The Menace called Multitasking

I had never heard of this terminology when I was a kid back in the 80’s and 90’s. I don’t know when and how this word had crept into our lives but everyone seems to have become a multitasker and a proud one at that. Of course we had multitaskers before…..umm…duh…our mothers. But they are never called that, they are just mothers, they are born to do all those thousand and one things at the same time and look serene and calm too. I am not talking about these true- blue multitasking angels….

What I am saying is in all this hurry to fit in so many things in a short span of time, are we really doing any justice to the task at hand. Do we even consciously spend any time doing one particular task to our fullest satisfaction, giving it our best shot? Why are we in such a hurry to do so many things trying to just tick it off our to-do list?( No wonder we have so many ADHD cases being reported now).The more number of things we can do in a short duration gives us the euphoria of accomplishment.  This is just to fill the void we feel inside and to prove it to ourselves of our self- worth. Doing just a few things is just not good enough anymore. This is a sad state of affairs.

What happened to the slow pace and unhurried ways of our earlier days?  Summers spent day-dreaming, gardening, learning a new hobby not to perfect it but for the love of learning something new or seeing something grow.  These things need not be scheduled or put under the itinerary heading “vacation time”; it should be part of our regular everyday scheme of things.

Somewhere down the line, I have somehow come to despise this term and see it as a threat to creativity and originality. This word is slowly wreaking havoc in many households.  Women are the ones bearing the brunt of this so called menace. Women are expected to be superwomen juggling work and family life with finesse. No one is to even fathom the crushing load of work that has to be done to keep things running like clockwork. And God forbid if it shows, then you are just not efficient enough.

Prioritize and do what is most important to you and give it your best, not for any recognition, but for your satisfaction. Do less but efficiently. Once you put your heart and soul to anything you do, the need to over-achieve will vanish and peace will set-in.