One Quick Trick To Get $hit Done in Your Business

Since the beginning of the year, how many days were you frantically busy yet ended the day feeling like you didn’t accomplish anything? If your count is more (even a lot more) than one or two, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

But you don’t have to continue to do the same thing and get the same results. We’re all so used to (thinking we’re) doing multiple things at one time: texting and driving (don’t do that), emailing or checking Facebook while you’re on a Zoom call or webinar, etc. Your mind is constantly occupied, so you must be getting a lot done, right?

Wrong.

As you might already know, the brain can’t do two complex things at the same time. Yes to walking and chewing gum, no to simultaneously reading emails and listening to a Zoom call.

February 22 is one of the best days of the year if you’re hoping to give your productivity a boost. It’s (drumroll, please) Single Tasking Day.

Why should we be hooting and hollering for Single Tasking Day? Because if you really want to avoid busy-ness and instead grow your busi-ness, then one of your biggest tools is countercultural: doing one task at a time.

What did you try in 2024? Getting up early in the morning to extend your day, using time tracking software, using generative AI, or other tech tools?

Some of these ideas MIGHT help you at the margins. But some of them actively work against you – like getting up early when your energy doesn’t peak until afternoon or evening. If you decide to use these tools, but you’re still addicted to the myth of multitasking, you’ve got a hard limit on how productive you can actually be.

Task-switching is tiring and drains your productivity

Ever noticed that on those days where you did a lot of stuff – not necessarily anything important – that you feel wiped out at the end of the day? 

Task switching tires out your brain. This is true whether you’re trying to do two things simultaneously, or you just switch between different types of tasks all day. 

This fatigue is why so many people on diets have a great breakfast and super-nutritious lunch … and then eat the contents of the cookie jar for dinner. Too many decisions and your brain is done.

Think you’re multitasking? What actually happens is that your brain is switching back and forth between the two tasks. That gives you the illusion that you’re multitasking, but all you’re doing is dividing your attention between the tasks.

Ever notice when you’re texting and driving (seriously, DO NOT DO THIS) that people around you are honking? Or flashing their headlights? Or you hit the brakes only to realize you’re 20 mph below the speed limit anyway? Or that you’re constantly jerking the wheel to get back in your lane? It’s because while you're texting, your focus is off the road.

Or, less dangerously, you’re in the middle of a demanding task like a tax return, and the phone rings. You pick it up automatically, but while you’re on the phone you’re still thinking about the tax return. Or you’re worried you’ll lose your place when you get back to it, which yeah, you probably will. You’re splitting your focus again.

Focus improves productivity in the workplace 

If you think you multitask a lot, you’re not actually very efficient. When you divide your focus between two tasks, you’re not multiplying your focus, you’re dividing it in half. As in, you’re now half-assing both tasks. 

If you’re switching focus between three tasks then you’re third-assing it. And so on.

Maybe it seems less productive to “only” do one thing at a time. We’re all so used to having so many things available to do that trying to do multiple things at once seems like it makes sense. Also, our computers can do more than one thing at a time, and they’re very fast.

Our brains in some ways are far more powerful than computers. That being said, computers don’t get tired when you rapidly switch between tasks – but brains do.

When you do one thing at a time, you can bring your full attention to what you’re doing. That means you get it done faster than you would if you were dividing your focus. Not only will you get things done more quickly when you do one at a time, but “productive” does not equal “busy”. As you know from experience, you can be extremely busy and still not get anything important done. 

Yes, single-tasking requires more thought and intentionality. Being busy means you attend to whatever’s in front of you, even if it’s unimportant. Being productive means you prioritize instead. That allows you to concentrate on the important things that move your business forward – so you have time to work AND time to play (which replenishes your brain and your energy.)

Other benefits of single tasking (AKA monotasking)

Parents want to have quality time with their kids. But what exactly does that mean? 

Quality time isn’t sitting around the table together not listening to anyone because you’re on your phone. It means being with your kid, emotionally as well as physically. You don’t have to do activities necessarily. You can just hang out and be present with each other.

That goes for all relationships. When you’re with the other person, be with the other person. 

Not with your phone, or their phone, or your Zoom call. Your “task”, if you want to call it that, is to really be present with them. Listen to what they’re actually saying, not what you think they’re saying. 

Ever walked from one room into another and tried to figure out what you went in there for? I can pretty much guarantee you started to think about something else almost immediately as soon as you started walking, and that’s why you forgot. Consider being mindful about it instead – think about what you’re doing as you’re doing it.

You don’t have to only focus on one aspect of one thing to be single tasking. I like to go for long hikes by myself. I try to take in everything about the experience: the tiny purple flower almost hidden in the rocks on the trail, what the air smells like, the birdsong (if any, sometimes the canyons are dead quiet), and the critters.

Recap

Multitasking isn’t possible and switching from task to task is tiring for your brain. Spend time where you’re playing instead of thinking, and single task by being present with what you’re doing or who you’re with. It’s good for your relationships and creativity too.

Having trouble accomplishing the important work in your business? I can help you. Schedule a free call with me to see if we’re a good fit to work together.

Photo by Eden Constantino on Unsplash