So over the past few years, I have become a devotee of the work method of “ single tasking ” – working on just one thing at a time instead of 86 things at once. When I say devotee, I mean, I know it’s a good idea, and then I forget to do it for a while, and then realise why it’s a good idea because my brain is frying and I’m getting fuck all done (all while being exceedingly busy).
Single tasking works.
When I multi-task, and have 17 different windows open, I am not giving my full attention to anything and a 2 minute task can take hours to complete, while I wander away to another and another and another task; finally coming back to the original and thinking ‘oh yeah, I was doing that 4 hours ago. Oopsie.’
Distractions abound these days – phones and facebook and twitter and instagram and email and Auntie Google. Just today, while trying to decide whether to meditate or write to help me decide on an article, I wandered off to periscope, 3 websites and facebook…and wasted an hour of writing time. Luckily I’d started this article already, so the 35 minutes I had left were for refining, editing and posting, not writing. Thankfully.
My acupuncturist and I were discussing only the other day that in 50 years, instead of asbestosis, we’ll have google-itis as the disease no one knew about that affects them a lifetime later. Anyway, so now, more than ever, you need to be conscious of what’s happening, of what you’re doing, of what’s getting in the way of you doing your best work or having your best life.
And I suspect you’ll find that some form of attention split is taking you away from the best experience. Even TV time – if you’re surfing while watching TV, you’re enjoying neither fully. Either watch or surf with full attention, or do something you really want to do instead. And when you’re working, put your full attention on one thing at a time, not twenty.
From my own experimentation, I found that focusing on one task at a time increases my productivity, decreases my stress…and I’m more likely to get to the important work that often got overlooked when my brain was too busy plate spinning to actually think about what I wanted to get done. Don’t just take my word for it – check out this article.
And don’t just take their word for it either – experiment. When you’re working on one thing, shut down everything else and see how much more efficient and effective you are. When you’re working on 100 things at once, notice how much more stressed you are. Soon, I’m sure you’ll join me in being a devotee to single tasking…even if we forget to do it sometimes!
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