Photograph by Marek Piwnicki via Unsplash

When I was a teenager, I got stressed about homework. I was a compulsive A student and still worried about my grades. When I felt overwhelmed, my mother would say, “One thing at a time.” I imagine it was something my grandmother said to her. It was useful then. And it still is.

A swirling political climate. A church in a budget crisis. A family emergency. I’ve talked recently with leaders anxious about all of these. When anxiety rises, we worry about the future instead of focusing on action we can take in the present. Or we frantically try to do everything at once. Both get in the way of navigating a challenging time.

Bring yourself back to the present

It’s easy to get caught in “what if” panic. It’s a spiritual practice to draw yourself back to the now. What is one thing you can do in the present? It may be to simply stop and breathe. Or do one tiny task, the easier the better. Or make a list of what you can do.

The only time you can take action is in the present. Both the past and the future are out of your control. It’s obvious when you think about it. When my regretful memory or my anxious imagination takes over, I forget. I think, “I wish I had…” Or “What will happen if…?” And I’m spiraling again. 

In meditative prayer, you bring your attention back again and again. You come back to your breath or to a brief Scripture or sacred word. Again and again, without judgment. In an anxious time, you can find your thoughts flitting ahead. Then, you bring yourself back to the present over and over. Without judgment.  

Monotasking

One way to stay in the present is to work on one thing at a time. It turns out research shows my mother was right. Multitasking is overrated. When we try to do many things at once, we can’t focus well on any one of them. 

Instead, try “monotasking.” Neuropsychologist Lydia Cho suggests you focus on one job at a time until it’s completed. Cho says, “This approach lowers the burden on working memory, reduces your vulnerability to distraction, and helps you complete the task more efficiently and quickly.”

Your brain can’t multitask. It quickly switches from one thing to another. A recent study shows the cost, especially between tasks that require more focus. One of the study’s authors, Anthony Sali, assistant professor of psychology at Wake Forest University, notes that “a ‘switch cost’ is the time the brain needs to disengage from one task and switch to another.”

Constant interruptions make concentration difficult. One of the pastors I coach took email off his phone completely. He didn’t want to be interrupted by notifications. He could attend better to tasks and conversations. He hasn’t gone back. Interruptions by news may be the most distracting of all. (See my last Christian Citizen article, “Prayer and the News,” for ideas on how to handle this).

It’s important to do one thing at a time when you are listening to someone. Including family members. I had a bad habit of doing something while my husband, Karl, was talking to me. I started to listen to him and not fold laundry, put dishes away or even walk around. Could I stand and listen to him enough to repeat what he said to me? The exercise made me realize how little I was listening to my own husband. Monotasking while listening has benefited our marriage. 

How might you do “one thing at a time?”