2

Multitasking. It sounds like an effective strategy, yet it is nothing more than feeling  busy because you’re jumping around between tasks. Today is Career Coach Friday on www.mariewetmore.com, and we are going to explore how multitasking gets in the way of your professional success…and what you can do about it.

1st, let’s get it clear: you cannot multitask. It is impossible for you to do 2 things at once. The only exception is that you can do rote tasks that have been so well stored in your habit system that they require no mental effort.

For example, you can think about your upcoming presentation at work while you’re brushing your teeth, because brushing your teeth requires no concentration. But any activity that you requires attention cannot coexist with multitasking.

Because multitasking is actually just switching between tasks.

Every time you stop one task and start another, your mind (and if its physical work, your body) needs a moment or two to transition. You must mentally let go of the 1st activity and then focus on the 2nd activity. Then, when you switch back to activity number 1, you need to refocus your mind on it. That takes time.

Repeat this pattern over and over during the day and you could easily waste well over an hour on these transitional moments.

Even more important, you are most effective at work when you experience flow. Flow happens when you get so involved in what you’re doing that it is as if you are were at one with the task. Dancers and athletes are famous for getting into flow, but this can  happen in any career. But usually getting into flow takes a little bit of time, so each time you switch between tasks you’re breaking or even preventing flow.

It’s time to get that productivity. Get that flow. Get that success. Here’s how…

Effective Workflow Management: 5 Ways to Stop Multitasking and Start Being Productive

1. Start using time chunking.

I wrote an article focused on how to chunk your time that you can explore, but here’s the basic idea: do related tasks in batches. If you make lots of phone calls in a day, schedule yourself to make the calls in 2 or 3 chunks. You will quickly do all of your calling and then put it out of your mind when you are focusing on other tasks.

If you feel some stress just hearing me suggest that, you probably have an ineffective underlying belief, maybe to the effect of “I need to drop what I’m doing and get back to them immediately otherwise things will go wrong.” Almost a hundred percent of the time people can wait an hour or 2 before you get back to them. If it’s a true emergency, you will know the difference.

2. Leverage your calendar.

You must plan your tasks. Multitasking is a sure sign that you have not adequately planned your day. Most of the time, it means that you haven’t decided which thing to do, so you decide to do 2 or more at the same time. The best way to counteract this is to put your tasks into your calendar. This way, your schedule will not just be for meetings with other people, but also include meetings with yourself. Essentially, you are setting up a meeting with yourself to work on a specific task.

There will be unexpected events in your day, so here are 2 ways to handle it. 1st, build buffer time into your schedule so that you have time for the unexpected. Or 2nd, completely switch tasks to the new event and stop trying to bounce back and forth. Complete as much as you reasonably can, and then entirely switch back to your original work.

3. Turn off buzzes, bings, and other alerts.

Automatic alerts were designed as conveniences yet are one of the biggest backfires in the history of professional organizations. They kill your productivity. Every time you hear an alert, it breaks your concentration. Yet, for most professionals, the number 1 thing they need is to maintain their focus. Why would you set yourself up to be distracted?

Turn off the alerts and move on to strategy number 4.

4. Schedule your e-mail  time.

This is basically another version of time chunking but I’m adding it as its own strategy because the tendency to drop everything for email is so pervasive. Almost universally, the most important thing we do at work is apply our specialized thinking and labor. Your specialized thinking and labor should usually trump e-mail, yet we’ll drop just about anything to respond to the bells and whistles.

So, to nurture your most productive work, you need to create a system for your e-mail that you can rely on. That way you won’t be as distracted. Here’s a method that works for most people: schedule time to check your e-mail, 3 times a day. For most professionals, this frequency is sufficient to keep you in good communication with your colleagues while giving you the time you need to do your actual job.

5. Coach yourself through your impulses.

All of these other strategies work, but typically the biggest challenges are your own mental habits. For this you may need to receive some coaching or do some self coaching. Come up with a quick self coaching phrase to keep yourself on track. So when you are working  on one task and suddenly you’re struck with the impulse to go do something else, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you have a more effective choice. Say something to brief like, “I’ll get more done by focusing.” Or, “I will get to that later.” Or simply, “focus.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK? HOW DO  YOU STAY FOCUSED?

Click here for a free discovery session with Marie.