Think you are a great multitasker? Think again.
We are forced to multitask. If you have any kind of home life, you are always, always juggling. But, at work, you are working on multiple projects, taking calls, switching screens, using differen technology, dealing with social media and a million other things. All at once.
So if you catch yourself bragging that you are a good multitasker, you might want to consider the volumes of research that conclude that multi-tasking is destroying your focus. Why? Because you only have so much bandwidth. You may be able to expand the quantity of things you do, but that impacts the quality and makes you take longer to complete your goals.
Break your goals into smaller pieces, then deal with them one at a time.
Your assignment: Can you spend a day doing just one thing at a time? If you are looking something up, be on one page at a time. Don’t take a Facebook break. Don’t peek at the news. If you have to take a phone call, don’t distract yourself on Amazon. Talk about a challenge. But try to spend a day without multi-tasking. If you are on the phone, be on the phone. If you are at dinner, be at dinner. If you are driving, drive. Just for a day, see if you can stop multi-tasking and start living.
Do you have a problem with multitasking? When are you most prone to be doing two or three things at once?
Has this problem gotten worse for you over time? Why?
What responsibilities or projects are competing for your attention all at the same time? Is this because you are not managing your obligations or because you have a manager who may be throwing too much at you at once? What are your greatest distractions that pull you “off task?”
Ok, so do it.
We dare you. One day. One thing at a time. If the thought is daunting, you’ve got to wonder why. Life has gotten so out of control for most of us that the thought of slowing down – truly slowing down – is unsettling. But, master this and you’ve got a tool that will replace the chaos in your life with a true calm.