A rule of thumb is that there’s no such thing as multitasking—only rapid task switching. This is true in my experience. And if it’s true, it means that we can be more effective by improving our ability to both to switch and to not switch tasks.
Physical and social tasks consume a lot of energy, and can be overstimulating. They also put me in a headspace of “external focus,” moving, looking at my surroundings, listening to noises, monitoring for people. Even when it’s OK to stop paying attention to my surroundings, I find it very hard to stop. This makes it hard to switch back to “mentitation mode,” where I’m in tune with my thoughts.
My usual solution is to chill out for a while. It’s not a great solution, because I usually just waste the time. I distractedly watch TV shows while also scrolling on my phone. That sort of thing. Might as well have just skipped those hours of life completely at that point.
It would be better to do something rejuvenating. Meditation, a nap, something like that. But what I think I need in these moments is a way of transitioning back to “mentitation mind.” My guess is that I’m not tired, so much as lacking practice in making this mental transition.
Task Switching And Mentitation
A rule of thumb is that there’s no such thing as multitasking—only rapid task switching. This is true in my experience. And if it’s true, it means that we can be more effective by improving our ability to both to switch and to not switch tasks.
Physical and social tasks consume a lot of energy, and can be overstimulating. They also put me in a headspace of “external focus,” moving, looking at my surroundings, listening to noises, monitoring for people. Even when it’s OK to stop paying attention to my surroundings, I find it very hard to stop. This makes it hard to switch back to “mentitation mode,” where I’m in tune with my thoughts.
My usual solution is to chill out for a while. It’s not a great solution, because I usually just waste the time. I distractedly watch TV shows while also scrolling on my phone. That sort of thing. Might as well have just skipped those hours of life completely at that point.
It would be better to do something rejuvenating. Meditation, a nap, something like that. But what I think I need in these moments is a way of transitioning back to “mentitation mind.” My guess is that I’m not tired, so much as lacking practice in making this mental transition.