Do.One.Thing.At.A.Time

You might have heard about the importance of multitasking when it comes to keeping up with today’s fast-paced world. From managing your household and workplace duties to balancing your private and social life, juggling it all is surely not an easy task.

But there is another side to multitasking that not everyone is aware of. Doing many things together at the same time may have many advantages, but the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

Here are a few reasons that highlight the importance of why you should focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to do everything at once.

Why NOT to Multitask

Avoids Overloading Your Mind

Scientists claim that the human brain has a capacity to store and process millions of gigabytes worth of information (that is billions of times greater than your smartphone storage). While that might surely be correct, the truth is that we cannot remember everything or perform a multitude of tasks simultaneously like a computer with a similar processor might be able to do effortlessly. If people spread themselves too thin, not only will they not be able to complete their task effectively, they might also get burnt out due to the excessive work.

You must learn to ignore certain incidents, events as well as information that are not useful for you. Mostly, your mind does this automatically without any conscious effort on our behalf. But in other cases, you might require a thorough cleanup to get rid of all the unwanted stuff.

Helps You to Stay Focused

Frequently switching from one task to another is likely to make you forget your end objective. You might have to remind yourself time and again about the progress of each task, and this only takes up more time. Plus, it often makes people panic and anxious as they start worrying about all the things that still need to be done.

Multitasking should save you time, but more often than not, it will only result in the exact opposite. Therefore, be it the daily chores or the overall ambition in life, it is better to you tackle things one by one as it will help you achieve more in the same amount of time.

Improves the Quality of Your Work

Multitasking means that you have to be fast and efficient. But in an attempt to increase ‘productivity’ most people end up compromising the quality of their work. They ultimately make more mistakes because they are focused only on getting a lot of things completed regardless of how they are completed. Also, multitasking is inherently distracting because while doing one thing, you are constantly thinking about the next 📷and then the next thing that needs to be done.

On the other hand, working on one thing at a time boosts productivity because you properly divide your day according to the work that needs to be completed and therefore, have a clear idea of the time by which it ought to be done. Ideally, you should spend about 20 minutes on one task before moving on to the next. This is because according to research, this is the average concentration span of a common man.

You might be wondering; that sure, working on one thing at a time sounds great and all (and it really is), but what is the best way to go about it? How can you focus on one task at a time because let’s face it, no matter what the nature of your job might be, our life necessitates at least some level of multitasking.

However, quitting the habit of multitasking is easier than you think. The following are some effective tips on how to master the art of doing just one. thing. at. a. time.

How NOT to Multitask

Reduce the Distractions

Whether it is opening multiple tabs on the browser at a time, checking your mailbox from time to time or any other habit that ‘encourages’ you to keep track of multiple things at once – get rid of them all.

Silence the ‘dings’ that make you check your inbox frequently and ultimately remind you of something else that needs to be done. If you are expecting any important emails, then mark the recipient as a high priority so that you are notified accordingly. Otherwise, mute such notifications and check them only at a particular time.

Set a Timer

Divide your work hours and daily chores into short segments. Allocate about 20-25 minutes to each task on your daily agenda. If a task requires more time to be completed, you can take a break in between or do something for some time and then come back to it again.

Of course, you must set a timer to push yourself to work faster as well as remind yourself when it’s time to move on to the next chore.

Take a Break

When you do one thing for about 20 minutes and then move on to another, you will clearly notice the increased efficiency and mindfulness as you avoid the exhaustion that often stems from exerting yourself at one particular task for too long. However, you must still take meaningful breaks every now and then. Chat with a colleague (but not for too long), take a stroll around the office or peek outside the window for a few minutes. Better yet, simply lie back on your chair and rest your eyes for a while before resuming work again.

The gist of the matter is; you must embrace ‘single-tasking’ because doing one thing at a time will help you remember more information, stay focused, as well as work smarter and reduce stress.