Obsessed with irrelevant information
On any given day in a college classroom you can take a look around and see a number of students with multiple tabs open on their computer screens. They’re checking Facebook, reading the news, and watching a cooking tutorial, all while attempting to complete an assignment, or pay attention.
Here’s the problem: we’re putting all this effort into getting multiple things done at once, but we aren’t maximizing our potential to take in information and actually get the work done. We’re tackling dozens of tasks at the same time but at an unremarkable level of quality, when we could be completing one task at a time to the best of our abilities.
A study from Stanford University shows people are much more productive when they focus on one task at a time. The study explored how well “high multi-taskers” perform compared to low multi-taskers. You might think people who habitually focus on more than one thing at once would be somewhat good at it, but the study found the opposite. In fact, researchers found high multi-taskers were less likely to retain information and follow direction, and were constantly slowed down by distractions, even when told not to be.
I guess irrelevant information is an obsession we can’t seem to kick.
This obsession is keeping us from getting work done and it’s taking away from time spent on what we really enjoy doing.
I’ve read the lists on how to avoid distractions. I’ve taken the advice on how to create a productive work-space. I can make a tea, sit up straight, plug in my headphones, and get to work — but that feeling of distraction always creeps in. But it isn’t just the urge to check social media: I might start working on other assignments, check my work email, or plan what I’m going to eat for dinner.
By focusing on multiple things at once, we’re distracting ourselves from the task at hand. What should take an hour ends up taking two — a whole extra hour that could instead be dedicated to a completely different priority: finishing another assignment, catching up with a friend, going to yoga, or laying in bed and watching Luke Cage.
Prioritizing distractions not only leads to a lack of productivity on the tasks that you know you need to get done, it takes away from time that could be spent on activities you really enjoy.
There aren’t enough scented candles, calming playlists, or cups of green tea in the world to keep me from scrolling through Instagram — I get it. But what I know keeps me on task is the urge to get work done better and faster, so I can get back to what really matters.
