“A Confused Mind Takes No Action.” I’m not sure where that quote comes from, but it’s one I hear thrown around a lot. It’s a sound reminder for both life and business. When we’re unclear and confused, we tend to freeze and not to take action. A confused mind is created when we have too many options, too many possibilities. Too many choices. It’s a state that I, and many busy women, know well.
You know what else a confused mind leads to? You guessed it. A confused mind often reaches for something to eat. Stuck and not sure what to do, a confused mind often triggers us to reach out for relief in automatic, easy, quickly obtainable ways.
Do you have a confused mind? Are there so many thoughts, projects, action items, schedules, and details swirling through your head that you can’t even seem to finish one task before moving on to another?
This is your weekend reminder to slow down.
Use the next few days to refocus on doing one thing at a time. The productivity benefits of multitasking are a myth. We get more done more effectively when we focus on one thing at a time.
In case you need more convincing, Steve Aitchison posted this great article about unitasking at one of my favorite blogs. I love his reminders about how multitasking actually decreases our effectiveness. He’s also got some great (and simple) suggestions for avoiding a confused mind (and increased stress, overwhelm, etc.) at work. It sounds so basic, but he reminds us how exhausting and distracting a cluttered desk and computer desktop can be. What if you didn’t have everything going at once? What if unitasking was your norm?
As I’ve been paying more attention to this, I can tell you that I notice an immediate pay off when I REALLY focus on only one task at a time.
What about you?
