Description
Focus accomplishes more than multitasking, period
To Do
To Do
Focus, people!
Nourish Yourself
Focus, but don’t obsess when it comes to what you are taking in each day. Your invaluable journal will help you keep the balance. Just be aware and alert so that you are not continually grazing everything in sight
Get Up & Go!
In an earlier LYLLYL blog post on Trends & Traps and fitness fads we covered some of the silly ways people try to multitask their workouts (think back to the ballbike: http://love-yourself-lovely.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-15-love-yourself-lovely-6-week.html). To get the most out of your exercises do just the opposite -- focus your attention on doing one exercise at a time and doing it well... think yoga, swimming, running, cycling etc.... even dance
Tools
Tools
Choose one... just one... and use it to the utmost
Tip
"It's OK if it involves things that you do routinely in your life," said Chris Perrow, a professional organizer and president of Perrow Systems in Stow, Ohio. "If you are making dinner, talking on the phone and wiping down the counter, it is multi-tasking at its best. (http://www.advertisingcrossing.com/article/170047/Multi-tasking-It-could-consume-more-of-your-time/)
Tweak
“Re-read that important email before you hit send, take the hour of focused time that you need to do your best work, really listen to your spouse at dinner… It’s hard in the short term, but in the long run, you’ll be happier and more relaxed.” (http://www.hartboillot.com/blog/2007/the-pitfalls-of-multitasking/)
Question
What can you effectively get away with doing while multitasking? And what can you not?Thoughts
"I, more than anybody I've ever met, do not believe in multitasking... I think it's the absolute ruination of the perfection of a project."- Suze Orman (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1147162,00.html)
“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.” - Anthony Robbins
“My thoughts before a big race are usually pretty simple. I tell myself: Get out of the blocks, run your race, stay relaxed. If you run your race, you'll win... Channel your energy. Focus.” - Carl Lewis
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” - Alexander Graham Bell
“A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it” - Anon
“Multi-tasking - Screwing everything up simultaneously.” - Anon
“A weakness of all human beings is trying to do too many things at once.” ~Henry Ford
Tidbit
"Another study shows it takes 50 percent longer to complete two tasks at one time than if they were done separately. (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Renewal/story?id=2428367)
“A growing body of scientific research shows one of jugglers' favorite time-saving techniques, multitasking, can actually make you less efficient and, well, stupider. Trying to do two or three things at once or in quick succession can take longer overall than doing them one at a time, and may leave you with reduced brainpower to perform each task.
"There's scientific evidence that multitasking is extremely hard for somebody to do, and sometimes impossible," says David Meyer, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan. Chronic high-stress multitasking also is linked to short-term memory loss.
People who multitask are actually less efficient than those who focus on one project at a time, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. The time lost switching among tasks increases with the complexity of the tasks, according to the research by Dr. Meyer and others.
People who are multitasking too much experience various warning signs; short-term memory problems can be one. Intense multitasking can induce a stress response, an adrenaline rush that when prolonged can damage cells that form new memory, Dr. Meyer says. Other red flags are changes in your ability to concentrate or gaps in your attentiveness.
"There's so much energy and wasted time and frustration caused by not being in the moment, and having to go back and retrace ground at the least, and repair damaged relationships at the worst," he says. "We'd all be better off to stay in the moment briefly, to keep our focus and deal with that, and then move on to the next thing." http://www.lsa.umich.edu/psych/news/department/news/?id=67
“Still not convinced? Then try this experiment: Think about the about the taste of chocolate (that glorious silky rush of sweet earthy flavor) at the exact same time as you add 47 and 56. Really try. At the same time. If it makes your brain fuzzy in the way your mouth feels after you’ve had an unripe banana, you’re in good company: it’s impossible. You can switch back and forth really quickly, but you can’t actually think about both things at the same time.
Time for another experiment. Time yourself doing the following two actions:
- Spell aloud, letter by letter, “Jewelry is shiny” at the same time as you write your full name.
- Spell aloud, letter by letter, “Jewelry is shiny” and then, after you are done with that, write your name.
It took me 18 seconds to do the tasks concurrently, and 8 seconds to the tasks sequentially. However, if you practice spelling “Jewelry is shiny” aloud for a couple minutes, it’ll become automatic. You’ll no longer have to think to do it, and you’ll be able to complete the two tasks at the same time without incurring the switching cost.” http://humanized.com/weblog/2006/06/08/one_thing_at_a_time_and_the_mutlitasking_myth/
Treat
Turn off the phone, close down the email program, don’t even think about peeking at Facebook and do one thing you need to do .... well
Blogs & Articles
Think You're Multitasking? Think Again: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794
Focus On One Thing At A Time To Completion: http://www.whatithinkabout.com/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time-to-completion/
In Sum
If you want to do it all... and do it well.... don’t do it all at once
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