Stop Multitasking...
You are reading this article to learn how to do less in order to become more productive.
If this is your first time. Welcome. Take a look at all my other weekly "actionable tips" that I've been publishing here for a bit at focus_deliver.mvizdos.com.
Stop multitasking.
This one seems super obvious (remember, I am a consultant that usually points out the obvious and helps people in organizations make tough changes like this).
The Problem:?I Can't Stop Multitasking
This week, imagine you and I are watching a clown juggle stuff at a carnival. In a circus tent. Old school.
You decide where and what the clown is juggling. Hey, it's your imagination so make it more interesting than tennis balls heh.
ME: "Hey, how are you?"
YOU: "I can't stop multitasking...."
Is this you?
C'mon. Admit it, you are probably reading this article (thank you by the way!) while you are doing something else.
You might be on the toilet doing whatever we all do there.
You might be reading this while on a Zoom / Teams / Virtual "Call."
You might be in a meeting with other people face-to-face.
You might be reading this in another tab while you are chasing squirrels and getting deeper into your echo chamber.
In other words.
You are human.
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Welcome.
The Actionable Tip: Stop Multitasking
There has been plenty written on the advantages of doing (or err not) doing this.
Read those.
Want to try an experiment?
Read THIS BLOG POST (you know, CLICK HERE TO READ IT) that I recently published about putting lipstick on a pig.
Or.
How to avoid doing that (in this case, the anti-patterns in this thing called Scrum where I spend the majority of my days).
Here's the challenge.
Read it 100% through without doing anything else.
Really.
Try it (even if you don't have a clue about "Implementing Scrum" you'll find this exercise valuable on a meta level if anything.
In the comments below, please share?ONE?actionable tip about how you "stop multitasking" in order to do less and become more productive.
Did you succeed or fail?
Let me know.
Worse case, try again.
Truist Bank
12 个月Men don't understand it lol
I help you shape a brighter future for your small town, giving you practical steps you can put into action right away.
1 年At the end of the work day, set out the top tasks to work on first thing tomorrow. Then work on the first task first thing without opening email. Then work on the second one. And so on.
Agile Coach | Mentor | Helping Teams Deliver Sooner and Adapt Faster
1 年This is definitely an area where kanban ideas help out; Work in Progress limits are something I often introduce to my teams if it seems like they are juggling too much at once. It always feels restrictive until we start (focusing and) delivering consistently!
Coach & Scrum Master who loves using the values & principles of Agile to help teams be their best selves.
1 年I know I'm nitpicking. Shouldn't the title be stop trying to multitask? ?? I think the general research has shown we're just task-switching, which is a drain on our brain, and everything that's involved in the "multi-tasking" is done worse, and takes longer than if we just focused on that one thing. Check out Dave Crenshaw's excellent book, The Myth of Multitasking: How "Doing it All" Gets Nothing Done. Love you bringing attention to this myth, Mike.
Interim & Fractional Executive / Sales Leadership
1 年I do my best to stop multitasking by simply...not multitasking. While I have long argued that there is no such thing as "multitasking," only rapidly switching between tasks, the research clearly supports that focus is more effective than rapid switching. Trust the science and just don't do it.