Forbes
Want To Improve Your Focus And Productivity? Stop Trying To Multitask
By: Barnaby Lashbrooke
Once lauded as the grail of productivity, multitasking fell further from grace this week as researchers at Stanford linked flitting between digital media and difficulties with sustained attention to memory failures.
The research, published this week in the journal Nature, compared memory performance between 80 people aged 18 to 26 years old. It found those with lower sustained attention ability, and heavier media multitaskers–those that try to engage with several types of digital media at once–both performed worse on memory tasks.
Differences in people’s ability to sustain attention were measured by studying how well subjects were able to identify a gradual change in an image, while media multitasking was assessed by having people report how well they could engage with multiple media sources, like texting and watching television, within an hour.
The study stated: “Attention lapses partially account for why we remember or forget in the moment, and why some individuals remember better than others. Heavier media multitasking is associated with a propensity to have attention lapses and forget.”
One of the scientists behind the study, Kevin Madore, emphasized the work demonstrates a correlation, not causation. He added: “We can’t say that heavier media multitasking causes difficulties with sustained attention and memory failures, though we are increasingly learning more about the directions of the interactions.”
It makes sense. When we try to multitask, we are not, as we might hope, doing several things at once. We are merely distracting ourselves from the task at hand. We might ‘feel busy’, even productive, in the moment, but have no completed tasks to show for our efforts at the end of the working day.
Boil it down to its essence and productivity is simply a game of attention and concentration. Choose one task, remove likely distractions, dial up the focus, and suddenly you’re in that flow state that we all find so hard to achieve.
Try these tried and tested productivity methods:
Make goals manageable
Break big ticket items on your to-do list down into bite size, more manageable tasks. If your goals don’t appear to be easily attainable, you’ll only look for ways to distract yourself and waste time procrastinating. This is a psychological hack that really works.
Choose one task
Pick one task. ONE. Not one task with a side order of news, sport, social media or a quick email to Jean in accounts. This is critical. Avoid multitasking, focus on monotasking. Not only is the brain better wired for this, but imagine what you can do when you channel every ounce of energy, attention, creativity and thought into just one task.
Schedule & time your tasks
There’s nothing like a deadline to focus the mind. Pick your task, assign a time slot to complete it and set a timer. Some people prefer short bursts of 25 minutes, others up to 45 minutes. Keep the countdown in view. As you near the deadline, you’ll find your focus improves.
There are productivity techniques founded on timing tasks, the most well known being the Pomodoro Technique. It recommends four 25-minute bursts of work with short five-minute breaks between each. After the fourth consecutive burst, you earn a longer break of 20-30 minutes.
Remove distractions & temptations
A study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that, after an interruption, it can take just over 23 minutes to refocus and get back to the original task at hand. Suddenly, it becomes clear how easy it is to lose a whole working day to dealing with distractions in an attempt to multitask.
Put your phone on silent, and leave it in another room, or out of arm’s reach. Pause desktop notifications on your computer. Close down browser windows that you’re not using, including email. Put on a pair of noise cancelling headphones. Tell your colleagues that you don’t want to be disturbed until a specified time. Pour a glass of water. You’re all set. Now go.
