by Jon Allo
Everyone is driving themselves mad trying to do more things at once than is humanly possible. Some people call it multitasking. But the truth is multitasking is costing you big time. By some studies, multitasking is showing a decrease in productivity by 50% or more.
Multitasking Make You Lose IQ Points
When you try to do more than one thing at a time it actually makes you perform about as well as you would if you were drunk, using drugs, or lost some of your smarts. This is the worst thing that you can do if you want to be a top performer in anything. Whether it’s parenting, business, or something else, you get about as much from it as you put into it. So, if you focus 100%, you’ll get a 100% back.
Multitasking Makes You Less Creative
When you can let go of the noise around you, you can also become much more creative. It’s very hard to get into a flow if the phone is ringing, the kids are interrupting you, or the beeps of social media are interrupting your train of thought. You not only need time to truly focus on a project, but you also need time to focus elsewhere between projects to kind of cleanse your brain a bit before moving on to the next thing.
Multitasking Is Dangerous
Not only is multitasking dangerous for your health in that it can make you ill, but it’s also dangerous to your safety. If you are driving and talking on the phone you are putting yourself in grave danger. You wouldn’t get behind a wheel drunk, so don’t get behind it and do anything but drive. Likewise when it comes to doing anything, focus on the task at hand and you’ll be less stressed, which will translate into being healthier.
Your Brain Doesn’t Work That Way
No matter how you want it to work, no one’s brain can really focus on more than one thing at a time. Yes, of course you can talk and walk at the same time, but texting and talking is not something you should do. Writing a letter, spending time with your kids, focusing on data entry, making sales calls… all should be done one thing at a time. If you learn to make your to-do list with this in mind, you’ll get more done faster and your work quality will go through the roof.
You Need 15 Minutes to Adjust to a New Task
A Microsoft study showed that when you’re interrupted by something like an email message, a beep from a phone, or by someone physically interrupting you, it can take 15 minutes to get back on task – meaning to get back into flow where you’re doing the task at the highest level that you can do it. It’s important to keep this in mind as you plan your day if you want to perform at your highest capability.
About the author
Being an entrepreneur can be overwhelming and exhausting. So how do some people seem to thrive and achieve their goals and dreams while others struggle? The answer is mindset. To start taking steps today to embrace a success mindset get a copy of my free checklist, Cultivating A Success Mindset at https://jonallo.com/mindset
