Risks Of Doing It All!

I’m driving up 91 North, headed to Bloomfield. As I constantly adjust and re-adjust my wipers, defrosters and music volume, I began to think, “What else do I need to do?”

Oh yeah, I need to call my attorney, call Dish TV (need more channels) and maybe I should plug in my laptop; earlier it needed some updates and I stopped the install. Then I start to wonder if I will make it to Bloomfield in time to meet my friend and if the day will last long enough for me to get my list of things-to-do done.

So, I begin by making my calls and checking my list. Let’s see: I made my calls, need to stop at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Verizon and maybe Costco on my way home. And I hope I remember to get an oil change tomorrow.

Just as I reach for my purse in the passenger’s seat, I begin to think how lucky I am I can drive with my knees.

Then it hits me:  I’m horrible. I’m just as bad as the people I see driving by me while they text, talk, put their makeup on, do their hair, eat, paint their nails and change their clothes. Okay, I think that last one was me one day when I was leaving an interview and wanted to be more comfortable while doing my errands. But either way, when did it become necessary for us to multi-task while driving?

More and more, I see people doing a slew of things while driving. Unfortunately, I even have a friend who got into an accident while texting. Luckily, no one was hurt – just his car. It was completely totaled and he is still bumming rides, walking and taking the bus.

Drivers, we must get better. This is not acceptable. People and things do get hurt. People lose loved ones everyday because of someone’s carelessness. There is also jail and exorbitant fines that none of us can afford.

I promise to get better and I hope you will too.

And this craziness isn’t just limited to the car. People are updating their Facebook while walking their dog and eating dinner with friends. And the updates are mostly the reporting of mundane facts like: the grass is green, my dog is eating now, I just got home and maybe I’ll take a shower.

Even AT&T thinks multi-tasking is okay. They had a commercial where they advertise that you can talk on the phone and check your internet at the same time. Why is that necessary?

Some would say we have progressed so far from where we were yesterday. I’m not sure I call that progress.

Maybe we should ask the Pennsylvanian woman who fell head first in the mall water fountain while she was texting. She even tried to sue because people found it funny and posted it on YouTube, which made her almost famous. Texting, shopping and walking left her drenched. What does that tell you?

Yes, we have moved on from horses and the milkman, but has life improved? I mean, really. Nothing is news anymore. If I call a friend to tell them some news, you can be sure that everyone in the country will know before I have walked next door to tell my 80-year-old neighbor.

People, we are just stressing ourselves out, which isn’t good for productivity and focus. The Buddhists have an interesting concept on mindfulness: It’s the ability to be aware and awake in the present moment. If we listened to this central concept of Buddhism, we would slow down and do one thing at a time and do it well.

A Roman author, Publilius Syrus, once said, “To do two things at once is to do neither.”

So, as I said last week, “I’m not telling you what to do. It’s just an idea. What do you think?”