Recent research that has been making the media rounds lately has reported that when people are focused on a task they indicate that they are happier than when their mind wanders. This research is obviously not breaking news for the tens of millions of Buddhists and uncounted others who have experienced the phenomenon of being “present” or “in the now” first hand. Quite simply, being in the moment allows us to fully experience whatever we are doing and gain the full benefits of what the experience has to offer. In contrast, letting our minds wander or allowing our minds to be distracted constantly prevents this state of “flow” and, as the recent evidence suggests, actually makes us less happy.
This finding is another example of science confirming what we already know. At the same time, knowing something intuitively often doesn’t ring loudly enough for us to recognize the subtle, though significant, impact it can have on our lives. So telling us what we already know can help us to connect crucial phenomena to how we live our lives.
The implications on these findings, along with other recent research demonstrating that so-called multitasking actually interferes with efficiency, performance, productivity calls into serious question how most of us use (and often abuse) new technology and social media. Consider this. Why would people engage in activities that make them both less productive and more unhappy? Yet that is precisely what countless of us appear to do when we multitask or use technology in a way that prevents us from focusing on the task at hand.
