We all do it . You're on your cell phone, the TV's up too
loud, dinner's on the stove, there's a load in the washer,
one kids at soccer practice waiting to be picked up, the
other just spilled grape juice all over your new carpet,
and your husband keeps asking you where a clean t-shirt is.
We are a society of multi-tasking maniacs! Did you know
that doing too much not only impairs your memory, but it
also increases your susceptibility to serious illnesses?
"If you try to do more than one thing at a time, you will
most likely suffer a very substantial loss of efficiency
compared with what happens if you concentrate on getting
one task done at a time," says David Meyer, Ph.D., a
University of Michigan psychology professor specializing in
cognition and perception. There are three main drawbacks to
multi-tasking:

1.Strained brain. Multitasking is only effective when doing
things that are automatic, i.e. breathing while chewing
gum. You can't concentrate on two visual tasks at once,
says Meyer.

2.Damaged memory possibly permanently. Doing many things
at once places an extra load on your memory. Multi-tasking
utilizes short- term memory, so people who multi-task often
cannot take in new information fully; therefore, it's not
available for retrieval later. Also, because multi-tasking
is stressful, the body has to release stress hormones that
end up diverting attention and energy from memory forming
parts of the brain. These stress hormones cause premature
aging and damage the health of the skin.

3.Weakened immune system. Multi-tasking can be exhausting,
and distressed people don't sleep well. Americans, in
general, are sleep-deprived. Because poor sleep leads to
even more fatigue, leading to more stress, the body's
immune system is damaged. Because of this, it is harder to
fight off infections, like colds, and we are more
susceptible to stress-associated diseases, like heart
disease and high blood pressure, even obesity and diabetes.
Stress encourages overeating and interferes with metabolism.

4. Damaged skin, and premature signs of aging. Scowling due
to stress causes wrinkling of the facial muscles and that
causes expression lines to form on the face.

Smarter Ways to Get Things Done:

1.Figure out your intentions for the week. Identify what
you really need to focus on in a week's time.

2.Make a daily list of task in order of importance and
stick to it.

3.Leave room or margin in your schedule. This will usually
fill itself up, if it was not there you would be over
scheduled. If it doesn't fill then this is precious
personal reflection or stretching time.

4.Be aware of time! Over scheduling can lead to stress.
Determine how long something will actually take.

5.Take breaks. Don't spend more than 90 consecutive minutes
on one particular task.

6.Learn to say NO. This is not a negative act.

7.Clean off your desk. This makes it easier to focus.

8.Good enough is enough. Excellence is good, perfectionism
is dangerous.

9.Enjoy life, stay healthy, have fun.

About the Author:

Kathy Wright is a beauty and wellness expert, author,
speaker and CEO of B&P Company the manufactures of
Frownies Beauty patch and skin care line. Read other
articles written by Kathy at http://www.frownies.com/tips