Most of us keep looking for ways to achieve more in life, which is essentially about being more productive. It is good and we must aspire for more, that’s what keeps us going.
However, an alternate and my preferred approach is to take a step back and identify the reasons which eat into our time or in other words kill productivity. Today we are going to explore the biggest reason which makes us unproductive, especially at the workplace.
So, the biggest reason which kills productivity is Multi-tasking.
There is almost a consensus that people who can do multiple tasks simultaneously are more efficient and can accomplish more. If you are in a job, I am sure you would have come across a typical workplace setting where senior management keeps on talking about the importance of multitasking. The employees who multitask are highlighted across organizations and businesses. To tell you the truth, even I was a part of the tribe, who hailed multi-tasking. It was until I came across some astonishing facts about its ill effects.
According to several studies, for better output, it is recommended to focus on one task and do it with full concentration. Interruptions as brief as 2-3 seconds are enough to distract the mind and increase errors. Frequent switching between tasks slows down the pace of work and hampers productivity.
Researches have shown that productivity reduces by 40% when people switch between tasks simultaneously. In a university of London study, IQ dropped by 15 points for people engaged in multitasking activities. As per Earl K Miller, a neuroscience professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),” multitasking is humanly not possible.” It leads to more errors and less creativity. When you shift between the tasks during multitasking, the brain’s neural networks have to go back to ascertain the leaving point and then reconfigure. This activity causes the slowdown and errors to creep in.
The solution to this problem is monotasking, which allows the brain to focus on one thing at a time and enhances creativity. Through personal experience, you would also observe that when we focus our mind on a particular item, we can think more creatively and get new ideas to accomplish the task most efficiently. The brain is like a muscle; it becomes better with use. Like in a physical workout session, focusing on single muscle yields better results; the same applies to the brain as well.
So, the first thing which one must do is to replace multitasking with monotasking. Choose an environment that encourages the ability to focus on one task at a time.
Fortunately, the more we work on focusing on one task at a time and ignoring distractions, the more we exercise the prefrontal cortex – the more evolved part of our brains.
Quitting multi-tasking makes it easier to focus and accomplish more.
Cheers
Lalit Hundalani||Peak performance & Life Transformation Coach||2X Best-Selling Author
PS: If you want to achieve more in life and need help to enhance your productivity, go ahead and book your FREE 1-hour online consultation on the link below
The Biggest Productivity Killer is an important topic related to the success of a person. You have rightly pointed out about ill-effects of Multitasking.
My guru taught me way back in 1975 about the importance of a one-aimed mind. It gave me a boost during that time. Later, I too involved myself in multitasking and paid a heavy price for the same.
Thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked it..Thanks for sharing your experience.