Why we can’t multi-task

Today I want to talk about something I see EVERY DAY.

It halts progress and stumps growth.

I’m talking about multi-tasking… For years it has been accepted as the only way to get many things done, but what if I told you it was wrong?

What if I told you that multitasking was a myth and that research shows it limits your progress?

You see… we never actually have more than one thing going on in our mind at any one time. We think we do…

Our mind can only focus on one thing at a time and what we actually do is SWITCH really quickly from one task to another.

It happens so quickly that we think we are doing more than one thing at a time.

We’re not… and each time we switch we need a little more time to regain our train of thought.

Sometimes it can take up to 9 mins to get back into the zone.

Crazy… and if we want to be efficient with our time, why would we want to give up 9 minutes blocks of time multiple times a day?

The Answer: Batching

Now we know the problem with multitasking, I want to share with you the solution.

BATCHING…

First, list all the things you want to get done. 

Then ‘batch’ all the similar items into one block before dedicating a sufficient amount of time to concentrate and complete all of the similar tasks at the same time.

This technique dramatically reduces the time it takes for our minds to switch and readjust. 

Ultimately we get a lot more done.

ACTION:

If you keep a to-do list, batch all the similar task and assign them to a dedicated time block in your diary.

Emails are an obvious one. If you’re not careful you’ll spend all day being reactive to emails as they drop in and get very little done.

Batch the emails you want to send and do them either first thing or last thing in the day if you tend to get distracted by email and limit your replies to a set time period.

What else can you start batching today?