Monotasking: Be Effective & Efficient

Today the concept of multitasking is not very new. It feels like it has been there for a long time but in reality its origin goes way back to the 1990’s. Today all job advertisements and employee evaluation criterion has “multitasking” as prerequisites.

Basically, today’s generation was born into ‘multi-tasking’; while watching a movie they are texting their friends, looking up the movie’s cast on Google, eating and working on any project. They do not fully concentrate on any of the activities that they are engaged in.

With this bombardment of technology, whether through smartphones, smart devices or other gadgets, every one of us is multitasking all the time.

The worst part about this is that it makes us feel as though we don’t have enough time and the only way to survive this hectic routine is through multi-tasking. Just look closely at our routine; even when we are on call we are reading our texts, WhatsApp or emails. Even our kids, they can’t simply enjoy their meal, they have to do something on our gadgets side by side.

Just because humans brains are naturally powerful enough to take a lot of sensory information through our eyes, nose, ears, processing them, filtering information through our past and current experiences and making decisions, doesn’t mean that our brain is doing it all effectively.

The fact is that multi-tasking has made us ‘‘efficient’’but not ‘‘effective’’. When we are multitasking, we are actually “switching tasks”. 40% of a person’s productive abilities are utilized in this ‘switching tasks’. According to a study by Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London, multitasking causes a greater decrease in productivity than smoking marijuana.

Complex decision making requires focus; however, our routine of multitasking has made our focus span very less. The alternate to multitasking is “Monotasking”;not to allow distractions to creep in. Not only does it improve your health and productive abilities, but it also reduces stress level, which is a great benefit in today’s world. Additionally monotasking also increase decision-making abilities.

Below I have mentioned some small steps you should take to move towards Monotasking. They are super easy and you will see the difference yourself.

·        Prioritize yourself: make a To-Do-List. Give more share of your brain’s prime time to important tasks. Delegate tasks that are of less significance or quantum.

·        Turn off your computer & cell notifications: For me the biggest distractions are the notifications that keep popping in our cell phones or computers. They can be annoying and even stressful at times.

Once distracted, a normal human brain takes 40 minutes to reach the same level of focus.  Believe me; putting your mobile phone on silent is the best solution!

·        Refresh yourself: whenever you finish a task, don’t start another right away. Give your brain a break. Get some fresh air or just look out the window, go around your office or talk to a friend. Changing the environment refreshes the brain and makes you more effective.

·        Live in the moment: multitasking has overshadowed our lives to the extent that even when we are with our family or friends, we keep checking our mobiles for any email or other communication apps. Develop the habit of keeping your mobile far away when you are enjoying your personal time, you can keep checking it after minimum 30 minutes’ intervals.

We amaze ourselves at how much gets done when we put all our effort into 1 thing and 1 thing only. So if you are in need of a great work, eliminate distractions and practice Monotasking, it’s OK to be efficient & effective sometimes.