Multitasking is killer, a killer of your effort

Are you reading this in your early morning round-up of news? Or while driving? Or worse, amid a conversation with someone? It is much more likely to happen than we ever imagined because 72% of employees feel pressure to multitask during the working day.

Multitasking is a myth

Multitasking has been consistently proven to be a killer of our much-loved productivity. Yet, we are often caught up in the chase of getting multiple things done at once. More often than not, we are not doing multiple tasks at once. Instead, we quickly switch back and forth between tasks, increasing the cognitive load with each turn.

Are you a believer?

Psychology Now magazine recently shared an interesting resource to help eliminate this impasse. Go through the list below and see if your behaviors match those of multitaskers:

• Checking emails, making a drink, and reading the news starts my day 🌅
• There are several tabs open on my computer at once 🖥️
• I often look at my phone while working 📱
• I often say, “What was I supposed to be doing?” 🤔
• Phone calls are a great excuse to do the online food shop, go for a walk, or run errands 🛒🚶

How can you stop multitasking?

Do you agree with the list above? If yes, it means you must take a step back and rethink how you manage your time and work. I can help you with the first one here; take a free assessment of your time management skills now. It will help you understand the various domains and how well you fare in each. ⏳

Managing work is often a little bit more complicated. In addition to focusing on delegating tasks better across your team, you need to look for ways to get into the flow zone. Conceptualized in the global bestseller Ikigai, the idea of being in flow stands for immersion into what you are doing—a mindful focus that prevents distractions and keeps you going. 🌐

You can work with a coach to find what works best for you or start a free conversation with the AI-coach Merlin to get a head start now. People vary, and so do the things that help them work. You may not have clarity at the get-go, but here’s to starting the journey toward working effectively. 🚀

The Doodles are back in the office, what about you?