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Are you good at doing two things at once? If you answered yes, it may be time to think again. The truth is, you’re not good at multitasking. But that’s okay; no one is, and there’s science to prove it.
Imagine your typical workday at the office. You are trying to focus on one task, but the notification ping keeps prompting you to check your email. You’re also being bombarded with DMs and phone notifications. If this sounds like your idea of peak productivity, you’re fooling yourself.
Doing a task requires attention, and your attention can’t be in two places simultaneously. Studies have confirmed that multitasking is incredibly detrimental to productivity. It adds to stress and anxiety, and it can even cause adverse effects on your mental health.
We will explore this phenomenon in depth to demonstrate the forces keeping you distracted at work. Then, we will outline the steps necessary to regain focus and reap the benefits of actual productivity.
What Is Multitasking?
If you’re doing two or more things simultaneously, you are attempting to multitask.
But, as we already established, there’s no such thing as multitasking because we are physically incapable of focusing on more than one thing at a time.
However, there are multiple ways your attention can be pulled in different directions. Recognizing what types of tasks cause you to slip into a pattern of unproductive multitasking will help you take steps to maintain your productivity.
Here are some different types of multitasking.
Task Toggle
You must write a report for your boss, read an article as part of your research, and keep track of the heated Slack team chat. Constantly switching between these tasks will cost you way more energy and time than you think.
By failing to establish task priorities, boundaries, and constraints on your time, you leave yourself open to spending valuable time on less pressing tasks. Meanwhile, the deadline and pressure to complete your primary objective draws closer.
Not to mention the time lost to lack of concentration from constantly switching between tasks. This brings us to our first underlying side effect of multitasking: attention lag.
Attention Lag
While task toggling is an obvious culprit for our lack of productivity, there is another hidden side effect to this and every other form of multitasking.
When you jump from one task to another, your brain has to shift gears metaphorically. Unfortunately, this process is very taxing and requires a lot of mental energy. Even though you have consciously started the next task, parts of your mind may still be lingering on the last project you were working on.
Just like a car needs a brief moment of pause to switch from reverse to drive, so does your brain. When planning your work for the day, remember to give yourself extra time to account for periods of transition and divide your work into blocks that will give you enough time to find a rhythm.
One form of multitasking beneficial to productivity when implemented correctly is task pairing or task blending.
Task Pairing and Blending
When looking at your tasks for the day ahead, one of the best ways to maintain your focus and boost productivity is to group similar tasks. This is known as pairing or blending tasks.
Here are some examples:
- Listening to a podcast while exercising (pairing).
- Writing down notes while reading work reports (blending).
- Listening to useful materials while looking for images and designs (pairing).
The goal of task pairing and blending is to choose complimentary tasks that do not require the same senses and abilities or could be blended into one bigger task due to their similar nature. However, mixing and pairing tasks reside at the edge of the slippery slope of multitasking.
It is very easy to pair tasks in unproductive ways. For example, participating in a conference call while writing a new project proposal is a poor task pairing. Both require the same parts of your brain that analyze speech. Though each task is work-related, they deal with unrelated information for separate projects.
Failure to Set Smart Goals – A Silent Killer of Productivity
SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. How would anyone know if they had a productive day without the means to measure their accomplishments?
This is a chronic problem that thousands of organizations experience without even realizing the loss in productivity and potential revenue. Unstructured multitasking can lower your productivity by up to 40%. Imagine what that’s doing for the bottom line company-wide and your ability to be promoted.
This loss in productivity is especially prevalent in companies with an open culture where anyone can contact anybody at any time. What’s worse is top performers accept this work style as the norm and push themselves to juggle the spontaneity and needs of others with the work they’re supposed to be doing.
Let’s look at some common distractions that contribute to multitasking in the workplace:
- Direct messaging
- Team chats
- Daily meetings
- Conference calls
- Showing up at somebody’s desk uninvited
- Notifications
- Looking for the perfect background music to work to
If this sounds similar to your company culture, the solution to your productivity lies in your ability to communicate expectations to your team and superiors. It may not be easy, but your results will speak for themselves. To do this effectively, practice consistency and schedule open periods where coworkers can count on contacting you.
Here are a few things you can do to establish a successful routine and maintain your productivity at work. Like anything else, it will take some time to break your multitasking habit for good, so save these tips and revisit them when you feel you’re pulled in too many directions.
How to Stop Multitasking and Be More Productive
Don’t worry. You’re already on the path to becoming more productive by recognizing multitasking as an allusion rather than a real solution. Here are five effective strategies to combat multitasking and distractions in the workplace. Make these tips part of your routine now to start seeing results in your performance.
Set Up Your Work Environment
It’s important to keep your workstation clean and free of any distracting items. This will help you stay focused while you work. If possible, try to use your desk for work only. The goal is to build associations with focus.
For example, you could keep computer glasses on your desk and wear them only when you work. This way, your brain will associate the habit of wearing the glasses with getting into work mode. The more you practice these routines, the easier it will be for your mind to keep pace and reduce attention lag.
Make Time for Deep Work
Have a designated period in your workday when you close the email tab and shut off all instant messaging. Leave your phone on for emergency calls only. Sit down and get to work. Focus on one task at a time and tackle each with determination.
Use the timer feature on your watch or computer to remind you to check in with your team and other notifications. You’ll be amazed how quickly the time flies when you dedicate your attention wholly to one task.
Allow Yourself to Take Breaks
It’s time to change your relationship with the clock and realize it is your friend. Start tracking just how much time you can work with extreme focus, but take a little break as soon as you feel fatigued.
Reset your energy and cultivate an ability to refocus. For instance, you can work for 30 minutes and then take a five-minute break, or you can work up to an hour and then take a 10-15-minute break.
This technique is growing in popularity, and more studies on its effectiveness continue to be published. You may have seen this technique referred to as the Pomodoro method.
Minimize Distractions
Though it’s been mentioned before, it’s worth mentioning again. You have to do everything possible to minimize the distractions that you encounter daily. Not just email, instant messaging, and phone notifications but also the visual clutter and movement of people and objects around you.
If your desk is in a high-traffic area, consider communicating to your team that you’ll work in a quieter, distraction-free space for part of your day. So long as these expectations and the purpose behind them are communicated upfront, you’re more likely to get everyone on board with your plan, especially as the quality of your work improves.
Make Friends With Struggle
Work can be tedious, and everyone hits a roadblock or two. But remind yourself that this struggle is your friend. Confronting it, rather than jumping to another task or tab, is the only way you can achieve the state of “deep” work that you are after.
When you’ve really hit a wall, the best thing to do is hydrate, take a few deep breaths, and move your body for a few minutes. Boosting your circulation and oxygen level will help you feel reenergized and ready to return to work.
Say Goodbye to Multitasking and Increase Your Productivity
The modern office is filled with potential distractions that constantly tempt us to look busier and multitask more. You have identified this as a problem and are way ahead of your peers.
Doing one thing at a time comes with a bundle of benefits. As the saying goes, “quality over quantity”. With practice, your ability to focus will become stronger, you will become more creative, and you will feel less stressed. People are happiest when they’re in control. As you gain confidence tackling one task at a time, you will become more efficient and feel on top of your game.
So, start by preparing your workspace and structure your day with single-task blocks followed by short breaks to help you transition. Last but not least, be ready to confront the discomfort of struggle if you want to boost your productivity to achieve great results.
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