Why Multi-Tasking Is Not How to Be More Productive

To be more productive many turn to multi-tasking thinking this will help them get more done but this 'logic' is fundamentally flawed! For starters every time you switch from one task to another this requires for you to reset and reestablish your focus! On a broader scale this can easily produce poor results simply because your concentration is continuously being disrupted! Now clustering similar tasks or projects is what many consider to be multi-tasking but once again it's impossible to keep your focus on more than one thing at a time!

Let's review 5 ways in which constantly redirecting your efforts can and will give you poor results and what this may possibly indicate about you!

Disrupts Momentum

Momentum can take time to develop but once you have it boy does it help your boost productivity! The fact is that the only way to break a cycle of momentum is to stop what it is you're doing and this is exactly what you do when hopping from one project to another! In so many words you are sabotaging your momentum and even postponing your success by continually diverting your focus!

Challenges Your Concentration

As we just touched upon immediately above maintaining your focus on just one thing serves to help you build a certain 'expertise' and thus build momentum! When you have reached this point it becomes far easier to get more done and in less time! Little good comes from pulling the plug on your efforts especially when you're making progress before you've completed what you're doing! Starting and stopping only adds to the time it will take to finish something so why would you knowingly want to do that? Here too redirecting your concentration requires you reestablishing that 'cognitive connection' to the task in front of you! Who needs the extra challenge?

Questions Commitment

Earlier we spoke of how choosing to multi-task may indicate something about you and how committed you are to the process! If you're truly committed to what you are doing perhaps you wouldn't be so inclined to be continually changing the direction of your efforts! Could it be you've chosen the wrong goals or are otherwise not suited to be pursuing the objectives you are chasing? Just a thought!

Hurts Your Efforts

Running from one task to another without fully completing either not only challenges your concentration but the quality of your efforts as well! Of course lacking a quality effort typically ends up giving you poor results that you can either accept or elect to go back and improve upon! Now we're talking about fixing mistakes and investing more time to do so and this is NOT how to increase productivity!

Postpones Results

Why would you intentionally want to delay the completion of any project you're working on unless an emergency has arisen? This is in fact exactly what you do when trying to get more done by multi-tasking because you are starting but not completing any one thing! Give yourself the chance to finish what you're doing by devoting your focus completely on the task at hand! Get it done and move on from there!

Many mistakenly believe they can be more productive by simultaneously 'bundling' tasks or projects to help them get more done! Upon closer examination the discussion above reveals how the disruption to your focus can actually give you poor results for your efforts! Along with this is the fact this approach may ultimately postpone the completion of whatever you may be working on due to your efforts being diverted! This is not to say 'clustering' similar projects won't help your efficiency in certain circumstances such as when logistics are a factor but rather your focus can only be on one thing at a time! Continuously diverting your efforts and concentration merely opens the door to errors and prolongs the time it may take to complete something!