Being efficient can be false efficiency:

Last month, we had a glorious five-day mountain experience at Easter where I gave myself permission to let go. I didn’t take the computer, did minimal housework, and most dinners where reheats taken from our home freezer. I just wanted to enjoy my family including my two girls, both of whom had birthdays over the break.

Sometimes women wear a badge of honour as being great multi-taskers.

We pat ourselves on the back with great feelings of pride and satisfaction as we simultaneously and seemingly effortlessly get Lots of Stuff Done. Sounds great doesn’t it? There’s so much Stuff To Do. Always.

The only trouble is our brain isn’t designed to hold more than one thing at once.

Even when we think we are holding multiple thoughts in our brain, what we are performing is a faster than Usain Bolt, lightning speed darting back and forth between the thoughts. So fast, unless you are an experienced meditator, you can’t even tell.

And so what’s so bad about multitasking?

Basically you end up short changing yourself. When we juggle we are cheating ourselves out of the chance to get in the state of flow. You know, that great experience of being totally in the moment, where time drops away and you are at one with whatever you're doing. It can happen at work, during yoga, really practising anything you love.

But we are cheating ourselves. Especially all the women juggling work, home and kids when you catch yourselves buying into the false efficiency of feeling efficient. A constant state of multitasking is not a great way to exist.

I believe it does us harm in the long term and it can leave our soul feeling empty.

So what can we do about it now?

Quality-grade living starts now folks. A small increase each day in what you know serves you well; and take down a notch what you know doesn’t serve you well.