Homelife with kids can sometimes feel like a constant series of tasks, most of which need to be done alongside one another because there simply isn’t time to do one job at a time. You have to drain the spaghetti, respond to your little one’s homework questions, let the barking dog out into the garden, and answer the ringing phone. How on earth do you do it all at once?

Well, simply put, you try not to. Yes, sometimes it’s easy enough to multitask, but when there are kids about, it can cause you a whole lot of stress and lead to an outburst. So what about single-tasking?

Why is it a good idea to actively try to single-task?

Simply put, multitasking is a bit of a myth. While we can try our best to do a few things at once, ultimately we won’t do any of these tasks as well as we’d like. When we try to chop veg and test our child’s spellings, we’re inadvertently causing our stress levels to rise and increasing the chances of a blowup.

Multitasking indirectly increases stress in the following ways:

It distracts us and makes us less attentive.

It increases anxiety and reduces creativity.

It makes it far more likely that we’ll miss important information and cues.

It makes us less efficient overall.

However, when we actively single-task, we get to throw all of our attention at one thing and do it to the best of our ability. This decreases anxiety, increases feelings of self-belief, and allows us to feel a great deal calmer.

Now, you’ll have gotten pretty used to multitasking, which might make single-tasking a little tricky at first. So we’ve put together a few suggestions that we hope will help.

How can I make doing one thing at a time easier?

Remember that when you’re doing something, it doesn’t need to be done with unwavering attention. Yes, doing things fully and focusing on them one at a time is the aim, but don’t beat yourself up if your mind wanders. Just do your best to clock it when it happens and then try to draw your attention back to the task at hand.

Write down distractions. Keep a pad of paper and a pen on the countertop or beside your bed to write down any thoughts that you’re worried you may forget. Once you’ve written it down, let it go, trusting that you’ll come back to it later. Pen and paper is our preferred choice over a notes app on our phones because it’s hard not to get distracted once you pick that thing up.

Narrate your experience. Although it sounds a little crazy, when you’re feeling stressed and tired, narrating what you are doing can really help to get it done and reduce feelings of stress. “I’m going to get the salt from the cupboard. Now I’m sprinkling it over the veg.”

Practise single-tasking on something you enjoy. Multitasking will be a difficult habit to break, but if you begin and practice with an activity you enjoy and do every day – reading perhaps – it’s a little easier to keep your focus.

Think about your phone use. Our phones and the apps on them are designed to distract us and keep us on them, and because they’re always in our pockets, inviting us with buzzes and beeps to get them out, they become the most common cause for multitasking. So, we’re offering a few suggestions that should help you to keep it in your pocket, or even in the other room.

Put it on silent and turn off vibrate.

Set time limits for certain apps (you can do this through your phone’s settings).

Delete apps you don’t really need.

Set aside specific times to engage with your phone and stick to those times.

Put your phone aside before you get into bed.

Put a book, magazine, or crossword in your bag so you have something else to do when waiting for the kids.

Use a smartwatch if you’re worried about missing important texts or phone calls.

How to make it easier to do one thing at a time

Single-task things like a champion with Unii's parenting tips.