Why Multitasking is Killing Your Productivity

Productivity or a lack of it can determine how successful we are going to be. The more productive we are the more we achieve, and if we aren't achieving we do seem to lose a sense of purpose. Some think they are very productive and others believe that they aren't. You probably think you are productive but you are more than likely underachieving and the reason for that is you are multitasking.

Before you read any further, define in your head what you believe multitasking means to you.

Now try and match it up with the following statements:

1. Dealing with more than one task at the same time.
2. Execute more than one program or task simultaneously (of a computer).

My guess is that you probably are doing a bit of both and this is seriously killing your productivity and your health, and I know this because I used to do it, and the majority of the people I have mentored or partnered in business with still do it! Great Tea and Bullet Proof Coffee won't help you in the long term, in fact you are just papering over the cracks by taking such measures and will do more damage. Always remember prevention is better than cure.

What is happening is your body is getting tired and you will notice this over a period of few years and the quality you produce will not be of a good standard. The reason is that multitasking is designed for computers where you can afford the 'brain' to burn out, but if it happens to a human then there are serious consequences.

So what did I do? I changed mu perspective on multitasking and became organized. Recently a friend spoke to me about 'another' business idea that we needed to work on, and that is the midst of current projects that are on-going. My redefinition of multitasking went from doing as much as I can at the same time to prioritizing what is important, urgent, mid-term, long-term to irrelevant.

I value my health because I would like to live a quality life; I value my brain because I want to develop my knowledge, and I value quality because there is no point in me executing tasks if they aren't of a good standard. In the end, I lose my network, and I lose money.

In a world where we need to rush (multitasking promotes this) I have learned to slow down and achieve good things by prioritizing.

This is the most efficient way to be productive. Slow down, be patient, prioritize and then execute.