Working from home with kids? Trying to do 5 things at once and telling yourself you're being PRODUCTIVE or You're SO BUSY?
Why Multi-Tasking is Less Productive
Having trouble separating work and home life? If you’re like most people, you probably have several different duties at work and home.
When you think about being productive and getting things done, we usually want it all done NOW and think we can do it simultaneously!
Most of the time we have multiple tabs open at the same time on the computer toggling back and forth checking email, CRM, LinkedIn & google searches. While scanning our phone for texts, SM and the latest Tic-Tok video and don’t forget to track how many steps we’ve walked or how many calories we’ve burned on our smart watch.
We tend to think the more we can do at the same time the more productive and efficient we are, but that’s just a lie we’re telling ourselves.
We’re more likely to make mistakes, miss things, and really only do them half way or half-assed. Research shows that we are on an average 40% less productive.
Producing results comes from “Constraint” and choosing “One” thing at a time to place our focus on.
There’s more to time-blocking than occupying a space on your calendar.
If you block 2 hours to lead gen and don’t have clarity on what type of lead gen activity you’re doing, you WILL waste 30 min. just figuring that out.
Here’s what happens when you multitask:
- Your short term memory gets impacted
- You’re not in a deep focus it’s more surface level
- Which also means you forget things that are key and important to that task
- It inhibits your creative thinking
- Doesn’t allow you to get into a space where you can think outside the box – GET YOUR JUICES FLOWING
- Increases Anxiety - Neuroscientists say that multitasking literally drains your mind’s energy reserves, causing you to lose focus and become more anxious.
- You make more mistakes and become LESS productive which then means it takes you longer to do the task.
- Studies show that it drops your IQ by an average of 10 points
- Can have the same impact as losing a night’s sleep
Main reason is that it stops you from getting into the state of FLOW.
Why is being in “FLOW” so important?
- You’re Hyper focused on just “ONE THING”
- Can Increase your productivity up to 500%
- Brain is energized and creates space for amazing new ideas
- Problem solving comes to us much easier
- We come up with really amazing strategies handle the obstacles
- Less stress
- Finish in less time
- Produce at the highest level
5 Ways to reduce the amount of time wasted Multitasking each day:
1. Schedule dedicated time for “Focus Work”
- Decide the length of time needed and keep it under 2 hours (not any more at one time)
- If it’s a bigger project , it may take a few separate blocks
- If research is involved – schedule 10-15 min. ahead for prep
2. Turn off ALL notifications everywhere (phone, computer, watch)
- Put a sign on the door or let people know you can’t be interrupted during that time
- If you’re in a noisy office space (maybe working from home), put headphones on to cancel out the noise
3. No getting up for anything (bathroom, drink, etc)
4. Schedule a break immediately following the Focused Time so you have something to look forward to
- Maybe a quick 15 min walk, a snack – something that refuels & energizes
5. Make recurring daily activities a no brainer by getting them on the calendar as recurring events – they can always be moved around if needed
- Lunch, breaks, coffee breaks
- Weekly meetings
- 2-4 separate 15 min email check-ins
- Same for any social media that is used for business (FB, LinkedIn, etc)
As you can see we can’t rely on our environment to provide the atmosphere we need to produce at a high level. We have to be conscious of creating our own work space. It takes constraint, discipline and skill to be super productive in your own business or as an employee.
Hopefully this guide helped give you a deeper understanding about multitasking and how
ineffective yet common it is in the workplace and how to protect yourself from it.