A month ago, on the return flight to Singapore, ending my one-week overseas business trip, setting myself down in a cozy plane seat, readying myself for take off, the flight crews proudly made an announcement that the plane I was on was equipped with in-flight wifi, and that those who were interested should approach the flight crews and get prepaid vouchers.

Compelling offer indeed as the thoughts of unfinished email chains right before the boarding was called was crawling inside my head, tickling every business-mind nerve in my body. The prospect of closing forthcoming deals was hanging, waiting to be picked and savoured. On the other side of my brain, the prospect of tranquility, of being electronically disconnected, of peaceful time to read my fiction novel, of watching in-flight movie, were equally captivating, pulling my leisure-deprived soul to its realm. The latter took a better of me! I conjured up myself not hearing the announcement, that in-flight internet access was not at my disposal, like in many flights I had taken before. I could always say that whatever it was that was looming large could wait as I was about to board the plane. The fact that I was on the plane for several hours was always justifiable reason for not replying emails and instant messages promptly.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t advertise non productivity at all. As I am in sales, closing deals and hitting my target were always in the back of my head and to achieve that I have to be in constant touch with your customers. On the other hand, some disconnection time from any means of electronic communication is necessary, the time where we can focus on task at hand, the time where we can interact with our conversation partner without interruption to show our respect, the moment of self-reflection and leisure, and equally important, the time where we can rest our eyes from electronic radiation.

I don’t believe we are designed to do multitasking. Multitasking in small degree, like reading while listening to music, like talking while fixing a drink, is something we can do without lessening the quality of the outcomes. However, attending the meeting while typing in our laptop, doing our budget excel sheet while kept being nudged by the buzzes of your phone, having conversation with our valuable partners while checking your phone every 1 minute, driving while texting, are not multi tasking at all, albeit it seems like it. One of those stuffs we do at the same time will suffer in quality. We’ll lose focus on the main, both or even all of the tasks, and I am speaking from my experience.

I have stopped trying to do multitasking especially when I am on at something important. I put my phone to silent or away from me in any meetings, when I am doing heavy speadsheet or writing proposal, when I have face-to-face meeting with my valuable partners, when I am lying on my bed reading my novel, when I am writing my blog, and in dinner time with my family. In certain occasions like my regular running and strolling in the park, I don’t bring my phone at all and that’s the time when I find a lightness in my soul, a soothing tranquility, an serene enlightenment and awakening, and a divine inspiration. In historical perspective as you may recall, all the noble great men and women, all the prophets, they reached their biggest innovations and divine providences while being immersed in deep focus,no distractions at all.

So next time you meet me, please remind me to put my phone to silence as I aspire so much to respect you, my loved ones and valuable partners!