I’m driving to a meeting and hit a stop light. Without thinking, my phone is out and I’m checking email.

I’m on a phone call or even on Skype, but maybe I can grab a second to check the latest headlines without anyone noticing. Traffic slows down and maybe I can grab a second to whip off a quick text while still paying attention to the road.

Constantly multitasking is soul sucking. Tweet This Quote

Our worlds are full of opportunities to do something else. And as a result we fill every second with something to do. It’s time to stop.

Forget that humans are horrible multitaskers and that when you’re doing two things you’re doing neither of them well. Forget that you’ll survive the boredom of that two-minute stop light without checking your phone.

Constantly multitasking is soul sucking.

It stops us from enjoying what we’re doing at any given moment and encourages us to constantly be thinking about what we’re *not* doing or worse, what we should be doing. And it robs us of every possible moment to just stop and think. To feel the stitching on our steering wheel. To focus on our breath and relax for a moment. To fully engage in what we’re doing in that moment.

But you have control over this. You are not a slave to your various devices and distractions. And so I’d encourage you to start doing one thing at at time. And I think you’ll find that it makes a huge difference in your life.

Seth Levine

Author Seth Levine

Seth is a Boulder, CO based technology investor and managing director at Foundry Group. His career spans venture capital investing as well as operational, transactional and advisory roles at both public and private companies.

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