Managing It All-Multitasking
Image credit: Alexa Williams, Unsplash
You’re home, I mean, everyone is right now. The fact is you have got A LOT to do, right? Between taking care of the home; learning how to use ZOOM for your next webinar; helping your clients, schooling or playing with the kids or your pet, taking your Vitamin C and staying on top of the COVID-19 news (or memes, depending on your flavour)…You, ma'am, have got tons to do. Have you ever felt like a superhuman because you multitask? Multitasking seems like a great way to get a lot done at once right? Sorry to burst your bubble though, you may have been doing it all wrong. When you stop to think about it, how much work have you gotten done?
Research suggests that multitasking can actually reduce productivity by as much as 40%. Right now, the world is fighting a war with coronavirus (Covid-19) and many people have been told to stay at home (both partial and full lockdown). There is a temptation to multitask, especially with the majority of us attending to kids plus working from home. Don't fall into this trap.
Hi there superwoman, hold the brakes and let's talk about appropriate ways to multitask. First, let’s see the pros and cons of multitasking…
Pros
Enhanced Flexibility and Adaptability
Increased Resilience
Increased Efficiency
Cons
Declining Quality
Procrastination & Misplaced Priorities
Chronic Distraction
If your question is, so how can I better accomplish my tasks? Then, you’re at the right place.
TIME BLOCKING
How do you accomplish so many tasks, when everything seems so urgent? The truth is you have to take it one task at a time. A very effective approach used by those who are very productive is the process of time blocking.
Time blocking is really just the practice of setting aside a specific amount of time to completing a specific task. If you block off time to do specific activities and become extremely disciplined at managing yourself during that time block, you are likely to accomplish a lot more than trying to do many tasks all at once.
You will need some tools to make time blocking effective. Consider getting yourself a calendar that will allow you to see what you have on your plate, as well as a timer to keep you on track during your time blocks. It’s important to not only list your tasks but schedule them so that you will actually make the effort to get them done.
No one likes to get to the end of the day only to realize that they were spinning their wheels and accomplishing nothing. That surprise phone call or funny meme your sister sent you will have to wait. You’ll know not to check it until your time block is over.
Without focus, we end up thinking that we are being productive when in fact, we’re just giving a mediocre effort to a task while focusing on it can allow us to get it done.
Time blocking helps you to focus by removing or limiting distractions so that you can FOCUS.
FOCUS
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Picture this; you’re at your desk working on a pressing issue, and then a phone call comes in.
You tell yourself, ah, it’s a quick call it won’t take much time. You start talking and then before you know it 15 minutes have passed.
When the call ends, you vow to get back to the task at hand, but now you are so distracted you are unmotivated to complete the task and now you’re already working on something else that came up in your phone call.
By the time you remember what you were doing before the call you have lost focus and momentum to complete the task. This is a key example of how easy it is to get distracted.
You’re not alone! Distractions can range from kids to replying to messages, social media, phone calls that go on for hours! Video games, etc.
YOU NEED A SYSTEM
If you have a need for these distractions then include them in your time block. Allocate some minutes to check your phone, return calls and messages, go on social media, play a game. For the kids...hmmm…if they’re not already on a schedule, try creating one. Children love order and structure and can actually manage themselves in a prepared environment with minimal supervision.
Try giving them an interesting activity to keep them busy for at least an hour and switch it up so they don’t get bored. And of course, allocate time to give them attention and spend time with them.
Another thing that really helps is to pack the kids a snack in advance. Snack requests can obliterate your task list. My guys are round the clock snackers, and every time I have to step away from a task, it becomes a ripe opportunity for distraction.
Where do you go from here? Should you continue to give in to the temptation of multitasking, or do your best to zone in on one task at a time?
What am I saying? Instead of switching through tasks or multitasking in order to finish quickly, try to stay on one task at a time.
You cannot do it all at once, even wonder woman can’t.
Want more tips on how you can use a proven system to be more productive, but also save your sanity so that you can stress less?
I’ve created a productivity guide for entrepreneurs like you that will help you to do just that. A
re you a struggling multi-tasker or focused productivity master?
How do you get things done?
If you need help managing it all, check out my productivity system below: