Multitasking for productivity
Maximising your productivity through focused work is conventional wisdom that I no longer believe applies to me.
I have 3 monitors and frequently fill them with many windows, switching between various tasks and sometimes different client projects. No task, even “flow tasks” like programming, never go for more than 10–20 mins before I switch. Sometimes, it is just a few minutes of mental downtime.
Troy Hunt has written, “I multithread and task-switch frequently”, before saying, “I’m fully conscious that this way of working isn’t for everyone, but I find it very effective for me.”
At the start of each day, I often feel nervous about not being able to get everything done, and by the end of the day, I often feel like an imposter having ‘wasted time’ when I should have been ‘working’.
Yet, my wife has consistently said my daily output and productivity is higher than anyone else she knows, alongside sharing the cooking and family duties equally. I work professionally to outcomes and deliverables, so I’d quickly know if clients were unhappy or if I was underperforming.
Chris Ferdinandi says, “Folks with ADHD are often incredibly creative. You’ll have more ideas in a year than most people can implement in a lifetime. And hyperfocus? That can give you (incredibly unpredictable) superhuman productivity.”
I don’t have ADHD (I think), but I have spent too long beating myself up for not being able to focus on a single task at a time. I plan to stop aspiring to “conventional wisdom” and just do more of what works for me — even if that involves multitasking.
To all the managers and colleagues who have accepted my distinct way of working, THANK YOU.
I’m Frank, a self-employed software engineer and owner of Frank Ray Consulting, a software engineering consultancy.
I love business analysis, software development and solving problems. I also write and speak openly about being autistic.
Get in touch if your business needs my help. Website and LinkedIn.
