65: Stop Multitasking and Get More Done!

Have you ever felt like you’re always doing something but you’re not getting anything done? Like you’re never making progress but you’re constantly busy?

Multitasking might be your problem.

Today on The Bold Life podcast, I explain why trying to multitask is a bad strategy for your brain, and your productivity.

Locking My Keys In My Office Not Once, But Twice

In the same week, I locked my keys in my office twice.

“Come on brain, get it together” I mumbled. I laughed it off, got a colleague to come help me, and continued with my day.

The second time I forgot my keys in my office it was at the end of the day. I was leaving work for the day and

Packing up all of my stuff
Thinking about what I needed to get done the next day
Brainstorming a big project that was coming up
Wondering “what the heck is for dinner?”
·Deciding if I should pick up groceries first, or my daughter first from preschool

There were a lot of things going on in my brain all at once.

All of those thoughts were forcing my brain to try to multitask, which is a really bad strategy if you actually want to get anything done or if you want to remember anything. Hence, me locked out of my office.

Pushing The Limit

Your brain has limits, and one of those limits is how much information you can hold in your head at one time.

For example, in your short term or working memory the average person can hold seven bits or chunks of information in your mind at once, plus or minus two. If you’ve got more than that in your head, you’re going to struggle to remember everything.

It’s like when you go to the grocery store with a mental grocery list. If your list had more than seven items, you probably forgot a couple things. If you’ve got more than seven things you need from the store, it’s probably a good idea to use a trusty pen and paper.

Another limit is how many things your brain can focus on at once. The answer? One.

Multitasking is actually a myth – Your brain can’t really do it. What’s actually happening is you’re switching back and forth really fast between the two tasks you’re trying to do.

Like when you’re making dinner and your kids are telling you about their day. You’re adding the next ingredient to the pan, then listening to what they learned at school, then back to how long the chicken needs to be cooked, then back to your kids. Back and forth, back and forth.

This is hard to do at the best of times, but when the task gets harder, switching becomes even more difficult.

You’re cooking and then all of the sudden… the water is boiling over and you’ve been distracted and missed part of your kid’s story. You need to ask them to repeat themselves because your brain needed to stop trying to multitask so that it could focus on the water that was all of the sudden spilling all over the stove.

Quitting Multitasking = More Productivity

How much more productive do you think you could be at work if you stopped multitasking? What if you started focusing on one thing at a time?

If you’re a self-proclaimed master multitasker, you probably think I’m crazy. How could you get more done by seemingly doing less?

Think about a time when you really felt in the zone at work. You had no distractions, you were totally focused and had a great flow … and all of the sudden it’s been an hour and you’ve made great progress towards your goal or project.

This is because your brain was working efficiently by focusing on one task at a time. Allowing your brain to put all its resources into that one task. This means you’re

More efficient

Less distracted
More productive
Making progress towards your goals
NOT shifting back and forth, back and forth.

Glamorizing Being Busy… It’s Not That Pretty

Stop rewarding multitasking! Busy has become this ideal that everyone’s trying to live up to. We’re all in this race to see who’s the busiest.

What if instead of comparing who’s the busiest, we start comparing how productive we are.

Busy and productive are not the same thing!

I love reading about athletes, entrepreneurs, or performers with great success stories. Most of them have a single focus. They work towards that one thing that they are totally committed to achieving. Those really successful people know how to maximize their brain resources. They didn’t find success by getting distracted and trying to multitask all the time!

Wanna know who does try to multitask all the time? The same people that complain that they’re always busy! People who

Feel burnt out and overwhelmed
Complain about being exhausted
Put in 60 hours a week at work but still don’t get closer to finishing their work

It’s because they’re wasting brain resources trying to do something that your brain can’t do – multitask!

You Might Be Multitasking And Not Even Know It

Are you…

Checking emails while making dinner?
Scrolling through social media while you’re watching a movie?
Listening to music while working on a report at work? (Okay fine maybe classical music is alright)

Do you…

Have email alerts popping up during a meeting?
Get distracted from a presentation because you feel your phone buzzing?
Think too long about what’s for dinner while you’re working on a project?
Wonder what your kids are doing, stress about that upcoming project, think about how overwhelmed you feel…

This is all multitasking, and it’s distracting you from the task at hand!

When you try to multitask your brain is working overtime. The end result is that you’re draining mental resources and you start to feel…

Tired
Burnt out
Stress
Overwhelmed

Which leads to…

Procrastination
Low productivity
Exhaustion

How To Train Your Brain To Stop Multitasking

Strategy 1: Get rid of the easy distractions.

Close any extra browser alerts so that nothing is pooping up
Turn off your email alerts
Close your door and make sure you have a quiet and calm work space.

This will maximize your efficiency by keeping your brain from getting distracted and trying to multitask all the things going on around you.

Strategy 2: Clear your mental clutter.

Keep a notebook on your desk! When you’re working, if there’s something that pops into your head and you can’t seem to focus because this new idea is really important, you can quickly write it down and then go back to your task. Your idea will be there waiting for you later and it helps to de-clutter your mind while you’re working. This means that your brain isn’t trying to mentally multitask, so your productivity and efficiency will be better.

Remembering Your Limits

Remember your brain has limits for how much it can focus on at one time. Trying to multitask burns resources and means you actually get less done and feel more overwhelmed.

Instead of trying to win the contest of who’s the busiest, become an expert of solo-tasking and focusing on one thing. You’ll reach more of your goals and feel happier and less stressed while you do it!

Want To Learn More?

Don’t forget to get your copy of my newest free workbook – “Your Daily Productivity Checklist”. With this checklist you’ll learn how to get your brain organized so that you can start your workday with success. You can stop procrastinating, get more done, and reach your goals without feeling totally overwhelmed! It only takes 15 minutes, and it will help you hit the ground running everyday when you show up to work and set yourself up for success.

Show Highlights

[01:44] Getting stuck in a stairwell after trying to multitask.

[02:28] Your brain has storage limits, just like a computer.

[03:15] The myth of multitasking debunked.

[04:50] Shifting focus when multitasking makes you forget more and make more mistakes.

[6:45] Why you’re probably trying to multitask without noticing

[8:24] 2 strategies to get out of the habit of multitasking

[10:25] Why becoming an expert at focusing on one thing will make you more productive

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