Single Tasking Life
Why Multitasking is simply self-deception and how to get your stuff done without it. A guide to the Single Tasking Life.
Are you currently trying to read this article while having seven other tabs open, a YouTube video running in the background and while trying to answer a text message on your phone?
If so, this article is for you. Only, however, if you close everything else, put your phone away and focus.
Dancing on every party
Our social fear of missing out is a great analogue to look at multi-tasking. We try to be everywhere, do everything and impress everyone. We fear the decisions that make us miss something and thus we try to dance on every party.
We all know — some more, some less — that we don’t succeed with this in the long run. And here’s why.
Multitasking results in a lack of focus. Obvious, right? But still overlooked. How are you to focus all your abilities on a difficult task if you are trying to perform two of them at a time?
Multitasking increases stress. Our mind has difficulties keeping track of the various tasks we are trying to perform simultaneously. Thus much of our mental energy goes to keeping things in our mind in order and to switching tasks without dropping the open ends. Imagine yourself trying to keep two or three balls up in the air. It is stressful, isn’t it? You rush from throwing one to catching the next without ever having time to work on your throw. (If you haven’t practiced juggling, but this is not to say Multitasking is possible. It’s a metaphor ;) )
Multitasking makes you less productive. Yes, this is counterintuitive, yet true. Studies have shown again and again that subjects trying to perform a set of tasks simultaneously perform much worse than the control group which was forced to work sequentially. The reason for this is called Attention residue, which is what happens when your mind is still bothered with one thing while you are trying to focus on something else.
Something that might be a revelation to some is this: There is no such thing as multitasking. Our minds are not able to really do two things in parallel. What we experience if we feel like we do is a rapid switching of tasks. So rapid that it becomes blurred. So why bother at all? If the mind is not capable of multitasking why are we still so addicted to it?
“It makes me feel more productive”
This one is true and false at the same time. True is, it makes you feel more productive. The stress caused by multitasking does produce dopamine for a little while in order to make us more alert and capable. This is what we get addicted to, but it lasts only an hour or two. False is, that you are actually less productive if you take a step back and evaluate the quality and quantity of your output.
“I can’t manage otherwise”
Many say that they have to work in this multitasking mode for long hours because they just can’t manage otherwise. How am I supposed to get my work done if I only do one thing at a time?
While it is difficult to take this in the beginning, you must admit that you’re deceiving yourself. Stephen Covey recounts a beautiful metaphor in his seventh habit ‘Sharpen your Saw’ that gives us a hint here:
A woodcutter strained to saw down a tree. A young man who was watching asked “What are you doing?”
“Are you blind?” the woodcutter replied. “I’m cutting down this tree.”
The young man was unabashed. “You look exhausted! Take a break. Sharpen your saw.”
The woodcutter said “I don’t have time to sharpen the saw. Don’t you see I’m too busy?”
The woodcutter is our average multitasker telling us that he can’t manage otherwise. But believe me: Sharpening your saw, as in learning how to focus and rest, will make you cut through that tree like a hot knife through the butter.
The Single Tasking Life
It should be clear by now, that the only improvement to multitasking is to stop it. This is where the concept comes in that I like to call ‘Single Tasking Life’.
It is an approach that I took far beyond working and productivity which reminds me again and again to do things deliberately, with my full attention. One step after the next. I am only at the beginning of this process as well and I often find myself hurrying through the day trying to do everything at once. The key is to become aware of these situations. To sit back, take a breath and think carefully of our priorities.
Mental Single Tasking
A prerequisite to material single-tasking is what I call mental single-tasking. The ability to control the contents of your mind in order to tackle the challenges of your day with full awareness. Don’t get me wrong, I am not talking about quieting your mind. I am talking about ordering it. Let me give you an example.
On the way to university your mind is occupied with the exam of last week which didn’t go very well, you accuse yourself for learning to little and think about what you should have done differently here and there. Now when you start getting down to studying for the next exam, this thought just won’t let you go and it’ll distract you again and again.
It’s time to stop this. The thought you have is important and it should be considered carefully. Just not when you are trying to do something else. Personally, I have started to practice a system that helps me clear my mind. It is as simple as: Write it down.
Realizing that the thought keeps bothering you, you take a note in your journal or somewhere else where you know you will find it soon. This helps you settle it for now and come back to it with a constructive mindset another time.
Mental Single Tasking (MST) is a difficult practice. It requires patience and self-compassion, just like meditation. After all, you can’t just tell your mind to be quiet and forget about something. Sometimes the best decision is to stop what you’re doing and finish a thought instead of writing it down. Some things are just to pressing to be delayed and that’s ok.
Objective Single Tasking
Once you begin practicing MST you will realize that all the difficulty of task scheduling and structured work is really just the difficulty of MST. Thus, Objective Single Tasking is merely an add-on that is easily unlocked.
This dimension of single-tasking is more worldly and thus better approachable with methods and tools. I want to give an overview of a few that are essential or at least enormously helpful.
Notes
As mentioned above it is essential to have some way of taking notes. It must be accessible, easy and always with you. Ideally, you go with the analog way, because this removed the digtial boundary and helps you put your thoughts down quickly. It is mandatory however, to have a system which helps you to find and review these notes at time. If this system isn’t trustworthy, taking notes will not yield the desired effect because your mind doesn’t trust the ‘dumping effect’. It fears that you will forget it.
Joshua introduced the Getting Things Done (GTD) approach in his article, which does exactly what we need.
Personally, I use a small paper note which I carry with me all day. It contains some essential things to remember and also allows me to dump thoughts. On my digital devices I use Trello to implement the GTD method in an organized manner. I regularly transfer my notes from analog to my laptop.
Time Keeping
It sounds trivial, but the effect of this is massive. Keep track of the time you spend on tasks and don’t use a normal clock for it. Being (visually) aware of how much time you have left on a task is a strong indicator for our mind to stay focused. Another understated benefit of tracking time is its ability to get you focused. It is a simple mind trick, but in the second you start a timer for one-hour in order to study you make yourself clear that this one hour is for studying and nothing else. Try it, you will be amazed by the effects.
It’s important to stress, however, that you should also stop when the timer stops, no matter what. Give yourself the break you need and start working with a deliberate structure throughout your day.
Joshua uses the highly visual, and thus more effective Time Timer to limit his work sessions. I personally use Toggl, which has a similar effect for me, but comes with a totally different purpose. With Toggl I track my time and can review in detailed overviews, how much time I spent doing what.
Take-Aways
- Mutlitasking doesn’t work. It’s less productive, more stressful and damages your brain and body in the long run
- It is difficult to stop multitasking because of our fear of missing out and our addiction to the feeling of busyness. Become aware of these factors and you’ve come a great distance.
- Use single-tasking and sharpen the saw, you will be amazed how much you can in fact get done. One thing after another.
- Single-tasking has two dimensions ‘Mental Single Tasking’ (MST) and ‘Objective Single Tasking’ (OST). MST is much more difficult but will yield tremendous results.
- MST is the art of ordering your thoughts and giving yourself deliberate time to tackle time instead of carrying the baggage of doubt with you all the time.
- OST can be supported with tooling: Take Notes and Set Timers
Further Reading
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- Leo Babauta has a more in-depth approach to mindfulness and dealing with thoughts on his Blog, zenhabits.net
