Admit it. We all do it. The ?M? word. Multitasking. The art of doing several things at once; and usually not too well.

Multitasking began as a survival tactic. Any parent with 2 or more children needs this skill in order to get through the day. And when that same parent enters the workplace, multitasking becomes an essential skill to survive the day and keep their job. Today, multitasking is considered something we all have to do. But do we? Who made this rule? And why have we accepted multitasking as a ?normal? way of being?

I recently heard the saying, ?You can?t excel at anything you?re multitasking.? That stuck with me. We?ve all seen television commercials and sitcoms where the husband sits at the breakfast table with a newspaper covering his face. His wife comes in and greets him, and he grunts back. You never see his face. His children flow in, say ?Good morning? and he grunts back twice. In this case, the husband is not multitasking as much as he is hiding, but you get the point. While this parodies men, there is a lot of truth to how this represents the way we live our lives today.

If you drive on any interstate highway regularly, you have, no doubt, experienced being stuck behind an erratic driver. You?re in the center lane and the car in front of you is speeding up and slowing down, and drifts from left to right. You maneuver to go around him and, as you pass, you look over and discover that the driver is talking on a cell phone, completely oblivious to his erratic performance. Now here?s the rub - that?s what we all look like when we?re multitasking any task. We think we?ve got things handled, but it?s glaringly obvious to the rest of the world that we don?t.

This is not an indictment against multitasking. Multitasking is necessary; but if we allow it to become a way of life for us, there is a downside. Aristotle once said, ?We are what we repeatedly do.? And so it is with multitasking. If you?ve ever had a telephone conversation with a person who is multitasking, you know that it?s not enjoyable. It?s usually evidenced by incomplete sentences or a conversation that is continuously interrupted.

The obvious solution to eliminating this habit is to adopt the intention of being ?Fully Present.? Yes, it sounds like a clich? but it isn?t. Being fully present is the conscious effort to be more respectful towards the people you come in contact with.

So here?s a simple rule for being fully present ? ?Never multitask when you are dealing with people.? That?s it. You multitask things and you are fully present with people.

If you want to improve the quality and the quantity of your relationships, don?t multitask. Be fully engaged with those you are dealing with by really BEING with them. Self-check before you multitask. Consider what the consequences might be if the task you?re about to perform is not 100% perfect.

For example, would you want the mechanic, who is repairing the aircraft you will be flying on, to be multitasking, or would you prefer him to be fully present? Obviously, there is a proper time and place for multitasking, even if people are not directly involved.

The art of multitasking really is about knowing when it?s the right time to do it. Remember this the next time you?re on your cell phone while driving on the interstate. What other people notice is not your poor driving but your ineffectiveness.

Being fully present is a component of one of the 6 Core Elements of Intentional Leadership ? Authenticity. To learn more about the Core Elements, visit our web site.