Changing How We See Multitasking

Written By Colēgia

Typically viewed in a positive light, multitasking is something that often floats around when it comes to productivity. Something worth considering is how efficient it actually is for us and whether it leads to increased focus. Today we want to do a sort of thought experiment to review multitasking so we can find a method that works for us.

Multitasking Or Changing Rapidly?

One of the biggest things we need to break down in regards to multitasking is that it's more of a misnomer. A more accurate way of describing it would be that we're really doing one thing at a time and changing what we're doing very rapidly. Now at times, this sort of attention shifting is extremely necessary, a good example of this can be driving where we're expected to pay attention to both the road and our environment. We're still ultimately focused on driving but our attention is split to some degree because of the various things happening. Compare this to something such as studying while also playing a game on the side. The issue here is that we can't truly dedicate time to both with the same amount of our attention which often results in both sides being compromised as a result of our rapid switching.

“A more accurate way of describing it would be that we're really doing one thing at a time and changing what we're doing very rapidly.”

Prioritize To Succeed

Staying on track and eliminating distractions is one of the many ways we can help bring back our focus to the task at hand. Something to think about is that we might be more effective when we condense the amount of things we need to do in a given day. Prioritizing what matters most along with what's urgent is a great way to single task better. The reason for this is that it makes us more aware of the time we do have during the day so that we can plan around things. Certain tasks might be easier for us during the day and we can leave others for nighttime. An example of this can be that we're naturally more creative in the morning whereas at night we may feel mentally alert to focus on certain tasks. Everyone's circadian rhythm is different and part of prioritizing involves figuring out when we're most efficient.

“Staying on track and eliminating distractions is one of the many ways we can help bring back our focus to the task at hand.”

Have Realistic Expectations

While there might be a lot of things we want to get done during the week, we need to be cognizant of our well-being and how much mental energy we have. Doing a lot of tasks can be draining and part of the process involves pacing ourselves so that our energy is sustainable. Realistically we can't always dedicate the same amount of mental focus to something which is all the more reason why we need to temper things accordingly. If we know we have something really important to do, then we have to ensure that we're in the right headspace before tackling it. Quality work is more beneficial for us in the long run compared to trying to multitasking since it means that we're putting our best foot forward.

Colēgia

Colēgia

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