Hello Friends,
Welcome to week 5 of No Stress Summer! I have some catch-up to do on blog posts from last week. So, you will be getting two posts of each series this week! Lucky you! Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss anything! This week’s challenge was mono-tasking, and well, I guess you will see how this one went for me lol. This post explores the science behind how this challenge can help alleviate stress, shares personal reflections from each day of the challenge, offers my overall thoughts on the experience, provides guidance on whether to try it, and offers tips for success. I hope you enjoy my week 5 round-up!
The Science
A lot of research has been done on mono-tasking. Mono-tasking has been proven to help reduce stress and overwhelm. It is a good habit for supporting overall well-being and assisting in the practicing of mindfulness.
According to News Medical Health Sciences, “Research shows that deep focus, or ‘monotasking,’ enhances memory consolidation and problem-solving.”
According to Time Timer, “Multitasking often leads to a constant state of mental overload, causing stress and overwhelm. Monotasking provides a sense of focus and clarity, allowing individuals to better manage their workload and experience a greater sense of control.”
Daily Reflection
Day 1: Starting off not so strong. I accidentally broke my mono-tasking 4 different times today, unintentionally. Distracted by something different each time. The first one I was reading, and then I thought of a blog idea, so I went to jot it down in my journal, then noticed I had forgotten to finish my journaling this morning, so I went to finish that, and thus I entered the vicious cycle of starting and not finishing 10 different tasks. I will try again tomorrow and work on being more mindful of my mono-tasking.
Day 2: Today was better in some ways and worse in others. I had to actively stop myself from multitasking countless times today, but I did much better than yesterday. That being said, I think I spent more time trying not to multitask than I did actually working on the task I was supposed to be focused on. So that is less than ideal.
Day 3: Well, I am falling behind on my to-do list, and I have mono-tasking to blame. Doing one thing at a time has not proven to be the most productive for me. But we are less than halfway through the week, so I am trying not to form any opinions yet.
Day 4: This is indeed the first of my No Stress Summer challenges that has caused me more stress. I guess it was likely to happen at some point. Maybe it is one of those things where you have to unlearn the bad habit before you can reap the rewards of the new habit. Needless to say, I am still behind on my to-do list and not enjoying mono-tasking as of yet.
Day 5: Today was a little better! I struggled less with distractions and was able to work more mindfully on one task at a time. However, I have accumulated a long list of things I need to do on top of my list of things I am behind on, so the stress is very much still present due to that.
Day 6: Second last day, and not much has changed. I think this is a challenge that will take longer than a week to gain stress relief results.
Day 7: If you are reading this blog post late because I posted it late, you have mono-tasking to blame. I am wayyyy behind on what I was supposed to get done this week, but at least I learned a lot about myself and my habits, and I definitely have things to work on moving forward.
Final Thoughts
Personally, I didn’t know what monotasking was before I did this challenge. Obviously, I was aware people were capable of doing one thing at a time, but I was unaware it had a name or was a mindfulness practice. I also did not know how much I avoided it.
Something you gotta know about me is I like to keep my brain busy. The more that is going on and the more I am doing, the less time and space I have for anxiety and overthinking. So if I am writing or cleaning or baking or walking or doing most things, there is probably music or a podcast or a show on in the background. I do 15 minutes of silence in the morning, but other than that, I like to use background noise to drain out my own brain noise.
Now, before you lean into me, I know that this is “bad,” okay. I know it isn’t great for your brain or your nervous system, and that there are most definitely other coping mechanisms I should use to deal with negative self-talk and intrusive thoughts, and I do use them often. However, when I am battling these thoughts all day, every day, it gets exhausting. So out of necessity for getting things done and relief of constantly battling myself, I throw on some background noise. Sometimes you gotta pick your battles with yourself and weigh your options my friends.
In terms of stress relief, I did not experience any this week from mono-tasking. In fact, it actually caused me more stress than anything. It made me feel like I was falling behind all week and gave me no opportunity to drown out my very loud thoughts, which made trying to focus that much harder.
So the big question is, is mono-tasking No Stress Summer approved? My answer is a bit tricky. As always with these challenges, you have to know yourself and figure out what works for you. That takes trial and error, and for me, solely using mono-tasking was an error, but that doesn’t mean it was completely unsuccessful. I learned about my habits and about just how much I rely on background noise to cope and get things done. However, it does mean that after only one week (which is how I rate all of the No Stress Summer Challenges), I cannot name mono-tasking No Stress Summer Approved. That being said, I can see how there could be benefits. So, it is one I would like to circle back to in a couple of weeks when I have had the opportunity to workshop and practice it a bit more.
My Recommendations
Should you try mono-tasking? Yes, I do believe so. However, you do not need to do it nonstop for a week as I did. I think it would be best to use it as a once-a-day mindfulness practice. Again, do what works for you, but as a general recommendation, I think that is a great place to start. Then, if you like it, build from there, and if you don’t, you can adjust accordingly.
Laura’s Guide to Mono-tasking
- Set a timer – Pick a sum of time, set a timer, and stay focused on the task until the timer goes off. Push out other thoughts/problems and allow yourself to worry about them after the timer is up.
- Shorten your to-do list – Speaking from my experience this week, having too long of a to-do list will cause monotasking, which will cause you more stress. Prioritize two to three things for the day. If you get more done, that’s a bonus, but expecting less will put less stress and pressure on your day.
- Separate yourself from distraction – Put your phone in a different room, stay away from the TV, put that book in a drawer. Avoid having anything lying around that could distract and lure you away from your one task.
Until next time, my friends!
P.S. I’m proud of you 😉