If you need to do some serious multitasking, some training in
meditation beforehand could make the work smoother and less
stressful, new research from the University of Washington shows.
And who wouldn’t want that? Research suggests that meditation
training can help people working with information stay on tasks
longer with fewer distractions and also improves memory and
reduces stress. Here’s how to quickly focus your mind on the one
thing you really need or want to do: - Stop. As soon as you
realize you are multitasking, stop. In other words, learn to
interrupt the interruptions. - Clear. Now take a moment to
untask. To untask, try something silly, you can do a little
dance, jump up and down, sing a song, or even scream. The
important thing is to get in the habit (as soon as you catch
yourself multitasking) of giving yourself a complete mental
pause. Think of this as pressing the reset button on your brain.
- Choose. Now that you have untasked, ask yourself, “What do I
really want to do (or have to do) right