This weekend, while on our annual “girls’ weekend” with my daughter, I observed the following scene. A mother was feeding her infant a bottle in the infant carrier, feeding her toddler in a booster seat, and feeding herself concurrently. She was also requesting more napkins from the waitress and carrying on a conversation with her husband, who sat close by wholeheartedly focused on his task…eating his meal. LOL!! This is a vivid picture of a female’s ability to MULTITASK!!!
Thank God for the MRI!! Modern science has made great strides in validating the obvious; women can “multi-task” at a very high level while men “compartmentalize”.
MRI’s have demonstrated that the female brain lights up in more areas and uses more brain pathways than the male brain when given a variety of tasks. Drs. Rueben and Raquel Gur have done studies that have shown, “Because a woman’s brain is so highly interconnected when compared to a man’s more compartmentalized brain, women are better designed to multitask. Not only is a woman’s brain designed to multitask; it virtually never turns off.”
This difference has been so BLATANTLY obvious to me as I have raised children of both genders. Having a daughter and two sons who have played golf at a highly competitive level has magnified the vast differences between male and female. To be honest, some males really get the fact that females can do several things at the same time and do them all well. In fact, many women do better when they do two things at once.
I observed our kids’ high school golf coach. He was a fantastic coach for both males and females and has won multiple state championships. Only two years into coaching the girls’ team he secured a Women’s State Championship. I had the opportunity, because he coached all of our kids, to observe his skill and expertise in understanding and knowing how to handle the differences between males and females. He coached them completely different. He understood that practice for girls had to be social and fun. They could actually listen to their iPods and do putting drills while the boys had to practice without theirs. He also understood that girls could talk and giggle and this actually helped them play better while he didn’t allow much horsing around for the boys (there are many coaches even in college that don’t get this, especially male coaches who coach females!). Mic Potter, a male coach at the University of Alabama, who coaches the women’s golf team is excellent at coaching women. His record and the caliber of his team validates his understanding of female/male created differences!
Multitasking and compartmentalizing can work together beautifully!! While on a trip to New York many years ago, our middle son, Thomas, who is a Type 1 diabetic, woke up in our hotel room early one morning having a seizure. Bill’s focus and calmness prevailed as he searched for the emergency gel. I jumped up to place Thomas on his side, wrap my arms around his convulsing body, and also check his blood sugar. Bill’s single-minded focus enabled him to handle the task at hand without allowing his anxiety to rule and waste precious time. My multitasking mind went to work and completed the remaining jobs to stabilize him. Together our different skills complemented each other’s and allowed us to complete the task at hand and help our son.
Males, if you have ever wondered why your wife or mother makes a “honey do list” or a “chore list,” they have recognized that making a list helps you remember as you take on “one” task at a time. Women, be careful not to take “pride” in your God-given ability. It is a gift! Use it for His glory.
Romans 12:4-6, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us…”