It is common for humans to do multiple things simultaneously. Sometimes, it is by choice, and other times, it is because we have to. Our society values output and you can output more by doing more things simultaneously. This also means more money. More work, more reward. If your work is demanding, and you need to get more done than the time available to you, you have to force yourself in doing multiple things in parallel.
We all have done this often. Also, part of the reason is our life is becoming more demanding as we progress. My parents and grandparents didn't have to do many things that I do now. As an example,
- They didn't have to drop off and pick up their kids from school. Lol, kids were happy too in those days, walking to the school with friends. For most kids, there were no second schools- tuition classes or private tuitions. So how did we and our children have ended up in this lose-lose scenario? They are almost inside a car, classroom or their room than being outdoor, in nature or with friends!
- Most of them worked close to where they lived and hence little time was lost in commute!
- They didn't have the bills that we have to deal with! Mortgage bills, utility bills (yah, they did have electricity bills at some time), credit card bills, home insurance renewal, Auto and probably Life insurance renewals, cell phone bills, car payments, vehicle registration renewals, TV service, and Internet Service Provider bill. And payments for child care and Gardner. The list can go on. I know some of our bills are on autopay but now there is even increased momentum towards the Subscriptions model so you pay monthly for various subscriptions, like Office 365 or Photoshop, streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Spotify, YouTube plus, Costco membership fee, and Amazon Prime charges. And then the biggest headache of taxes like income tax for federal and state, property tax. Our previous generations didn't have to deal with most of this!
- They went shopping once or twice a year. Before Diwali, or before wedding season. That was it. We go shopping monthly, if not weekly, and generally spend around 4-6 hours on one shopping trip!
- Those were the days when the father worked and the mother was in charge of the household. Now in most households, husband and wife both like to, or have to, work. The result is you are expected to do even more! If you are a woman, you go out and spend most of your day at work. If you are a man, you are supposed to cook and do laundry too.
Ok, the main topic is not this comparison. We all know that we have more overheads these days. I wanted to point out that we have a lot more chores than our parents and grandparents used to have. So obviously, time is a bit scarce commodity for most of us. This has forced many of us into in-voluntary multi-tasking.
On the other hand, there are times when we choose to multi-task. While driving, sometimes we choose to check our phone or send an SMS ;) While biking or hiking, we choose to listen to some music. While working on a computer, we play some music in the background. If you enjoy doing multiple things in parallel, good for you. I am bad with that. Not sure if my capacity and/or willingness is going down as I become older. Personally, if I start playing music when I am working on a computer, I enjoy none of them. Here is how I make choices in my world.
- While hiking or biking, I like to be outdoor and with the surrounding. I prefer to listen to a bird chirping than to music or a podcast. These are my off-hours; these are my own hours and I don't want to end up working and learning in these slots too. I want to relax.
- When I am in some mood to listen or watch, I focus on just that and do it. I just don't want to be doing this in every available free moment.
- When I am in the middle of some task, and the phone rings, I normally would ignore the phone call. Believe me or not, most calls can wait, and it helps to talk with that friend or family member when you are 100% available, not with focus divided between things.
- I have stopped notifications in social media Apps. I check them when I have time for that. I don't need to know right away if a friend is in New York times square or is in Italy! Or instantly when someone commented on my post or on someone else's post. I don't want to be constantly disturbed by notification chimes. This is a psychological trap in my opinion,
- I have started putting 2 hours of focus time on my work calendar on most workdays. During this time, most phone calls and chat messages are put on hold unless there is some urgency.
- I have cut down on certain things in my life. I have no interest in being on top of the latest developments, or what is happening in the world. I don't want to learn something just because it will increase my value; I am interested in learning on those things that can help me be a bit wiser, and people around me a bit happier.
(This post is still in progress)
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