Let’s be honest. Multitasking still gets a lot of praise, especially in high-performing circles. It sounds efficient, ambitious, and competent. For many women, especially those navigating leadership, caregiving, and life admin all at once, multitasking has become more than a habit, it’s a badge of honour. But what if I told you it’s quietly stealing your focus, productivity and energy?
This isn’t about blame. It’s about awareness. And it’s about freedom.
I want to gently shine a light on the real cost of multitasking, the cost we rarely talk about. Because multitasking might be the very thing keeping you stuck in survival mode, even when your calendar says you’re “on top of it.”
The Multitasking Myth We’ve Been Sold
Multitasking sells us the illusion that we can do more in less time. But neuroscience tells a different story. The brain doesn’t actually do tasks simultaneously; it toggles rapidly between them. This mental switching comes with a cognitive cost: reduced accuracy, slower performance, and increased stress.
Every time you switch from drafting an email to replying to a WhatsApp message to checking your calendar and back again, your brain loses momentum. It has to reorient. You’re not just losing time; you’re burning energy.
Think of it like trying to run five tabs on a phone with 2% battery. Eventually, something crashes.
How Multitasking Fractures Your Energy
When you’re multitasking, your attention is divided. But more than that, so is your presence. And presence is the foundation of real productivity—not the hustle, not the chaos, but the deep, calm focus that helps you finish what matters.
Multitasking also chips away at your sense of self-trust. You may begin to question why you feel so scattered, forgetful, or emotionally flat by the end of the day. You may even start internalising this as a personal failing.
But it’s not you. It’s the pattern you’ve been pushed into.
The Invisible Load
Many women in my community carry the invisible load—not just of tasks, but of emotional responsibility. We keep tabs on birthdays, groceries, client deadlines, school forms, team morale, ageing parents, dinner plans and so much more.
Multitasking becomes a coping mechanism to manage it all. But the truth is, it’s costing more than it saves. It keeps your nervous system on high alert. You stay in reaction mode, constantly responding but never truly creating.
And creativity, joy, spaciousness? They need oxygen. They need stillness.
Why It Connects to the S.O.U.L. System
In the S.O.U.L. System, we speak a lot about the “Simplify” and “Understand” pillars. Multitasking is the opposite of simplifying. It adds noise. It complicates your internal space. When we simplify, we start making choices that protect our energy instead of depleting it.
“Understand” is about noticing your patterns without judgment. Are you multitasking because you’re afraid of dropping the ball? Because you’ve been taught your worth comes from output? Because it feels safer to stay busy than to feel?
This kind of compassionate inquiry is where the shift begins.
So What Can You Do Instead?
Start small. You don’t have to overhaul your life.
- Try monotasking: Give one task your full attention for 25 minutes. Use a timer if it helps. Notice how it feels.
- Build in breaks: Not scrolling breaks. Actual breathing, stretching, sipping-tea breaks.
- Create boundaries: Let one tab be open at a time—both on your screen and in your mind.
- Acknowledge the urge to multitask: That urge is often a cue from your nervous system. Can you soothe it with something gentler than hustle?
This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present. About honouring your energy, your focus, your enough-ness.
Multitasking may look impressive on the outside, but what if you measured your days by how calm you felt instead of how much you crammed in?
Let this be your reminder: You don’t have to do it all at once to be doing enough. You are not behind. You are just one deep breath away from clarity.
And that is where the real productivity lives.
