When is the last time you were able to say: “I took my time with this” ?

Whether it’s a personal relationship, a crafted item, the business you are growing or the program you are managing: your work deserves your attention.

Single tasking is the art of tackling one task at a time, to completion.

Many of you reading this will feel a pulling inside your chest when you read the phrase “single tasking”

–it’s your desire for the focus, satisfaction and pride of craftsmanship that single tasking implies.

Allowing one assignment, one task to capture your attention has been shown to boost productivity and alleviate stress.

This is partially because single tasking opens up the possibility of having an emotionally satisfying “flow” experience (where you temporarily lose track of time in favor of immersing yourself in the current moment).

Single tasking is also an opportunity to nourish and fortify your adult creative process. No matter the task, from sweeping to coding, your creative mind needs that space to fully engage.

Creativity requires moments of calm in order to bloom.

In our current cultural moment we hold ourselves to the same speed standard of the internet. We expect our minds and productivity to move at the same speed a page would download.

But human brains don’t move like that, and human designed work products don’t thrive under that expectation either.

Endless multitasking, I would suggest, is a behavior ultimately rooted in anxiety. It lands in the body at the same vibration as fear. When we’re scared we’re alert, we’re restless and our body is animated.

Multitasking means being in constant motion, your mind ceaselessly moving without settling into one satisfying groove.

Did you know that the newest studies say most information economy workers now have an attention span of 8 seconds?

How’s that going for you?

Your next level of leadership requires creative thought and elegant problem solving.

In order to produce your highest work, you’ll need to take some dedicated time with it.

Allow your body, your creative problem solving mind, and the present moment to harmonize.

Challenge yourself to select and complete one task to completion. Experience the difference.