Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Are you able to finish one task, before starting the next?

In our “Age of Destractability”, finishing one task before starting another has become extremely difficult for most busy people. We all seem to live in a time crunch, where getting things done fast has led us into a multi-task mindset. Unfortunately, we try to do this with a brain evolved to be single tracked. Whistling while we work wasn't too bad, but how challenging it has become to listen to a podcast on our smart phone, while monitoring emails and texts, and drinking coffee, while driving 80 miles an hour. You don't have to be Charles Darwin to figure out “we weren't made that way”. Even though this is an affliction from which I suffer mightily, I have garnered a few tips on how to finish one thing before starting another. Problem is, I didn't write them down before I checked my facebook so now I can’t remember most of them. So please, send me your best tips on how to finish one thing before starting another.

1. Tell yourself, “I am now doing one thing and I will finish that one thing before starting another”
2. Make “finish” your new mantra.
3. Write down “I am now....” and do not move on to the next task until you have completed that task.
4. If you have OCD, these instructions will make no sense to you. Your issue is that it takes too long for things to feel finished. If you think you have ADD and you've gotten this far into the text without starting something else, you probably don't have ADD.

Remember the words of E.B. White “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”.

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