multitask – Empowering Your Mind

Break the Stress Cycle of Multitasking

February 10, 2026 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Overwhelmed by multitasking — Stressed businessman

Recently, I was working on 3 separate projects with deadlines, answering emails, making phone calls, had some unexpected interruptions that had to be handled, and had 2 clients. By the end of the day, I had a throbbing headache, was exhausted, and had forgotten to pay an important bill. That’s the unfortunate result of multitasking.

Back in the late 1990’s, when smartphones came into being, it was believed that they’d allow us to get more done. We were told we could juggle a lot of different tasks at the same time, and get them all done more efficiently. The truth is far different. Not only does productivity suffer from multitasking, but the activity is a major cause of stress.

The Problem With Multitasking

Multitasking isn’t really doing several things at once. The brain can’t focus on more than one thing at a time. You’re actually quickly switching between one task and another. These mental acrobatics increase the stress hormones in your body, while depleting the glucose in your brain. The result is that multitasking clogs your mental pathways, causes stress, tight muscles, fuzzy thinking and exhaustion. Your mind just can’t juggle multiple tasks, and your health, progress and effectiveness suffers.

It’s like being a hamster on a wheel. Although you believe that you’re getting things done, you’re running in place, never getting anywhere. You use up an incredible amount of energy refocusing your attention from composing an email to talking on the phone to answering a question. Something is going to fall through the cracks, like sending the email to the wrong person.

Multitasking Creates Stress

When you’re multitasking, you’re always in emergency mode. You’re braced for the next crisis, even if it’s just the phone ringing. In this state, you’re just reacting to events. Since you don’t have the mental resources to consider new responses, you fall back into old patterns and innovation evaporates.

Because you’re always expecting the next predicament, you find it. “Where attention flows, energy goes.” Your subconscious seeks to provide what you’re focused on, which is stress and crises. The Law of Attraction will draw more problems for you to deal with, as that’s where your attention lies. And your subconscious will ensure you remain stressed and continue to multitask, because you think that’s the solution. It’s a vicious cycle.

If you’re trying to move forward in any part of your life, multitasking and the stress it causes will prevent this. Your brain has engaged all its resources to handle what’s immediate. Even the best juggler can only keep so many balls in the air. And he can’t do much of anything else when he’s at his maximum capacity. All his attention has to be on those balls.

How to Break the Cycle of Multitasking

The solution is to free up some of your attention to be able to make progress and changes. The only way to move forward and start taking back control of your life is to break the habit of multitasking. It won’t be easy, because first you have to accept that it’s not beneficial. Then start by focusing on doing one thing at a time. Set aside an hour or two each day to put all your attention on one project. Turn off any technology that could interrupt you.

Occasionally, you’ll have to multitask. Modern life demands it. But you must minimize it to reduce your stress, and improve your health, progress and personal growth. When you find yourself being overwhelmed by multitasking, take a step back and breathe. Break the cycle.

Once you’ve reduced your stress, you’ll have more creativity and resources to make positive changes in your life. When you communicate your desires to your subconscious and the Law of Attraction, they’ll be clearer and more concentrated. You’ll be able to think things through and be more decisive. By being more focused, you’ll begin making progress on your desires, and in your personal and professional lives.

Affirmation:

I now begin to focus on one thing at a time. This frees my mind to be creative and resourceful. My subconscious and the Law of Attraction receive clear guidance from me about my desires. Because of the energy I’ve released, they now put it to work manifesting my goals. The Universe provides me with all I need for a happy and healthy life.

Watch the accompanying video, Reduce the Stress of Multitasking.

As a focus mentor, hypnotherapist, and writer, Linda-Ann Stewart motivates women entrepreneurs and small business owners to focus and transform their business through deliberate actions that break through distraction and overwhelm to greater success, wellbeing and prosperity.To boost productivity and reduce overwhelm, register for her FREE guide, Design Your Best Day, at https://www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/guide.html

Podcast Interview – Thrive Through Greater Self-Worth

September 15, 2022 Linda-Ann Stewart

Emmalou Penrod M.A., of Healing Your Families, and I were introduced by a mutual acquaintance. In our initial conversation, we realized we had something in common. We both had been trained to use hypnosis to improve people’s lives! She’s a retired schoolteacher, and now coaches families to have more peaceful homes. She’s a parenting and family strengthening expert, and brings her knowledge of counseling to help heal families.

As we talked, we had such a connection that she invited me to be interviewed on her podcast at WinWinWomen.tv. Although family issues aren’t my professional area of expertise, one topic that affects everyone is self-worth. My specialties as a hypnotherapist were stress management, success programming and self-esteem/self-worth issues. Since Emmalou and I agreed that having better self-worth made better parents, we decided that would be a great topic to cover.

In the interview, we began by talking about how I became a focus coach for women small business owners. I explained that women tend to be scattered because of all their responsibilities. It’s difficult for them to focus for any length of time on any one thing. But focus is necessary to accomplish anything.

Then Emmalou asked about the opposite of focus, “What do you think of multitasking?”

“Multitasking” is a myth,” I answered, and explained why. She said she’d heard it described as “a lie,” which is also true. Multitasking keeps your brain fractured between all the different tasks. It breaks your train of thought, so you can’t build up momentum on any project or task.

This led into discussing the difference between self-esteem and self-worth. Self-esteem can be impacted by outside variables and self-worth is more internal and fundamental. And both are impacted by having a strong inner critic. Emmalou liked my perspective on the inner critic not being a bad guy, but fulfilling a role that a person has outgrown.

Emmalou asked how a person could improve their self-worth. I answered that being kinder to oneself and being mindful helped to support and build self-worth. At the end of the conversation, I shared three simple steps on how to be kinder to yourself.

Because of Emmalou’s background, expertise and knowledge, I loved talking with her about this subject. I could have gone on for hours, but we had to fit into the podcast’s time frame. But I have articles on this topic here and on my website to help you reclaim your worth. And Emmalou has articles on her blog to help you become a better person, and thus, a better parent.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Focus, the Power Behind Success

November 8, 2021 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

“Your ability to focus is the most important success skill you can ever develop.” Brian Tracy

In today’s world, it’s hard to stay focused. It seems that every minute, there’s something to divert your attention. You probably check your email several times a day. Every time there’s a notification from your phone, you have to see what it is. That’s in addition to interruptions from co-workers, family and friends. After a distraction, studies show it takes at least fifteen to twenty minutes to get focused again.

Also, your mind can focus on only one thing at a time. Each time you shift your attention from one thing to another, you’re “task switching” and it burns up extra mental energy. When the entire day is filled with these intrusions, you end the day feeling drained and exhausted, with very little to show for it.

Benefits of Focus

However, when you’re more focused, you feel more in charge of your world, get in the flow and get more done. You also have less stress and overwhelm, because your mind has one thing to do at a time. In addition, you have more clarity, so you make better decisions, as well as being more efficient, effective, and productive.

Therefore, to achieve your goals and dreams, your ability to focus is vital. Fortunately, it’s a skill that you can cultivate and develop. The more you focus, the more you’re able to focus. It’s just like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

How to Create the Habit of Focus

You can’t be focused all the time, because the unexpected does happen on occasion. But you can set aside time each day to pay attention to your most important tasks. Schedule time into your day to focus on important projects. Here are some ways you can get started and cultivate your ability to focus.

Motivate yourself to focus. Decide how having increased focus benefits you, and remind yourself of that incentive when you set aside time for it. As you build your motivation, and act on it, focusing becomes a habit. Jim Rohn said, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” Once you establish the habit of focusing, your mind will automatically know what to do when you want to do it.

Use visualization. Choose one task that will move you towards your vision or goal. What is it you want to focus on and achieve in this period? Before you get to work on it, take a couple of minutes to visualize yourself performing your task and accomplishing what you want. This increases your motivation, and primes your subconscious to start solving any issues you might encounter. You’re rehearsing your actions, which then makes them easier to execute.

Eliminate distractions. Find a way to minimize the effects of whatever can intrude on your focus time. For instance, research shows that if your phone is in the same room as you’re in, your mind is always tuned to it. Even turning your phone off doesn’t work. Therefore, put your phone in another room, where you can’t see it or hear it. Turn off your email. Close your door.

Minimize multi-tasking. Constant multi-tasking trains your mind to hinder your focus. However, you don’t have to completely avoid multi-tasking. When you’re performing automatic behaviors, such as doing dishes, watching television doesn’t drain you. Or you can pay bills and listen to a podcast. But when you do activities that need you to think, multi-tasking uses up mental bandwidth and exhausts your energy. Your mind is always seeking something new, and when you multi-task, you jump from one attention getting novelty to another. Multi-tasking triggers the reward centers of the brain, therefore gives you an incentive to repeat the process, which makes multi-tasking addictive.

Strengthen your focus muscle. Set aside time to focus on one task without distractions. Start off with as much time as you can before you need a break. You may need to begin with only ten or fifteen minutes. Each week, increase the time. Aim to have a sixty to ninety-minute stretch of focusing on one topic or chore before you take a break. When you take your break, do something that rests your mind for several minutes, such as going for a walk, getting a drink, or something to eat. This gives your mind time to replenish its energy and get ready for your next work period.

Being able to focus is an inherent talent that we all have. But it’s not an skill that is exercised much, so most people have gotten out of practice with it. With the above tactics, you can cultivate your natural ability, strengthen it, and develop it into a habit that will support your success.

Affirmation:
I have a natural ability to focus and pay attention to what’s important to me. It’s a skill that I can develop and grow through practice. The Universe flows Its energy through my focus, supporting my endeavors and smoothing my path to maximize success.

Watch the accompanying video, Guided Meditation to Focus and Accomplish More.

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Reduce the Stress of Multitasking

May 15, 2015 Linda-Ann Stewart

We’ve been told that multitasking will make us more productive, efficient and effective, when the truth is far different. It’s a major cause of stress, which means you react to situation without thinking them through. Learn one strategy to break this cycle, get more done, and have more resources to handle challenges.

Empowering Your Mind

Mindset, Motivation and Empowerment

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