Enough with Multitasking

Are you making a New Year’s resolution? I’m not usually into resolutions, but I have had some success with creating a theme for the year. One year, I made a point of trying to bring more joy into my life. That was an epic fail, but the do-over worked out well. This year, I’m focusing on reducing my thoughtload and creating calm within the chaos of life. Step one is to cut out the multitasking.

I’ve noticed that the pace and variety of inputs are making me dumb, anxious, and unproductive at the same time. The more I try to do, the less I get done, and the worse I feel. And that’s only the impact it’s having on me. My distraction and frenetic demeanor send a terrible message to the people around me. I seem frazzled and disinterested when that’s precisely the opposite of what I want to convey.

It’s Not Really Multitasking

Research suggests that only about 5% of people can multitask (i.e., do two or more things at once. What the rest of us are doing is toggling from one task to another, generally doing a crappy job of both things.

I’ve become so hooked on the constant barrage of input that I catch myself trying to multitask. I listen to endless podcasts, but if the action isn’t fast enough, I pull out my phone and scroll through news items. I lose the plot on the podcast as my brain focuses on reading. Then, something interesting comes up on the podcast, and I realized I’ve missed everything and have to rewind. I feel like a dope.

Here’s what you and I can do to improve focus, reduce anxiety, and get more out of our time.

Steps to Reduce MultitaskingPick a modality and fully immerse in it. If you’re reading, turn off all other inputs. If you’re writing, use blocks of time to write without reading or googling. If you’re listening to something, just listen and don’t add extra stimulation. (Exception… cleaning, baking, exercising where we might benefit from a great playlist.)Use a timer to maintain focus on a single task for 30-45 minutes.Put phones out of sight to reduce the distraction and temptation to check them. (Yup, even if your phone is face-down or turned off if it’s in your line of sight, it distracts you and reduces the quality of your work.)Be disciplined about stopping, getting up, and moving around during the breaks. While task switching is bad for many things, interrupting a task and switching to another enhances creativity. So, especially if you’re trying to create something innovative, stop when the timer goes, even if that’s in the middle of something.Separate planning/strategizing time from execution time. When you strategize and execute simultaneously, it slows you down. Repeatedly diverging and converging is less efficient than carving out the time to think, play, and plan and then getting serious about producing.Find a fidget or doodle during Zoom meetings to make it easier to pay attention and reduce the likelihood of opening emails or surfing the web.Schedule time to deal with administrative tasks and avoid letting them bleed into the core of your productive working time.Allow yourself to give in occasionally. When you’re just not in the zone, and you’re getting distracted every two minutes. Stop and do something else with your full attention.ADVANCED ASSIGNMENT: Spend more time with no input. I’m going to go even further than avoiding multitasking. I’m going to spend time doing nothing. I drove 2 hours to pick up my mom before Christmas and didn’t even put the radio on. It was great to give my brain time to wander. Given that a decent percentage of people in this study preferred to administer themselves electric shocks rather than sit quietly with their thoughts, you might need to build up to this one.

I’m excited about the prospect of greater focus. I know that this will require more than one attempt. It’s swimming upstream to try to do one thing at a time in this world. But I know it’s a worthwhile pursuit. Let me know if you try any of the things on the list and how it goes.

Additional Resources

Focus your time on your real value

Coping With Unrealistic Expectations at Work

How to Boost Your Energy Levels

 

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