The Yoga of Simplifying: Stop the Multitasking

Recently, I’ve decided to up-level my spiritual practices by reducing my busyness and especially my multitasking habits.  I’m wanting to create a more spacious mind and I think simplifying my life will help.  Unfortunately, I’m addicted to filling up my schedule, adding to my list, and I resist delegating (although I’ve gotten much better at that).   However, I’ve paid a price for it.  I’ve often felt like my day whooshes by and I wasn’t present for it, or I’ve felt amped by the adrenaline required to move quickly do more.   All that accomplishing didn’t actually add to my sense of joy or inner peace.

So this decision to cut back on my activities and especially on multitasking has been a great challenge to my nature, and I welcome it!   It’s something I practice on meditation retreats, and then slowly, after the retreat, the multitasking creeps back in as I pack my schedule.   So I’m enjoying the challenge of bringing simplicity and a retreat-like quality to my daily life.   For me, it’s a way to weave meditation throughout my day.  And it’s taking a big commitment to Not over-schedule and Not multitask with all the temptations of great things to do this Summer!   It’s been helpful to look at each item I want to add to my Summer schedule (a family visit, a festival, garden project, etc.), and really evaluate whether it is the right time and what it will add to my well-being.  Same with adding music to the background of my cleaning or a spiritual teaching to the background of my gardening or walking.  Each time I multitask, I risk losing presence and connection to the moment.  When I add too much to my schedule or multitask, I tend to feel busy or crowded and overwhelmed.  It takes the ease and spaciousness out of it.
(Of course there’s also the inner approach of working with my mind’s tendency to feel overwhelmed by focusing on the mountain of tasks ahead.  This is super important too, and something I’d like to address in another post).

I had two cool learning experiences this past week. The most recent was when I was on my way to my Monday class.  Our Westhaven teacher had just informed me that she would be late to class and was asking if there was I way I could get a note onto the door or let people know.  Well, I had just parked in Arcata and had just barely enough time to get set up for my 5:30 class.  So I started an email to a few Westhaven students while I was walking to class.  On the way, one of my students stopped me to tell me a story.  I hadn’t sent the email yet.  At first I felt anxious I would run out of time to finish it.  The story was about how a woman was texting while walking and walked right into a pole on the sidewalk!   Eek!   It was the perfect message from the Universe!  Thank you, Tom!  I totally needed to hear that.  I think if I had sat in my car and got the email out there, then skipped over to CYC, I probably would have done both more effectively and saved myself some embarrassment too 🙂   The good news is the students got the memo and one of them opened up the space to greet people.  I love small communities!

The other situation occurred while I was talking to a friend while driving to town.
(I use headphones).    I thought it would be a light catch-up type of conversation, but it turned into a coaching session where she was offering me feedback on a challenging situation I was in.   Then we got into a bit of an argument about what was said.  Yuck.  I realized after the fact, that had I been fully present with myself, I  would have been much more likely to address what was coming up with a skillful response.   When I’m driving, I’m not able to access my full body intelligence/awareness.  This was a very important lesson for me:  do not engage in coaching while driving!   And having been on the receiving end of multitasking phone callers, I know I don’t feel very well received when somebody is not fully present with me.  So I am recommitting to Not talking on the phone while driving as well.  It’s a hard habit to break, but I am willing because I want the results of feeling at ease and present with others and with myself.

So the ultimate question regarding creating simplicity is this:  Am I willing to schedule only what I can do while being present and mindful?  Am I willing to release the rest or ask for help?  Yes, I am!  Are you?

I’d love to hear your stories with this!

thanks for reading,
Namasté,
Robyn