This week, our theme is all about slowing down and challenging the supposed “benefits” of a common coping mechanism for having too much on our plates: multitasking.

Multitasking, the act of trying to juggle two or more tasks at once, is everywhere.

Maybe you’ve got 12 tabs open in your browser and bounce between them all day. Or you’re folding laundry while mentally making your grocery list. 

In a world that constantly demands our attention, multitasking can feel like survival — even something to be proud of. You might even think of yourself as a super multitasker!

But let's dig in to better understand some of the challenges that multitasking brings, and how we can eliminate some of them…

What multitasking is really doing to your brain…

Multitasking is often sold to us as a productivity hack, but more often, it’s a stress response in disguise.

Every time we switch tasks, our brain pays a price: we lose momentum, our memory takes a hit, and our nervous system shifts into overdrive.

Multitasking can also raise stress hormones, which can increase blood pressure and heart rate. Over time, it’s also been linked to symptoms of anxiety and depression — outcomes that make focused, fulfilling work even harder. 

This week, we’re exploring the hidden ways multitasking affects both brain and body, and experimenting with small, doable shifts that support monotasking, the art of doing one thing at a time, with intention.

The hidden cost of multitasking

⚡️  Multitasking fragments your focus and reduces mental performance

🔥  It raises stress hormones, increasing blood pressure and heart rate

🧠  Frequent task switching impairs memory and is linked to anxiety and depression

🌿  Monotasking, focusing on one thing at a time, helps reduce stress and improve clarity

🎯  Choosing monotasking supports better focus, energy, and overall well-being

Learn what steals your focus (and how to protect it)

From tab-switching to mental noise, small distractions can add up to major fatigue.

Research shows our brains can’t truly focus on two things at once — when we multitask, we’re just switching rapidly between tasks. This burns energy, increases errors, and leaves us more distractible.

Spotting the subtle attention leaks that fragment our focus, and learning how to gently interrupt them can have a great impact on our cognitive performance, and if you can believe it — our time management!

Not all multitasking is harmful though.

When one task is automatic, such as walking on a treadmill, listening to music can feel smooth and less disruptive to our nervous system. Same thing when we fold laundry while watching TV.

But “bad multitasking” happens when you try to do two tasks that both demand your attention — like reading emails during a Zoom meeting, or writing while checking notifications. That kind of split focus drains your cognitive bandwidth and increases stress over time.

Break the multitasking cycle with one of these tips

🔕 Try a low-stakes experiment: silence one notification source or batch-check messages and see what shifts

⏳ Pick one task and give it a “focus container”: a time block, a song loop, a focused.space sprint, or even a costume change

🎯 Choose one task and do it as a monotasking experiment. Turn off notifications. Set a timer. Ground yourself before starting. Notice how your body feels when you give it just one thing.

Set the stage for “monotasking”

We know our environment plays a powerful role in how well we’re able to focus.

Even if we’re not actively multitasking, our brain is often tracking clutter, notifications, open tabs, background noise, or visual distractions. These inputs can overwhelm your nervous system and make it harder to settle into deep work.

The best way to build a habit of monotasking is by starting with triage and prioritization.

Before jumping in, take a moment to assess your competing tasks. What’s most important right now?

Focus on one task, complete it, and then move on. This sounds simple, but in a world of constant alerts and shifting priorities, it requires conscious effort.

One way that helps is by simplifying your environment. Close the tabs you’re not using. Put away anything unrelated to the task at hand. If tidying feels like too much, just contain the clutter — move it into a box or drawer so your brain isn’t trying to track it in the background.

If you work on a team as a manager or a lead, consider how your expectations impact focus. Avoid texting during meetings, don’t expect immediate replies to every message, and support your team in setting boundaries that allow for uninterrupted work time.

Set the scene for focus with these monotasking-friendly environment tweaks

🗂 Triage your tasks: pick one priority, do it fully, then move on

📬 Batch similar tasks (like emails or messages) instead of reacting to every ping

🧹 Close extra tabs and put away anything unrelated to the task at hand

🎧 Use a “focus ritual”: playlist, lighting shift, warm drink, or even renaming the task to engage your brain

📦 Too overwhelmed to tidy? Just contain the clutter in a box, drawer, or digital folder to quiet background noise

Less switching between tasks = more energy

If you find yourself drained by the end of the day, or even before lunch, it may not be from too much work — but from too many switches.

Every time we change tasks, the brain burns a little fuel: glucose, oxygen, and mental focus.

Even quick shifts, like checking a message mid-task or toggling between browser tabs, slowly chip away at our energy. Over time, that adds up to fatigue, overwhelm, and trouble staying focused.

Monotasking is one of the simplest ways to protect and restore our energy. When we give full attention to one task at a time, our brain stops wasting effort on reorienting, and starts working more efficiently.

That frees up mental bandwidth, reduces cognitive fatigue, and helps us stay more present and steady throughout the day.

Today, before jumping to the next item on your list, try pausing for a quick check-in: What kind of energy do I have right now? What do I need to feel steady and supported at this moment?

Let those answers guide your next step, rather than just reacting to urgency.

It also helps to zoom out on the week. Are there moments in the day when your energy consistently dips? Try blocking out a short daily monotasking window during that time, focused on just one priority.

By practicing monotasking with care and intention, we can build a rhythm that supports more clarity, calm, and sustained energy, in and outside of work.

Boost your energy with these monotasking strategies

💡 Check in before you switch: Ask yourself, “What kind of energy do I have right now?” and choose your next task based on that, not just urgency

🔄 Do one thing, and close the loop: Pick one task, finish it fully, and take a moment to mentally wrap it before moving on

⏳ Respect your limits: Don’t wait until you’re fried to rest. Pause before you feel depleted to preserve energy

🪟 Protect your transitions: Between tasks, take 3 minutes to reset - stretch, breathe, move, or look out a window

🗓 Time your focus block: Notice when your energy dips during the day and block that time for a short, single-task sprint

Regulate your nervous system to reclaim your focus

What if multitasking isn’t a personal failing, but a response to a world that asks us to always be “on”?

The pressure to do more, respond faster, and be available at all times teaches our nervous systems to live in urgency. Oftentimes, multitasking becomes the default.

Our bodies weren’t built for that pace.

We talked earlier about how chronic task-switching overstimulates the brain and activates a stress response, increasing cortisol, heart rate, and reactivity — even if we’re just hopping between browser tabs.

Over time, this low-level stress becomes our baseline, contributing to mental fog and making it harder to rest deeply, or trust our focus.

Embracing monotasking helps us opt out of that loop and return to our natural pace.

It’s a way of saying: “I don’t have to split my attention to be valuable. I can do one thing at a time. I can tend to myself.”

This is nervous system work. Giving ourselves space to focus, pause, and not be immediately responsive is how we begin to feel safe again, and how we build a rhythm of work that’s actually sustainable.

Let monotasking be your closing ritual this week: clear your space, silence the pings, do one thing, and let it be enough.

Some questions to ponder before you go

🔍 What’s one unmet need fueling your urge to multitask — rest, quiet, movement, connection?

💙 What’s one small act of care you can offer yourself to meet that need, even for five minutes?

🕰️ What would it feel like to move through your day at your own pace, not urgency’s?

🌿 What kind of work rhythm feels kindest to your nervous system right now?

🛑 Where in your life do you need to hear: You don’t have to do everything at once?

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We hope this week's theme gave you some new strategies to break the habit of multitasking, and try monotasking instead! Of course not all multitasking is bad — so take what you need from this, and leave the rest.

P.S. If you could use help accomplishing your goals this season while still remembering to rest, please join us at one of our live guided work sessions, or morning planning sessions!

Take care,

— Farah, focused space host