Senior moment? Menopausal moment? No, couldn’t be; I’m too young. So, what are these little memory blips that are coming more frequently? The momentary lack of name recall, calling someone by the wrong name, forgetting the topic of conversation once interrupted, forgetting one’s purse, forgetting where I put an important paper so I wouldn’t forget—those sorts of things.

I was relieved there’s a rather simple diagnosis for this ailment: it’s called multi-tasking overload. But, being in denial, I argued with myself at first. I’ve been conditioning for at least 30 years to handle several tasks at once—and feeling pretty proud about how many things I can juggle at one time. In fact, I feel inefficient when I’m only doing one task at a time. That’s been the answer to being able to get so many things accomplished—not a detriment.

Most of my multi-tasking involves verbal communication: talking on the phone while driving, talking on the phone while checking e-mail, talking on the phone while listening to another conversation, talking and writing, talking and preparing a meal, talking on the phone while putting groceries away, talking on the phone while buying groceries, talking on the phone while filing papers…But then I realized when I’m not talking on the phone, my mind is constantly active. I’m making lists, outlining editorials, planning dinner, etc. My mind was always racing. There’s just always so much to do!

I have to admit I was relieved to read a recent article stating that multitasking can actually make you less efficient. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology said, “People who multitask are actually less efficient than those who focus on one project at a time. The time lost switching among tasks increases with the complexity of the tasks. Managing two mental tasks at once reduces the brainpower available for either task. Chronic high-stress multitasking is linked to short-term memory loss. Managing two mental tasks at once further reduces the brainpower available for either task, according to a study published in NeuroImage. If the subject was trying to listen at the same time as processing visual input, the brain activation for listening dropped 53 percent.”

Short-term memory loss, loss of concentration, and lack of attentiveness are all symptoms of multitasking overload.

I became particularly concerned when my adult sons began telling me several “memories” from their teen years, now that fear of disapproval and discipline disappeared with age. “Remember when…” “That time you were gone and we…” “I still have nightmares because of….” I began asking myself, “Where was I during those events? I lived in the same house with them.” Then it occurred to me: all those years of multi-tasking were robbing me of living in the moment.

Coming of age in the “you can do it all, have it all” era, I bought into the concept that multitasking was the only way to successfully accomplish all that needed to be done. Dr. Just, co-director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, analyzed data about multitasking. “It doesn’t mean you can’t do several things at the same time, but we’re kidding ourselves if we think we can do so without cost.”

The cost for me, I realized, is that while physically I’ve been present, I was absent mentally at times.

I’m retraining myself to concentrate on the moment, be it a challenge, an excitement, a sunset, a phone call, a chat with a friend. After being given permission to single task for better efficiency, my memory is coming back. TPW