I shared a lesson on “letting go” with the mamas on my list last week. After publishing, it got me thinking what else I could be letting go of this week. Then it came to me!
Multi-Tasking
She’s a tricky b, multitasking is. She makes you think that she’s the ONLY solution to all of the insanity that is your to do list. She’s in your ear telling you “don’t worry, just one more thing…you can handle just one more thing while you’re listening in on that conference call. Nobody’s going to call on you anyway…don’t worry about it.“
But then your name gets called. You crouch down lower in your seat and make something quick up such as “can you please repeat that…I don’t think I heard the question as it was intended I was multi-tasking?”
Sound familiar?
Girl, I know it’s temping, but slow down. Multi-tasking will only get you so far.
Single Tasking | Time Blocking | Batching
These strategies are essentially the same thing and are the antidote to multi-tasking. Sear them into your mind mama, because they will change your life.
Some of the ways I increase my productivity with single tasking is by:
- answering non-urgent emails only 2-3 times a day. Typically that’s first thing in the morning, before lunch, and before the end of my day.
- grouping similar tasks together such as my laundry and powering through it in 1 day.
- leaving my phone on the charger in the other room any time I need to absolutely get sh** done.
- planning the week with time blocks around existing commitments.
- creating a home supported by routines, rhythms and systems that make sense – i.e. less brain power required to run smoothly!
There is a time and place when multi-tasking is acceptable and works just fine. An example that I take advantage of often is listening to music while working on a deliverable that is on autopilot – meeting minutes, a spreadsheet, etc. Those two actions – listening to music and doing something repetitive – use different parts of the brain, so they aren’t typically in conflict.
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But have you ever been listening to music or watching TV in the background when you received an urgent message from someone that required an immediate response? What did you do? I’ll bet you paused the music/TV as you digested the new information and planned your response.
As uncomfortable as it may be, slowing down and doing just one thing at a time has always allowed me the opportunity to eventually speed up.
Try doing just one thing at a time this week and see how your overall productivity improves!
