…is the bane of getting shit done.
Our brains are not designed to focus on more than one task at a time. Even people who claim to be great multitaskers; all they’re doing is rapidly shifting attention from one thing to another. Nothing is happening simultaneously.
I built a website for a client last week. It was an arduous, ungraceful process. I thought that was because I had to teach myself a set of skills of which I wasn’t privy. However, looking back, I realize my inefficiency was due to a weak process.
I would start my work at 9am, look at my schedule, and read “Work on Website.” It was chaos.
What the hell does that mean? Work on Website???
I would be working on the layout of the home page, realize I need more interesting buttons, then need the social links to those buttons, then proper descriptions of those social accounts, then the right picture placements…until eventually, 4 hours would go by.
Rather than feeling accomplished for working on several aspects of the site, I felt tired and confused because I did maybe 20% of each task. Looking up, the site barely felt any different.
What if I just focused on the layout of the home page? Well, I certainly would’ve completed it. Then, with that real sense of accomplishment, I could build momentum and carry that with me to the next step.
Multitasking is not productive; it’s the exact opposite (unless you’re a server). Spend quality, mindful time focusing on the one thing you’re doing…and it’ll get done (well).
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