I don’t know about you, but I have terrible habit of multi-tasking.
You’re probably thinking, “Multi-tasking is a bad thing? You’re getting more done at once, right?”
Unless you’re fantastic about following through with EVERYTHING you’re doing while multi-tasking, odds are it’s taking you longer to actually finish any projects or tasks you start. Your focus and energy is spread too thin when you’re working on simultaneous activities.
Imagine the overall amount of progress you make when you’re focusing on three or four tasks at a time. You aren’t actually moving forward on those projects compared to focusing on one at a time. For example, if you’re trying to cook, answer emails, and play with your dog at the same time, would you really be succeeding fully at either of those activities? You would only answer one or two emails (if even that many), stop playing with your dog after only a few minutes, and take much longer to finish cooking your dinner.
Now imagine if you focused on each task one at a time. You can dedicate 15 minutes to playing with your dog before starting dinner, finish dinner without burning anything or becoming distracted, and then check and answer those emails after you finish eating your food. The emails you send will be clear, concise, and delivered much quicker at a larger quantity compared to if you were writing them while playing with your dog at the same time.
Single tasking will not only help you improve productivity, but help you develop healthy habits for mindfulness. When you’re focusing on one task, you’re also learning to enjoy the current moment you’re experiencing, instead of worrying about everything else happening in your life.
Related Reading: How Self-Care Can Improve Your Life
If you struggle with multi-tasking and would like to transition to a more productive and mindful way of life, give some of the following techniques a try to introduce single-tasking into your daily life:
I know my main distractions and multi-tasking culprits revolve around compulsively checking my phone. My top recommendation for increasing focus, productivity, and single-tasking is to put away your phone. You’ll surprise yourself with how much more you can finish in a shorter amount of time.
Are you a multi-tasker? Have you ever tried single tasking? Let me know in the comments!
With love,
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!
I love this! I think everyone is guilty of trying to do more than they can handle. This is a nice insight to understanding how we should approach this!
Single tasking… such a simple idea! But so hard to do with all our distractions. I defientely try to journal more and sketch more. It’s therapeutic to me. But I get so distracted that I forget to do them.
You have great tips that are good reminders!
Nicky.
http://www.sincerelybalanced.com
Definitely agree. Doing one thing at a time is the way forward.