Is multi-tasking increasing your anxiety?

image by Thomas Hawk

In this week's podcast Shann answers a question from a listener about that worried and hurried feeling that comes from the work expectation to do many things at once.

Question: I have been listening to your podcasts before sleep now for over a month. I am currently in out-patient counseling for anxiety/depression; have found the podcasts a perfect way to augment my therapy & it echoes exactly what I am learning from my psychologist. Your podcasts are also the calm voice of confidence that I am not alone, that someone understands & that this can change... thankfully.

My question is about work, (that thing everyone has to do to pay the bills); I would welcome suggestions on how to cope with a work culture that is hooked on the word MULTI-TASKING! By definition this word has me doing everything simultaneously; I find myself getting "blown away" trying to pay attention to everything at once means I am really not paying good attention to any one thing, then things get missed, forgotten, I become anxious with worry, and that awful hurry, hurry, hurry and the "you aren't good/smart etc voice" starts singing. It got so bad last week that twice I didn't go to work and hid in bed w/ my 2 dogs! And tendering my resignation.

My partner means well and says things like all you can do is your best and you can only get done what you can get done, but I feel placated and patronized by him and when the message I get from work is "it's not enough" I feel his advice doesn't hold water.

How do I get to a place where my best effort IS enough for me? And how do I navigate the waters of MULTI-Tasking w/o losing my foundation and direction?

Listen to Shann's advice on coping with multi-tasking without getting blown away here (or on iTunes if you cant see the podcast player below):

 

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Comments

[John Sommer]

Stress at work, as we all know, is not an uncommon thing. The demands and the deadlines can sometimes seem too much to deal with, which is why it’s important to learn to manage this stress.

Whilst not “easy”, there are ways of doing this, which can range from as little as improving your diet, to exercising more. The key is to recognise when the stress is building, and put yourself in a healthier mind state for dealing with it.