Multitasking

“Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:6 ESV)

In our house, we are picky about water pressure. If the dishwasher or washing machine is running, we wait to take a shower. The diversion of water to multiple pipes reduces the flow of water along each pathway. The slight shift goes unnoticed within the appliances, but we notice the decline when standing under a showerhead. 

A similar dissipation of energy occurs when we multitask. During the past few hours, I have been doing laundry, checking notifications on my phone, replying to texts, attending to the dog, washing dishes, and wondering what I should cook for dinner--all while listening to an audiobook! Although I got a lot done, I can’t say I did any of them to the best of my ability. My attention and energy were diverted in multiple ways, thus diminishing the satisfaction of concentrating on each task. 

I decided to try something different. I put my phone on the ‘do not disturb’ setting and turned the screen off. I turned the timer on for one hour and sat still in one spot. It was difficult at first. I felt fidgety and bored. Yet, because the usual options to self-interruption were removed, I settled down. I spent the time thinking and writing. The quality of this one hour was far superior to the rest of my day. While busyness and striving may look productive, quietness has intangible significance.