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Is multitasking good for the spiritual life?
As I write this post, I am cleaning my office, answering email, eating breakfast, and checking my Facebook page. I think it’s safe to say that I am a multitasker, and an unrepentant one at that. At some level, I like to think that this is a good thing, that I have the ability to do lots of stuff at once. But I also know that it isn’t always a helpful thing as I’m not always fully present to the thing I am doing or to myself or others involved in the task.
I think that "Mother of God Three Handed" is a good patron saint for multitaskers. This particular icon was written by Father William McNichols, SJ.
My nun Sister Jean sent me an article that has sobered me up a bit about multitasking. The Downside of Multitasking highlights some of the real problems of multitasking.
The study compared college students who did a lot of multitasking with those who did very little…. It turned out that the students who did the most multitasking weren’t very good at it. The more they multitasked, the worse they were in terms of being easily distracted and filtering out irrelevant information. [The basis for the author's comments is a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences called Cognitive control in media multitaskers (July 2009).]
From a spiritual point of view, I wonder what this all means in terms of our capacity to engage in prayer. Are we too busy, too fast-paced to recognize God in our midst? Do we miss God’s call to us to help someone, to take note of something, to pause for prayer because we are in multitask mode? Or, can multitasking help us to “be everywhere when we see so many needs” (to quote our IHM co-founder Father Louis Florent Gillet)? Can a healthy notion of multitasking be built upon our tradition of practicing “contemplation in action”, of making our work and our relationships a prayer, of “praying without ceasing” as Saint Paul tells us. And with all our multitasking, where is there space for other kinds of prayer such as solitude and silence? Can we know really what contemplative prayer is if it is merely one task among a multitude of others?
How does multitasking affect your spiritual life? Is it easy or difficult to practice a more contemplative life in the midst of a face-paced world?
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{ 13 comments }
I do think it’s more difficult being in such a fast-paced society to really pray and not feel like “I need to do this” “I WANT to do this”.
Great icon! And as for multitasking, a qualified yes. I used to be a huge multitasker, but I have found that as I get older, it is more difficult to do well. I am finding that I have to be more intentional, particularly about things that really matter, like prayer and spiritual reading and pastoral care. I can’t do other things and listen well so as to really absorb what I’m hearing or reading. (Of course, I’m also typing this in my Christology class, so maybe there is hope!)
great article – always interested in multi-tasking – if it is good, wise or productive. i think in some cases you have too – especially in this world – and with some people who sort of expect you to be doing 10 things at once. i am good at it when it doesn’t matter – but i find myself getting irritated and resentful when it does matter and i want the task i am about TO matter and count and be remotely good! The thing that gets me the most is when people start making ‘lists’ and when people and people related tasks are entered on the ‘list’ and they are ticked off one at a time. Somehow that just seems shallow to me. I don’t want to find myself doing it – because i know how it feels when i am the person ‘ticked – off’ their list – [pun intended!]
The “Up”side (Yes, pun intented!) of Multitasking: Thank G-d for the capability to multitask as this gift makes discernment possible!
Zeke … interesting observation. I think that sometimes discernment is one of those things that happens both consciously and unconsciously. While we are about our daily lives, our unconscious self is “marinating” or “percolating” in discernment. For me, I need to have that undercurrent going when I am discerning something or chewing on an idea. It’s a different kind of multitasking but as you say, a gift. There of course is also necessary times to allow that discernment to come to the fore, to be single-heartedly engaged in, but discernment also needs to be part of that “pray without ceasing” way of being.
I used to be the multi-tasker of multi-taskers when working in the Corporate world. In my current life, I’ve found that multi-tasking was not condusive to my prayer time. So for me at least, less multi-tasking and attention to the minutiae (and so less control-freak tendencies) has been good.
I believe Father Gillet’s statement to “be everywhere when we see so many needs” was his own personal way of following St. Paul’s advice to pray without ceasing. Father Gillet invited Mother Theresa to come from Baltimore to Monroe to assist him, and, he created Sister’s with his very own stole at St. Mary’s Church. Prayer and creating, with Mother Theresa, a new congregation, that is spiritual multi-tasking at it’s best!
I find that when I multitask I don’t have a sense of accomplishment. In fact, sometimes I am not really sure what I did, I just know I was busy all day. Makes me feel very hollow and disjointed. My preference is to do one thing at a time, but that is generally not possible in the corporate world. My best weapon against multitasking is to make a To Do list and follow it. It keeps me focused, I know where I am in getting things done, and I can do higher priority items first. Talking with someone who is multitasking is a downer! They are not really paying attention to what you are saying, and it comes through. I generally tell them that I will call them back at a better time, which usually gets their attention so we can have our discussion and move on
I don’t think there is such a thing as prayer and multitasking. I think you need to feel and be fully present to the prayer, the person or the situation.
Aneesah, so true about lists and being “ticked off”. I think that is when work becomes merely a job and not a way of being, a ministry.
For me, it helps to have some things that are multitaskable and others that are single experiences. But sometimes the multitasking spills over. A word that pulls me back is “savor” … helps me to tune into the moment … or “be still” which helps with the impulse feelings like Joyce Elaine mentioned.
I’ve found that the most efficient way to get through my day is to do one thing at a time. When I try to work on multiple projects simultaneously, I don’t do any of them well.
“It turned out that the students who did the most multitasking weren’t very good at it.” I think I just had a reality check. Though I’ve not been a student for some time I can relate to this. Doing one thing well and then going onto the next. It’s no wonder I have lapses of memory. I start a project that leads to another, in the meantime I have forgotten what it was I was looking for that lead me to the “other.” I;m going to give serious consideration to doing just that…one task at a time! Thanks!! Wishing you well!
Sister Julie – Thanks for the insight on discernment “percolating” or “chewing on” the idea. Any thoughts on whether discernment is a right brained or left brained activity – just want to know on which side to “chew”!
Just posted a piece about this on my blog. Hope you’ll check it out as aome wisdom from and long-time multitasker pursuing the contemplative life. I’ll add here that I just read something about a mother who found it necessary to commit herself to not using any communications technology between the hours of 4pm and 8pm because she saw the need to be totally available to her children. They cheered when they heard the news!
I agree that multi-tasking never really does lead to getting more work done. It usually leads me to getting part of each task that I really wanted to do done, but if I just sat down and did each thing one at a time I would finish them all. I also find that I do a much better job when I am only concentrating on one thing. Great post thanks for sharing it with us all!