Lately I’ve begun to see how much I sabotage my mindfulness when I multitask. Like when I listen to an audio book or podcast while doing chores, for example. What an efficient use of time, right?

But I realize that I’m not paying full attention to whatever I’m listening to nor to whatever I’m doing.

The practice of mindfulness is joyful. It feels fresh and alive, experiencing life first-hand instead of through a fog of mental distortion.

Multitasking makes my mind feel dull, scattered, and muddled. Not only do I feel disconnected, but I see how this practice is disrespectful. If something is worth doing or someone’s writing is worth listening to, then it’s worthy of my full attention. When I give my full attention, I access a sense of gratitude. This gratitude and well-wishing make me feel fully engaged in life. 

When multitasking, I rush to get things done. I promise myself the reward of relaxing. I anticipated that in that relaxation, I can be fully available to enjoy the moment. Clearly, I was judging some moments more worthy of my full attention and others not. The result was diminished joy of mindfulness and chores done in a slapdash way. There was a lack of integrity, of wholeness, and balance.

When I’m mindful while cleaning or cooking, I am not only more skillful, but engaging with love. It lifts me up, the labor is more rewarding, and the results are more satisfying.

Of course, just like meditation, this being present, doing only one thing, is a practice. So my attention is inconsistent and imperfect. It’s challenging! It goes against a lifetime of habits.

I enjoy the process as a result of cultivating this practice. Surprisingly, I am getting more done with a greater sense of satisfaction. Scattered attention and energy was decreasing my effectiveness.

One area I typically go mindless is eating. Many decades ago, my toddler stepsons assumed I was eating fast as a competition. How embarrassed I was when one cheerily announced, “Stephanie wins!”

Except for meditation retreats, I am often mindless and multitask while eating. This habit has led me to gobble my food up and then wonder what happened to it. Even when I’m eating my carefully measured daily treat!

To remedy this, I’m practicing pausing before taking the piece of chocolate. I envision where I will sit to savor it and give it my full attention. It’s a work in progress, but with repetition, my plan should prevail. The new habit is reinforced by discovering how delicious the chocolate is as it dissolves on my tongue. This is quite different from scarfing it down while walking out of the kitchen, planning my next activity.

As a bonus, if it ever stops being a sensory pleasure, I’ll notice and will let it go.

Many of us feel rushed and eat while working, watching TV, or even driving. When is it a necessity? When is it just a habit? When is it a distracting danger?

In some situations, multitasking leads to great harm. Texting while driving is a classic example. Most accidents on the road today are caused by distracted drivers. Some accidents result from the recklessness of drivers who are rushing, upset, or angry. Others involve those who are deeply depressed. They are not thinking about the consequences or just don’t care if others suffer with them. 

A mind full of thoughts and emotions is another form of multitasking, isn’t it? There’s no room in the brain to focus on driving. Autopilot isn’t skillful. 

Multitasking makes us unskillful in other ways too. If we’re engaged in a physical activity, like gardening, we might not notice if we’re putting stress on the body. This stress can cause temporary or long-term harm.

Being mindful is awareness of the whole scope of our immediate physical experience. Just as we do in mindful meditation, we check in with each of the senses. Touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight. Attuned in this way, we quickly notice if we’ve been squatting too long. We also notice if we are out of balance in a harmful way. 

Let’s stop planning what we’ll say next while someone is talking! We can enrich every conversation and relationship with our full attention.

Experiencing the joy of engaged awareness, I recognize how paltry and sometimes painful falling into mindlessness can be. It results in losing all sense of balance, presence, awareness, and gratitude for this moment.

Bringing mindfulness to periods of relaxation frees me from the anxious feeling that I should be doing something else. Ah delicious! Savor every moment, no matter what we’re doing. Even if we’re doing nothing.

Multitasking dilutes any sense of aliveness.

Per these few examples, we see that it can be harmful, but how do we incorporate it into our lives? My life is greatly simplified compared to decades ago when I had an employer and kids. But for many of us, there are so many demands. There are so few hours in the day!

Parents say there is no way in the world to avoid multitasking when you have young children. You have to be there for them. You must meet their various needs. You need to keep the home together and get the shopping done, etc. So how can you not multitask? There’s no perfect answer, but knowing that this level of intense involvement is temporary helps. And as they grow, it helps to remember that even young children can join in the needed activities. We can let them take some responsibility.

Those in the workforce say that employers expect them to multitask, that it’s part of the job. How is that multitasking impacting the well-being of the employees, affecting the business, customers, products, etc.? That’s important for employers to evaluate. 

Some employers expect employees to be available all the time. The cellphone, while it provides instant connection, useful tools, and seemingly endless diversions, has become a multitasking nightmare! It’s right there. At the least little ping or tune or question to be searched, we pull it out. This happens even when we’re in the middle of something else.

Do some of these examples of multitasking resonate with you? 

Take a moment to think about where in your life you do more than one thing at a time. Do you carry on phone conversations while preparing meals or doing housework? The clattering of your kitchen utensils and rustling of activity can be heard. The noise could bother them. And it’s a reminder that they are not worthy of your undivided attention.

While eating, are you so engaged in a conversation or reading that you haven’t tasted the food? 

It’s lovely to have a meal with friends and family. But the experience is deepened if we pause to taste the food, savoring the flavors and textures. It connects us with all the senses. It reminds us to feel gratitude for all that went into the growth, delivery, and preparation of the food.

If you have been practicing mindfulness in your meditation, can you integrate that mindfulness fully into your daily life?

Please add your thoughts and experiences below to add to this valuable conversation.