrounding you as a protective shield.  Ripped, you become vulnerable to a host of dis-ease agents.  You might as well just order e. coli with your burger and be done with it.  If the state of the planet reflects the collective state of individual health, perhaps one way to heal the ozone layer, our planet’s protective shield, is to mend each person’s aura.  It’s just a thought.

The good news is that the adverse effects of multitasking are reversible.  Take a hint from computers that freeze up when the demands of multitasking overwhelm their capacity and close the window on multiple tasks.  To-do lists give the brain permission to release thoughts from working memory and rest.    

Focus on one thing at a time, to completion.  Doing that places you more solidly in the here-and-now where awareness is heightened and enlightenment is possible.  

Slow down.  Infuse calmness by scheduling any activity for triple the amount of time you think it will take, realizing that it usually does.  Minimize distractions by shutting the door and ignoring incoming calls, emails, and text messages.  All of that can wait until later.  When talking to your partner or child, give them your undivided attention.  Leave the cell phone at home when walking or exercising.  Find a way to leave the world behind for several minutes every day.

Improving your focus will increase your efficiency.  Your productivity will climb.  Your health will improve and your spirit will soar.  Of course, you will not be inducted into the Mulitasker Hall of Fame but, then, you probably will not make the Quadruple Bypass Club either.  It is amazing how those membership lists overlap.

Close the windows of all the tasks you have open, except one.  If you experience withdrawal and must multitask, open multiple windows to your soul and—

KEEP YOUR HEARTLIGHT SHINING