Multi-Tasking

Are you a multi-tasker? Are you constantly doing 3 or 4 things at a time? If you are, stop wasting time.

We all have had our times when we would answer yes to all the questions above. If you still do then you need to review your actions and get control of your focus. It's a known fact that our brains function better when focusing on one task at a time. I can hear all the multi-taskers saying "oh no, I am better when I multi-task." Well you might be capable and successful at multi-tasking but you are not as efficient. Try this little test for yourself and see how you do. Take out a sheet of paper and at the top write column 1 and column 2. Get a stop watch to time this exercise. Now fill in column 1 with the letters 1 to 26 and column 2 with a through z. The first time you will write a number in column 1 and the corresponding letter in column 2 (1 - a, 2 - b, etc.). Write down the time it took you to complete this. Now the second time you will complete each column separately starting with column 1 then column 2 (1,2,3....a,b,c). Write down the time for this part. Now compare the two times. You will have completed the second exercise much quicker. This is just a part of how the mind works and is why you should avoid multi-tasking as much as possible.

In the Focusing on Success program we work on learning how to put all of our focus into the task at hand. When you start working on your Critical Tasks you need to block out all interruptions and focus only on the action item. Once you complete an action item you can take care of all the emails and phone calls that need to be answered. Then move on to the second task and do the same thing. Once you get the habit of doing this you will see how much easier it is to get those action items complete.

Cheers to Success!
Tony Booth