In today’s world, where emails are sent during Zoom meetings, checking messages while working on a project, or juggling several tasks together is the new normal. Multitasking might feel like a badge of honor. But trust me, it isn’t as good as it looks. Science has proven that our brain is not wired to multitask, trying the same ends up reducing 40% efficiency, as it takes away the focus and concentration on the work. We need to understand that when we switch tasks, our brain has to shift its focus from one task to another, it consumes mental energy, and leads to reduced productivity with increased chances of error.
This becomes even more challenging for people working remotely because household chores, family interruptions, your own comfort space, and social media are big distractions. So, how to avoid multitasking and distractions? Let’s explore it all in this article.
Learn How to Prioritize Your Tasks
The Eisenhower matrix is one of the famous and widely used matrices. It divides the tasks on to basis importance, and importance. This framework is as such –
- Urgent and Important – Do it now!
- Urgent but not Important – Delegate it.
- Not urgent but Important – Schedule it.
- Not Urgent and Not Important – Eliminate it.
This matrix will help you to focus on the tasks that require the utmost attention.
Plan your day efficiently.
Your body and mind work differently at different hours of the day. Try assigning the work that best suits the particular time slot.
Morning block (9- 11 a.m.) – Mind and body are super fresh and active, try assigning creative work like writing reports or making presentations to that hour of the day.
Midday Block (12 – 2 p.m.) – Laziness starts to strike in, assign lighter tasks like attending calls, and answering emails during those hours
Afternoon block (2-5 p.m.) – Work that requires collaboration can be done during these hours, like meetings.
Set Clear Goals
Use the Big 3 approach for goal setting. You must know what 3 tasks would lead to higher productivity. Identify them, plan and schedule them, and create a checklist. Keep the checklist visible on your workspace so it acts like a constant reminder. As you complete each task, mark it off. Try removing as many distractions as you can, turning off the notifications, limiting social media, communicating your time boundaries, and creating a designated workspace.
And use the 2-minute approach along with it. If a task takes less than 2 minutes to do, do it now. It helps avoid piling up work and forgetting to do so.
Practice single-tasking
Try to intentionally avoid multitasking, here’s how –
- Choose a task
- Set a timer (40 – 45 minutes)
- Focus on that task, do not do anything else in that period, be it email browsing or phone checking.
- Take a short break, move on to the next task
Do analyze your productivity level before and after exercising the same.
The Art of Saying “Later”
This might sound weird, but trust me, it helps. As soon as an idea pops up in your mind, or some tasks that you’re reminded of, do not just jump into it. Write it down in a visible area on your workspace and leave it for the end of the workday. Well, if you’re wondering, how does it help? It helps by ensuring that you don’t forget it later, and it also helps in preventing you from derailing from the task that you’re currently on.
Review all the items that you put into the “Later List” during the break or at the end of the workday, and schedule them properly then.
The “one touch” rule
Start with a commitment that if I begin a task, either I’ll complete it in one go or I’ll reach a significant milestone before moving on. Example –
- If you write a report, complete it, do not leave it halfway, or maybe move on when you’re done with the significant portion
- If you’re sorting files, complete the folder before switching tabs.
This helps you prevent leaving work midway. Leaving work might overwhelm you later when it is all piled up.
Conclusion
Working from home isn’t an easy nut to crack. It takes a lot to stay disciplined and work on the schedule. All that we can do is adopt ways to enhance our productivity and stay consistent. One such way is realizing that multitasking, as good as it looks & isn’t helping people in real life.
The brain demands focus, instead, we torture it by switching continuously from one task to another. Better now than never, it’s a realization that comes from experience. Living in this fast-paced world, as much as we should progress, we must not forget that our brain is just an organ that is trying its best to help us out with our work. Our mental health must be of utmost importance to us. Choose wisely.
