The distraction of multitaking for life or business
Posted on July 21, 2020 by Dave Nel , One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.
The idea of being able to multitask is a lie. How do you get maximum results for the efforts you put in?
The fallacy of multitasking
“Multitasking is a lie, it’s an effective way to get less done” : Gary Keller
Reading through the book ONE Thing by Gary Keller, it struck me how we as humans have become obsessed with lists and getting everything, or as much as possible done on that list as quickly as possible. We have become programmed in a way, we write down a list of things to do and we work through it. Often jumping around the list, sometimes working from the top to the bottom of the list, doing a few things on the list at once or even sometimes writing things down on the list and crossing them off right away, just to say it was done.
Here is the problem with lists:
Firstly, when we make lists, we often don’t put them in priority. We simply write them down in the order the tasks pop into our mind. We are likely to write at the top the things that are easiest or that are the freshest in our minds. Then we just start working through the list. Stop for a second. Look at your list and reorganize it in terms of priority. In all my years in sales and sales leadership, I have seen people who can do this one simple step, simply produce better results. Note I didn’t say get more done, that’s irrelevant. They produce better results. Why? Because they are focusing on the things that are the most important first, that thing that will have the biggest impact.
Secondly, we think we can do several things on the list at a time. The problem is, it is simply not possible to do more than one thing at a time and do it well. Focus! Put your undivided attention into the one thing that is of the highest priority, the task that will have the biggest impact, on your list. Gary Keller gives the example of walking and talking. We can actually do two things at once (walking and talking), the trick is we can’t do either effectively. When we do two things at once, one of the tasks is taking priority, or in other words both are getting less than optimal attention and focus.
So, what’s the point?
Think and focus. If you are looking to achieve something new in your life, move forward in your career or simply to excel in your current role, take a moment to really think through your actions you are going to take. Look at that list you have written for yourself or made in your head and ask you self the question “Which is going to give me the biggest impact” and focus on that!
Good luck out there, it’s a crazy beautiful world!
