Monotasking - Shelby Stephens

My chosen activity for experimenting with Ted Talk speaker Paolo Cardini’s ideology of “monotasking” was studying for my first chemistry test today. Being able to focus and concentrate on only one task, even one as important as studying for my test was incredibly difficult, as I am used to always having some other task or form of entertainment to occupy my time and mind. For a short amount of time, I was able to focus on the task at hand, but due to my short attention span and usual tendencies to text, listen to music, and get on the internet; I found my mind frequently straying from my studying. I would have to say I did enjoy the experience, however uncomfortable as it was. Blocking out all other forms of distraction was surprisingly difficult to do, however the silence allowed me to put all my energy and attention on what was most important. I noticed myself almost needing to check my phone frequently, often for reasons I wasn’t aware of. I usually enjoy checking Instagram and Twitter to see what everyone else is up to or has to say, but not being able to due to” monotasking” felt almost like fighting an addiction. Probably because the idea of “monotasking” does not really fit into our world today; our 21^st century culture teaches that more plus faster equals better. Our academic and career lives center around efficiency. Added to modern technology, people today are able to do more than ever dreamt before, and all at the same time. The ideas of the phone cases shown in the Ted Talks video seem ridiculous; for people nowadays to just use phones to communicate seems preposterous. An AT&T commercial I saw recently was trying to prove that their cell phone service was superior to all others, as it was the only one that allows users to talk on the phone and use the internet at the same time. Why would this even be necessary? Have people today become so consumed with being busy, working, and entertainment that we can no longer talk to our loved ones uninterrupted on the phone? Can we no longer devote ourselves and all our energy to one purpose? My experiment with Paolo Cardini’s new concept of “monotasking” seems to say so.