Two hands, two feet, ten tasks

Over the past few days (or years, if I'm honest) I have been fighting with my ability and/or willingness to multi-task. It's an area where I frequently fail. But my allegiance is torn between wanting to improve and my desire to go against the grain. In most respects I think our society moves too quickly, enjoys too little, and tries to extract too many tasks out of our waking life. Beyond this belief I find it maddening that we, as a nation, are flying around more quickly than ever and, statistically, getting less done. I don't believe anything worthwhile can be accomplished with satisfactory results while ten other things are being attended at the same time. Mark Twain, as usual, said it best: "The bane of Americans is overwork--and the ruin of any work is a divided interest. Concentrate - concentrate. One thing at a time." I am not innocent of this lack of concentration - I frequently compose intimidating lists of tasks I need to accomplish and, in the scant time over lunch break I devote to them, I often fail miserably. (I'm currently writing this post while devouring leftover enchiladas from last night).

However, once upon a time, I did have a personal system to deal with all this pressure. Instead of going off a fifteen-item list of things I "should" get done that day, every morning I sat down and wrote one tiny list. The absolute limit was three tasks, but if they were larger jobs (e.g. writing a paper for class, catching up on "Lost") I could cut the list down to one or two items. In this way, I finished two or three important things each day and found myself less overwhelmed and more satisfied at the end of the week. Though it's been a proven system for me, I frequently fall out of the habit and find myself stuck with a massive to do list and a body too stressed to finish it. It's probably time to retake the antidote.

(cartoon by Bruce Eric Kaplan)