There’s been a lot of debate over the last few years about the effectiveness of multitasking.
Productivity experts make the case that trying to do more than one thing at the same time leads to poor results — and half-finished outcomes. Nothing gets the best use of your attention. Instead of doing more, you actually get less done. And what you get done isn’t game-changing or noteworthy.
Maybe multi-tasking isn’t broken.
Maybe it’s your focus and planning that need a tune up.
If you’re not focused, you’re not going to be achieving your best. You’re not going to produce results that are legendary. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to throw out your multitasking.
Maybe you just need to add a better plan — so that you can do better at doing more.
Maybe you need to figure out your focus.
Maybe you need to build a plan to get more things done each day. After all, isn’t a plan the key to being productive?
Here are a few ideas for hyper-tasking your way to outrageously effective outcomes.
- Dedicate time each week to prioritizing big picture goals for the coming week, month, and quarter.
- Use reminders to notify you of upcoming tasks due throughout the day.
- Change your default hour long meeting to just 20 minutes and make sure anyone requesting your time knows you’ll be leaving early.
- Use task tracking apps like Todoist, Wunderlist, or Asana to get generic tasks done throughout the day when you have a few free minutes.
- Make it a priority to get everything done that you put on your list done each day. Be religious about not procrastinating.
- Use your calendar as a “real time” diary of whom you call and what you do in time slots throughout the day. Makes it easier to remember in the future.
- Use your smartphone technology to dictate reminders, events, and tasks that need to be done as you think about them throughout the day.
- Block out distractions by turning off notifications when you have an important project that needs your full attention.
- Use music, a TV in the room, or other background noise to keep your brain engaged while you work on boring business tasks.
- Use multiple computers or multiple screens to manage different pieces of the project you are working on at the moment.
- Adjust the size of your “to do” list and the number of appointment on your calendar based on your ability to keep getting things done effectively.
- Answer, archive, or “act on” your email messages within 30 seconds of reading them. Get them out of your way as soon as possible.
Maybe it’s time to plan for getting more things done.
Multitasking, hyper tasking, focusing on what’s important — whatever you call it, the key to being amazing is having an amazing plan. Just because you do more than one thing at a time doesn’t mean you’re doing less than your best.
It might just mean that your big goals demand that you do more than everyone else around you.
Act like a champ. Be a multi-tasking superhero.
** Guest post by Dan Waldschmidt – Website