Are you ever tempted to multitask? Do you find it easy to focus? When is it important to be methodical?

When it comes to the human operating system, there is no one-size-fits-all. Everyone has a different comfort level when it comes to order, entropy, and chaos.

Still, it’s only logical that there are habits you can build and practices you can develop that will provide you with more peace of mind.

You’ve probably had that experience of meeting someone who is really intelligent and accomplished, only to walk into their office or private lair and gasp at the chaos. “How on earth can they function in this mess?” you might think.

And yet, chances are that if you ask them for a specific bit of information, they’ll be able to put their finger on it in a heartbeat. Should you make the mistake of trying to clean up for them, you’ll probably be accused of messing up their whole system and they won’t be able to find anything.

On the other end of the spectrum, you may have gone into someone’s home and realized it looked like a page out of a magazine. The art is curated, the interior is designed, and every surface has precisely one well-placed object on it. You might be reluctant to sit down.

We all inhabit a realm somewhere in between Einstein‘s office and a Mies van der Rohe mansion. The environment you create has a lot to do with what you can accomplish in it. My theory is that for some subset of writers, inventors, and assorted intellectuals that primarily work with their brains, a realm of chaos is just fine, preferred even.

But for those folks who work with their hands, such as artisans, craftspeople, and professionals who work with tools, some semblance of order is in order.

Which brings us back to multi-tasking. Far be it from me to criticize those who can juggle multiple tasks at once and still get things done. I have a relative who likes to work on his pair of computer screens while watching a movie on another, often while talking on the phone and eating lunch at the same time.

I often find myself tempted to start one thing while doing another, but part of my daily dance is to pull myself back on track to the task at hand. For me, meditation is the art of doing one thing at a time. The more balls I have in the air, the more likely they are to drop.

It all comes back to being present with the present moment. For some of us, practicing the art of simply putting one foot in front of the other makes it easier to turn the page on one thing and move on to the next. That’s not to say that, for instance, listening to music while doing a jigsaw puzzle isn’t appropriate — some things are meant to go together, like pineapple on pizza.

Only you can tell where you find your peace in your present moments. If the midst of the maelstrom is your happy place, so be it, may you create your masterpiece within. If the simplicity of single-tasking is how you succeed, more power to you.

Your waking consciousness is constantly dancing with your physical world. Look for the balance point that lets you take each moment as it comes.

Yours in peace till next Monday!

Merci et à bientôt!

M+

ML #667

Mark Metz
Monday Love Movement Calendar