It’s The Most Helpful Time of the Year
If you’re hoping to give your productivity a boost this year so you can reclaim your time AND make money in your business, your holiday is this week! That’s right, February 22 is (drumroll, please) Single Tasking Day.
Why should we be hooting and hollering for Single Tasking Day? Because if you really want to avoid busy-ness and instead grow your busi-ness, then one of your biggest tools is countercultural: doing one task at a time.
We’re all so used to (thinking we’re) doing multiple things at one time: texting and driving (don’t do that), emailing or checking Facebook while you’re on a Zoom call or webinar, etc. Your mind is constantly occupied, so you must be getting a lot done, right?
Wrong.
Look, I’ve seen other people in the productivity space talking about getting up early in the morning, using time tracking software, using generative AI, and a whole bunch of other techie-type tools.
These tools MIGHT help you at the margins, but some of them actively work against you, especially early mornings when you’re not an early morning person. If you decide to use these tools, but you’re still addicted to the myth of multitasking, you’ve got a hard limit on how productive you can actually be.
Task-switching is tiring and drains your productivity
Ever noticed that on a day where you did a lot of stuff - not necessarily anything that had an impact or moved your company forward, but just a lot of different tasks - that you feel wiped out at the end of the day?
Task switching tires out your brain. Whether you're faux-multitasking or just switching between different types of tasks, all the switching is fatiguing.
That’s why so many people on diets have a great breakfast and super-nutritious lunch … and then eat the contents of the cookie jar for dinner. Too many decisions and your brain is done.
When it comes to cognitively demanding tasks, the human brain can’t juggle two tasks at once. Why? Mainly because our ancestors didn’t have to, so the brain didn’t evolve that capability.
Think you’re multitasking? What actually happens is that your brain is switching back and forth between the two tasks. That gives you the conscious illusion that you’re multitasking.
Ever notice when you’re texting and driving (seriously, DO NOT DO THIS) that people around you are honking? Or you hit the brakes only to realize you’re 20 mph below the speed limit anyway? Or that you’re constantly jerking the wheel to get back in your lane? It’s because while you're texting, your focus is off the road.
Or, less dangerously, you’re in the middle of a demanding task like a tax return, and the phone rings. You pick it up automatically, but while you’re on the phone you’re still thinking about the tax return. Or you’re worried you’ll lose your place when you get back to it, which yeah, you probably will. You’re splitting your focus.
Focus improves productivity in the workplace
If you think you multitask a lot, you’re not very efficient. When you divide your focus between two tasks, you’re not multiplying your focus, you’re dividing it in half. As in, you’re now half-assing both tasks.
I guess if you’re switching focus between three tasks then you’re third-assing it. And so on.
Maybe it seems less productive to “only” do one thing at a time. We’re all so used to thinking that we have so many things to do that trying to do multiple things at once seems like it makes sense.
However, that’s not how life works.
Not only will you get things done more quickly when you do one at a time, but “productive” does not equal “busy”. You can be extremely busy and still not get anything important done.
Need to get a few things wrapped up by the end of the day? Instead of trying to do them all at once, which is simply not possible, do one thing at a time. Pick the most important one and do it first. Then do the next one.
Yes, single-tasking requires more thought and intentionality. Being busy means you attend to whatever’s in front of you, even if it’s unimportant. Being productive means you prioritize instead.
Other benefits of single tasking (AKA monotasking)
Parents want to have quality time with their kids. But what exactly does that mean? It’s different for different families, although some things remain the same no matter who you are.
Quality time isn’t sitting around the table together not listening to anyone because you’re on your phone. It means being with your kid, emotionally as well as physically. You don’t have to do activities necessarily. You can just hang out and be present with each other.
That goes for all relationships. When you’re with the other person, be with the other person.
Not with your phone, or their phone, or your Zoom call. Your “task”, if you want to call it that, is to really be present with them. Listen to what they’re actually saying, not what you think they’re saying.
Ever walked from one room into another and tried to figure out what you went in there for? I can pretty much guarantee you started to think about something else almost immediately as soon as you started walking, and that’s why you forgot. Consider being mindful about it instead - think about what you’re doing as you’re doing it.
You don’t have to only focus on one aspect of one thing to be single tasking. I like to go for long hikes by myself. I try to take in everything about the experience: the tiny purple flower almost hidden in the rocks on the trail, what the air smells like, the birdsong (if any, sometimes the canyons are dead quiet), and the critters.
Recap
Multitasking isn’t possible and switching from task to task is tiring for your brain. Spend time where you’re playing instead of thinking, and single task by being present with what you’re doing or who you’re with. It’s good for your relationships and creativity too.
Having trouble with singletasking in your business, whether it’s you or your team? I can help you. Schedule a free call with me to set up your free consultation to see if we’re a good fit to work together.