Here’s a quick exercise to demonstrate how good humans are at multitasking.
- Take your right hand and move it in a circle to the right (clockwise).
- Now, at the same time, take your right foot and move it in a circle to the left (counterclockwise).
That’s how good we are at multitasking.
While it can seem possible to do two things at once, our attention is just making quick leaps back and forth between tasks, sometimes multiple leaps per second. This severely reduces our ability to do quality work.
Focusing on one thing at a time is how efficient, quality work is done, from an intense project at work to understanding what’s going on in the TV show in front of you.
This is why, when it comes to healthy change, choosing just one small goal at a time, and not moving to your next goal until it becomes automatic, is the most efficient method for making long-term change.
This can be incredibly harder done than said, especially for you ambitious ones. We can see it as an opportunity to “take it easy” when it comes to building healthier habits.