Many recent research papers have discussed the adverse effects of multitasking on concentration.
But… I’m sure you don’t need a scientist to tell you that.
Just by having awareness over your own mind and awareness you can discover that for yourself.
For example, if I’m doing several tasks at the same time, my energy gets scattered very quickly. After a couple of hours, I just feel all over the place with a confused mental state.
It’s not like I’m paralyzed and can’t do anything. Not at all. Everything still gets done one way or another.
But the internal feeling is one of being scattered and disperse. This leads to the familiar feeling of being “all over the place”, completely unfocused and foggy.
This happens if I’m writing more than one document, emails, or have several tasks at the same time while managing other people during some hours.
Multiple tasks are a concentration killer.
Yet, if I focus on a single task for an uninterrupted period of time, and do it repeatedly for the course of a day, the internal feeling is completely different.
It’s a feeling of centeredness and internal concentrated power.
It doesn’t matter what the task is It can be a task where I’m 100% isolated or fully surrounded by people. As long as it’s the same task/focused mind, then the centered feeling is the same.
Concentration works as a buildup of energy.
You don’t start any task with a completely focused mind and energy. Ideally it would work like that, but practically speaking, your mind is usually disperse until you focus it on a single thought or task.
Which, as time goes by and you continue focusing on that single thought and task, your concentration increases… there’s a buildup of energy as you keep directing your mind to the task at hand.
That’s why many people solve puzzles and play complex games like chess for the fun of it. It gives you a feeling of centeredness.
Yet, when you are constantly interrupted – whether by email notifications, other people, or your own impulses – this pleasant buildup of energy and focus doesn’t happen. You’re constantly starting from scratch.
It’s like you are trying to fill a bucket that has a hole on the bottom.
If I spend a day changing between tasks and situations due to the necessities of any project, I know I need to recenter myself at the end of the day with a more intense concentration practice.
It’s like you need to collect your disperse energy back onto yourself. To re-center your energy and mind.
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>>> Concentration and Mind Control
