by Brad Closson
Do you multi-task? Most of us do. We read every e-mail as it comes into our inbox, while we talk on the phone, fill out an expense report and chew gum just for kicks. There is something down deep inside of us that feels like we are getting more done when we multi-task. And more than a few of us are even proud of our multi-tasking skills. I, for example, can write this post while reading four other blogs, eating dinner and mentally sending forth messages to the government about my taxes. Amazing, right?
We need to stop this. We need some unpolluted time. Try to single-task more often. Put all our concentration and focus into one thing at a time. Don’t be afraid of this “clean” time. Turn off the phone, close out of e-mail, put your hand-held social media device in another room. Can you even imagine doing this? We have trained ourselves to work on simultaneous assignments. The thought of missing a call, an email, even a “tweet” can cause our blood pressure to rise. So what are we to do?
Practice. It’s such an easy word, though each time we start a new diet or workout regime, we curse it. But practicing is the best way to change this wasteful behavior. It’s the only way to get from the bustling street of mind chaos to the rambling country road of single-mindedness. Practice. Start with 5 minutes a day. Work your way up to at least an hour. I guarantee that your productivity for that hour will be at the top of your list of daily wins.
Clear, directed focus. Try it!
LinkedIN Profile
Paragon Business Group
How true this is. Ugh… I guess I will give it a try.
This is so relevant to today’s business leader. Unfortunately, like many things, it’s very easy to fall into this “habit” and very hard to escape. In fact, witnessing so many others doing this “multi-tasking” thing makes it even harder to do otherwise.
Clarity…I wonder if this word has meaning any longer in our work and/or personal lives? I hope so – I think maybe – but if so it’s fading rapidly.
Oh yea, just in the past week or so I’ve begun checkig my Google Reader feeds and Twitter comments, then turning them off for periods of time to concentrate on tasks. I’m struggling with…CHANGE!!
Stanford did an interesting study a couple years on multitasking and turns out that multitaskers perform worse than other people. They just live under the illusion that they work better than others, and many even manage to convince others that they get more done.
To be effective and efficient, it is better to focus on one thing at a time.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/24/study-people-who-multitas_n_267774.html
Brad, This is a great post we can all benefit from! I shall practice this and think of this post. We recently took a one week vacation and did not get on-line for that week. The first day was hard….after that it was just so relaxing!