The problem with moving so fast

My word for the year: slow

I listen to audiobooks as I apply makeup and fix my hair. I ask my husband Dan to follow me into the closet while he gives me the rundown on his day so I can immediately change from my work clothes into around-the-house clothes (he does the same with me). I race between assisting children with homework and chopping vegetables for dinner prep. Essentially, I am always trying to do more than one thing at once. There are never enough hours in the day.

Studies have shown that multitasking is actually a myth; instead, we are rapidly task switching, shifting our focus back and forth. (Listening to an audiobook or podcast while we are doing something that requires relatively little mental energy, like walking or applying makeup, actually is the exception here.) I am tempted to maximize my time. How can I be more efficient? But I’ve increasingly realized that I become more frustrated the more I try to optimize every task or experience. I burn the onions, forgetting all about the dinner I am cooking, when I become caught up explaining a math problem to my child. I lose track of time when I open up my phone to respond to a quick text and then attend to the dozens of other notifications that have surfaced. I rewind my podcast or audiobook for the eighth time because I missed the important point with all of the street noise present during my walk. Maybe, just maybe, I am not moving so fast after all.

This year I have chosen to focus on slowing down, and that has taken a number of forms.