In today’s business, but also in private life, people tend to think that multitasking is a great productivity asset – but what actually happens is, that people loose focus on what is really important.
This is heavily due to the face that we are 24/7 available through seemingly millions of communication channels – whatsapp, telegram, viber, facebook, Instagram, tiktok, youtube, emails, teams, … (the list is endless).
How can we expect that being “online” all around the clock will boost our productivity?
Most people tend to think that the more we do, the more productive we are – that can, for some people, also be the case. Mostly, people tend to have dozens of internet-tabs, apps, systems, tools, …, open – to seemingly have “everything under control”.
For the vast majority of people, what actually happens, is that we loose the sight of what’s really important – concentrated work on high-valuable tasks, or even enjoying the time with friends and family, “working and living in the moment”. The more channels of communication, the more we get distracted – distracted by messages, calls, posts, comments, shares, likes, …
The hunt for an “immediate dopamine” effect.
Multitasking:
hampers Productivity
is Distracting
slows you down
impairs the executive function in the brain
makes you do mistakes
Before I tell you how I solve this problem as someone who is working digitally, let me assure you that there is no perfect solution – and for sure, I am not perfect in this art of staying focused. But I have developed some procedures, which help me “remind myself” to focus on what is important for or to me.
By the way, I just realized that I replied to Telegram and WhatsApp messages in between, which made me turn into “FOCUS” mode :)
FIRST, we need to be aware and understand this situation – it will not help to try to learn something new, if there is no understand that some things might effect our productivity and concentration.
Let me ask you this? How much business value, in other words also leads / opportunities / clients / … are you gaining when answering everyone and everything immediately (from business perspective)? How much happiness and fulfillment are you experiencing, when you are playing with your kids, spending the evening with your wife – while answering Instagram messages?
I try to set dedicated FOCUS times for different kind of activities:
Emails: I have reserved Email slots during my day, in which I reply to messages – of course, there are exceptions like always. But only in those times, I answer actively to Emails – in the other times, I force myself to let an email “sit and wait”. Let me tell you, this has been a very hard lesson for me – but what helped me is the question, that how many times bad things happened, when not answering immediately.
Focus slots for deep work: Deep work is a term I use, when I need to concentrate on demanding tasks – this can be analytical tasks, conceptual tasks, creational tasks, … Basically anything, which required my full attention. Usually I stick to 1-4 hours slot, depending on what I do – you can also use the “80/20-rule” (also known as Pareto Principle). Take a timeslot for a topic, turn of ALL notifications (maybe leave emergency call on for family) and dedicate yourself completely to the task! The idea is to set short, realistic timeslots – since this will eat up a lot of energy. This is the reason I tend to this in the morning, when my mind is fresh and energized.
Communication or Meetings: Same principle here, pick a timeslot in which you take calls, schedule meetings, reply to messages, communicate – for it is typically the afternoon, of course depending on many other factors.
Schedule your one-person business day and week: Some people, including me, preplan their whole week – this includes every day, from morning till evening. I tend to reserve time for: gym/sports, eating (out), emailing, focusing, family time, social time. By doing that, I preplan the amount of time and therefore energy I want to invest in each topic – the higher the importance, the more time in Invest. This can also be applicable to the whole week – e.g. you can play each day for: Sales, Marketing, Clients/Customers, Internal Development, Business Partner Meetings,
Break the Multitasking by:
limited the number of tasks → FOCUS
use the 20-minute rule
batch your tasks
set timeframes for tasks
limit distractions (do not disturb)
practice mindfulness
The Power of being able to FOCUS will help to improve your life massively – privately and professionally.