One Task At A Time
In our technological era, we love multitasking. We have this notion of doing multiple tasks at a time believing that this action can help us do our work faster. The truth is, it makes us finish our work faster, but the question is: Does it improve our work?
Let me give you an example: when we do simple tasks like checking and writing emails, we always have another tab open in our browser. I bet you already know what the opened tabs are, it’s our social media accounts. We are waiting for some notifications that can help us brighten our mood and feed our cravings of attention. If we don’t open other tabs, our smart phones are right beside us. We always have this habit of checking it time and time again.
*I’m using “WE” because I am guilty of this too.
What we don’t realise is this little habit of ours is destroying our productivity and creativity. These tech companies have destroyed our ability to focus and concentrate on important tasks. They know about this and they don’t want to admit it because grabbing our attention is part of their business model.
When we multitask, our attention gets divided and we lose focus. This results in cramming and procrastination. When we multitask, we get “half-assed” results and we are not aware of this. We thought we are multitasking, but we are just jumping or switching attention from one task to another.
Let us just call multitasking as “switch tasking” from now on, shall we? We human beings can’t “switch task” because of our limited energy and focus. We are not built like computers.
Here are simple practices you can do to help us focus on one task at a time:
Turn off all notifications on your phone.
Use productivity apps like Forest.
Switch do a dumb phone if you have to. (Dumb phone is a term for old phones. These are phones before the smart phone era.)
Block certain websites and apps that often distract you (social media).
Disconnect from the Internet. (Only if you don’t need internet for your tasks)
Practice mindfulness and meditation.
Do your tasks after your morning routines. (By doing this, you have more energy and focus unlike when doing tasks in the afternoon).
Keep in mind: In the digital age, focus is the new I.Q. To do one task at a time can help you achieve more work, be more productive, and produce greater work.
