One thing at a time

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One thing at a time 

A simple, common English phrase that also reflects the healthiest way for your brain to work.

Examples:

When she felt overwhelmed by her to-do list, she told herself, “One thing at a time,” and suddenly the day didn’t feel impossible.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to a weekend episode of Daily English — where we try to grow, in English and in life.

Today’s episode is about something many people are proud of… but shouldn’t be: Multitasking.

Most people believe multitasking makes them efficient, fast, productive — even impressive.
 But neuroscience says the opposite. Multitasking isn’t a skill. It’s a cost.

Every time you try to do two things at once, you don’t divide your attention — you damage it.

Your brain cannot focus on two thinking tasks at the same time. It doesn’t multitask. It switches — rapidly, back and forth.

This constant switching drains mental energy, creates mistakes, slows you down, and increases stress even when the tasks are small.

Psychologists call this the switching cost.  Every switch steals a little focus, a little memory, a little calm. And by the end of the day, you’ve lost hours without understanding why you feel mentally exhausted.

Let’s look at a simple situation: She spent the whole day multitasking — answering emails while listening to a meeting. She missed details, reread the same email three times, and ended the day tired and irritated. Not because life was overwhelming, but because her brain never had one clear moment.

Multitasking doesn’t just reduce performance. It increases anxiety. Because when your brain is constantly switching, it never gets the satisfaction of completing anything. So you end the day feeling like you worked nonstop without truly finishing a single thing.

Sound familiar? This mental restlessness is not a personality problem. It’s a multitasking problem.

So what works better?  Single-tasking.With single-tasking, you work faster,
 you feel calmer, and you make fewer mistakes — when you do one thing at a time.

One task. One moment. One mind.Even ten minutes of full focus is more powerful than an hour of multitasking. That’s why today’s expression is:

 “One thing at a time.” A simple, common English phrase that also reflects the healthiest way for your brain to work.

Here’s a relatable example:

When she felt overwhelmed by her to-do list, she told herself, “One thing at a time,” and suddenly the day didn’t feel impossible.

So here’s my question for you:  What is one thing in your life that deserves your full attention —
 without switching, without rushing, without dividing yourself?

Just one thing. One moment. One clear mind. Because multitasking feels impressive…
 but single-tasking is what actually changes your life.

Thanks for listening, and see you tomorrow.