Solo-tasking is the new multi-tasking but multi-tasking doesn't work. 

Why you multi-task or what you tell yourself when you're multi-tasking is you ... 

• get more done in the time if you can do two things at once ...
• are so busy you have to do more than one thing at a time if you want to get anything done...
• need to do more than one thing at a time or you get bored ...
• feel guilty only doing one thing at a time when you have so much on your to-do list.

While you might think you're multi-tasking and saving time, the reality is you're not. For the majority of the time you're not doing either task well. At least not if you want to do quality work. 

When you're multi-tasking, what you're really doing is switching between two or more tasks. Either in rapid succession or moving from one task to another and back again. That's tiring on the brain, stressful and ineffective. It takes longer to complete the task. 

Research at Stanford and the University of Sussex showed that the brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to pay attention to several different pieces of information at once, you lose focus, can't concentrate and won't be able to recall information as well as when you focus on one thing at a time. 

The studies went as far as showing that serial multi-taskers actually perform worse and worse over time. Multi-tasking impacts concentration and your ability to organise information and focus on detail. 

You can compare multi-tasking to juggling. When you juggle, you might have several balls in the air at once but you're only focused on one at a time. That's the one that's about to land in your hand or the one in your hand you're about to throw.

You want to keep all the balls in the air without dropping any. The more balls you have and the longer you keep juggling, the harder, more tiring and more stressful it becomes.

Can you ever really multi-task?

OK, so there are certain tasks you can multi-task. One of them requires a lower level of energy, attention or mental process to do or it's something you do automatically. 

For instance, we can all walk and talk at the same time. That's because two different parts of our brain are in control of each activity.

You can be watching your favourite box set while catching up on emails or social media.

In the second example, when something interesting or more engaging comes on, your focus and concentration switches to that.

It's harder to listen (really listen) if you're also talking or thinking about what to say next or if you're doing something else at the same time. You'll miss parts of the conversation as your focus switches.

When you multi-task it takes longer to get the task done than if you focused on one thing at a time. 

Yes, I can write this blog post while watching TV or listening to a podcast but I'm only half-listening. When something more interesting comes on, I'll stop, catch whatever that is before getting back to the blog post. 

It takes longer. It might take a whole evening to write a post. If I focused on it without distractions, I'd get it finished in an hour or so. 

Tendency to multi-task

The ability to multi-task is different for different people. It gets worse with age, stress and illness. Speaking from personal experience - that "What did I come in here for?" moment becomes more and more frequent. I've experienced the brain fog that comes with age, hormone imbalance and chemotherapy which makes it even harder to focus on one thing at a time. 

If you have a magpie mind or a short attention span, you'll be off chasing the next shiny object or opportunity before finishing the task you're working on.

If you have a short attention span, something I see with people who have ADHD or Dyslexia, it makes it difficult to stay focused.

When you're overloaded with work that it creates an enforced attention deficit just by being overwhelmed and stressed. 

Stop Multi-tasking and do this instead: 

Focus on ONE task at a time - or solo-task. Give each task your attention for as long as it needs, before moving on to a new task. 

If you are easily distracted - keep those times short. If this is due to too much multi-tasking, your attention span will improve as you solo-task more.

Plan what you need to do and when you're going to do it. Set aside time for each task and do it until it's finished... or as complete as it needs to be at this stage. That might be five minutes, it might be an hour or more. When it's longer than an hour, you're more likely to get distracted. 

Simplify. If you're juggling several projects at once, focus on one at a time or reduce the number of projects you're working on 

Start one project and move it forward before starting another one. Having too many projects at the same stage, requiring your time and energy, is stressful and impractical, unless you have a team of people supporting you, able to pick up the work.

Do you have too much on your list, which is why you feel the need to multi-task? 

Which projects do you need to drop to give you time to focus on the one or two projects that are more important?

Disconnect. Put the technology to one side. We have so many different sources of information (and distraction) around us all the time - our smartphones, laptops, too many tabs and applications open at the same time that we're actually training our brains not to focus. 

Focus on JUST ONE THING. See how much more productive and better focused you are and how quickly you get through your to-do list.

See Also:

There's a difference between multi-tasking and grouping similar tasks or using the waiting time between tasks. Are you playing the waiting game (Blog Post)

Get In Touch:

If you need a strategy to manage for your multi-tasking - take a look at How To Plan Your Week.

Are you juggling multiple projects and caught up multi-tasking right now? Book a time to chat and let me help you to create better focus and start solo-tasking.