It’s September. You’ve seen them. The fluorescent green skeletons, jack-o-laterns, goblins, sequined Superman costumes mixed with the smell of chocolate and Christmas craft kits. The holidays are here.
The first sensation you may feel is your heart leaping—a leap of anxiety. Share-a-thons, Radio Specials, Promos, Remotes, Social Media, Decorations, Office Parties, Donor Gifts … so much to do. And do you have a plan for all such festivities?
That’s okay. Take a deep breath and get ready for a little advice on how to increase your productivity during the holidays – without adding stress. We’re taking on the lie of multitasking.
Let’s back up just a bit. In 2008, before the lie of multitasking was common knowledge, David Crenshaw had written a book called “The Myth of Multitasking.” Mr. Crenshaw was a torch bearer, illuminating truth to those who believed that multitasking was key to efficiency. Slowly but surely his book proved correct.
Fast forward to today. Despite all the research, statistics and proof, employers and employees still cling to the lie of multitasking.
Why? Because modern office workers equate overstimulation with purpose. As workload increases, they feel a sense of self-importance … navigating through multiple programs at once … hitting every ball pitched with Mickey Mantle swagger. But the truth is, if you’re expecting multi-tasking to improve anything, you’re wasting time and money.
TOO BUSY TO GET BUSY
One specific research piece by the American Psychological Association shows that multitasking is neither effective nor efficient. Their findings are in agreement with many others – that shifting focus from one task to another is not a fast or smooth process. First, there is a lag time that your brain uses to switch from the first task to the second. It takes at least a few seconds for your brain to then fully engage on the second task. Though it may feel like a split second, research has proven that this shift takes up to 40 percent more time than single tasking. When you multitask, you really aren’t doing two things at once. You’re switching from one thing to another, albeit quickly.
Let’s run the numbers. For each task an employee is required to do in a single transaction, tack on 40% switch time. Even if we’re only talking five seconds, multiply that per task, per transaction, per hour, per number of employees, per day, per year … you get the picture.
DECENTLY AND IN ORDER
Bottom line: By our very nature, human beings are already distracted on many levels. If you really want to maximize productivity during the upcoming holiday season, try the hardline approach of single tasking. Not only will your productivity increase, employee “twitchiness” and distractedness will decrease.
The Bible tells us to do things decently and in order in church. Why not carry that to the workplace?
Here’s a few specific suggestions. After a read, you may feel a sense of stress relief.
- Set aside specific times for each task. If your task or project has a lot of moving parts, SCHEDULE and SEGMENT each one so that you’re performing only one segment at a time. An effective program for this is Microsoft Project. Project allows you to segment each task into steps, view each step one-by-one, mark each with the time/date allotted to complete the task and assign subtasks.
- Check your email at planned times. DESIGNATE the times on your daily calendar.
- Work on only one task or one project at a time. That means one screen, one train of thought, one single goal, one single purpose. If your work requires computer rendering time, use this time to take a scheduled break. DO NOT check your email or work on a second task.
- Take a SCHEDULED break five minutes per hour.
- Create a focused workspace and schedule the rules/hours for that space. If you are blessed enough to have your own office, you are way ahead. Communication Professor Clifford Nass, one of the researchers whose findings are published in the Aug. 24th edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, says that heavy multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy” because “everything distracts them.”
PEACE OF MIND
The Ghost of Christmas Unplanned is upon us. Be ye not frightened. Instead, make a list of upcoming events, tasks, subtasks, time allotments, due dates, materials and human capital resources. Schedule everything. Arrange your workspace for maximum efficiency and minimal distraction. Work on only one subtask at a time. With a diligent effort to maximize your focus, peace of mind will surely follow. The fall and winter holidays are a joyful time, and what a joy it is to know that you can do one thing at a time (breaks included) and still come out ahead. Click here to read our next blog
