“Multitasking vs Single-Tasking…”
Shared by Breanne Smedley
“Multitasking vs Single-Tasking…”
The other day, Brett asked me a simple question as I was sitting on the couch.
“What are you doing?”
My answer, “I’m feeding Charlee, responding to emails, writing an IOD, and finishing some online Christmas shopping.”
Sounds….productive?
Popular belief would lead me to think, yes.
I have a lot that I need to get done, and I’m feeling a bit of satisfaction knowing that I’m working a little bit on all of those things…all at once!
In reality, it looks like this:
A tab open with a partially composed email
Another tab with a few lines of an IOD finished
A few more tabs to shopping sites with carts open
Adjusting every few minutes to make sure Charlee is still attached to me
And stopping everything to respond to whatever text just popped up on my screen
Not one of these tasks is getting my full attention.
I’m half-assing each of the things I want to accomplish today.
And I’ve been told you’re supposed to use your full ass when doing things!
I think a lot of leaders and professionals in their fields operate under this false belief, that being good at multitasking leads to better productivity and more success.
Why do one thing at once when you can do seven? 7X the productivity, 7X the success!
What I’ve come to learn though, is that I am less productive when I try to do multiple things at once.
Switching from task to task leaves things unfinished, and never allows me to fully be present at the moment.
So, I’ve started doing a few things differently.
Because every task, conversation, email, and feeding session with Charlee deserves my full, present attention.
How does this look? Two things I have been focusing on:
The first is time blocking/batching. I give myself a time (10-20 minute chucks) where I work only on one task. Responding to email, writing, planning, grading, etc.
And I ONLY do that thing. No checking email, social media, or responding to texts that pop up.
In fact, I put my phone on do not disturb during this time. My phone works for me, I don’t work for my phone.
The second has just become more aware of when I fall into multitasking.
No responding to texts while I’m in a conversation with Brett. Focus on the conversation.
No scrolling through social media while I’m feeding Charlee. Focus on her.
No trying to reply to email while standing in line at the grocery store. Focus on noticing others, maybe even engaging in a conversation.
Be present.
New goal: Become a single-tasker instead of a multitasker!
#MindfullyEvolving
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