The Multitasking Myth

As a woman, I am supposed to be especially gifted at multitasking--performing at least two activities at once. Eating and driving, ironing and talking on the phone (okay, I don't know about that--I am constitutionally incapable of ironing), typing Holidailies while applying makeup.

Studies show that multitasking is a myth: Instead of focusing on two things at once, we constantly shift our focus back and forth between them. The shifts may occur second by second, but we never actually focus on two things at once. And one of the activities (the ironing, for example) always gets short shrift.

Eating almost always loses out to whatever activity you pair it with. If you are talking on the phone, watching TV or driving your car you do not taste the food. When you are eating for emotional reasons, it begs the question, why bother? If you don't taste it and your body isn't hungry for it as fuel, then the food is a total waste, and a hazard.

So for today, slow down. Try eating for its own sake. Sit down at a table, put down the stack of holiday cards, and really taste the food. And enjoy every bite.