« How, as an Empowered Woman, Will You be an Architect of Change? (Part I) | Home | Are You A Networking Black Hole? »
Is Multitasking Helping or Hurting Your Business’s Productivity and Bottom Line?
By admin | October 28, 2008
(And 7 Ways to Get Better at It!)
Face it- we all do it: Multitasking!
In fact, chances are, if you’re a woman in north America, then it’s a badge of honor to brag about how good you are at it!
You know that you’re a great multitasker when you find yourself writing that Proposal while talking to a customer on the phone while considering what to make for dinner while encouraging your child to “try that homework problem just one more time!”
It’s so that we can get more done all at once and save time, right?
(Yeah, me too sometimes).
Well, here’s the skinny on Multitasking: If you’re a chronic multi-tasker, especially where your business is concerned, you’re probably hurting your productivity, business, and your bottom line!
Plus, it’s annoying to those people with whom you’re splitting your time, because they can tell that you’re not entirely “with them” (unless it’s your children, of course, in which case they usually expect you to be able to do five things at once)!
And don’t you just feel burned out after a long-string of multitasking taskings?… I mean, where did the fun and passion of what we do go?
I’ll tell you where- it seeped right out of our brains and hearts at the same time that our focus did!
We’re trying to do five things at once, there’s just no room for passion and emotion (except for maybe frustration when none of anything is getting done well!) .
Sometimes, we multi-task because we’re looking for instant gratification of accomplishment in the middle of a big project by detaching and momentarily focusing on some other task.
Consider this: A scientific study mentioned by Tim Ferris (the “4-Hour-Work-Week-Guy)
was once conducted that tested the efficacy of multitasking.
‘Know what they found?
Multi-tasking lowers your IQ more than smoking marijuana does! (This is according to The British Institute of Psychiatry).
You wouldn’t hire a “pothead” for your business, would you?
So why work like one?
Here’s why multitasking dumbs you down, and actually causes you to spend more time on all combined tasks when trying to do them all at once (as opposed to focusing on one thing at a time):
For starters, brain activation for listening is cut in half if the person is trying to process visual input at the same time as listening, for example.
The above-mentioned study showed that checking your email while performing another creative task decreases your IQ in the moment 10 points. That’s like not sleeping for 36 hours! Or, having smoked a “joint”- twice- before getting on the phone with that client!
It then takes 20 minutes to get back to the same mind-set of our original task when we let ourselves get distracted in the first place, and focus may not be as good.
So that previously-brilliant thought you had about that proposal you were writing in the beginning of this post? It’s really going to take you 20 minutes to get back to flow and same frame of mind as when you started writing, and possibly twice as long to solve that customer challenge than if you were just focused on it.
…And you still won’t know what to make for dinner
…Nor will your kid’s homework won’t be done because they want you to take a focused look again.
So the question becomes: How do we get better at Multi-Tasking?
Answer: Don’t!
What you can do in this age of Multitasking, especially when our lives seem to be set up to function as a multi-tasker, is to integrate each of the following 7 steps into your business and home life, in order to be more effective, more productive, and to have better over-all results:
1. Work on projects only during focused blocks of uninterrupted time. Peter Drucker, from his book, “The Effective Executive,” recomends working in focused blocks of at least hours at a time.
2. Schedule your most important work during your most productive times. (I’m a morning person when it comes to writing and computer work, but can be a people person all day long, so long as I don’t have some major projects hanging over my head!)
3. Train those around you- youremployees, your co-workers, your family etc… to not interrupt. You set the schedule as to when you’ll be returning e-mails, phone calls, helping with homework (for you home-based entrepreneurs), and when you will not…
4. Keep marching toward your goal, making progress, even if you’re not seeing instant gratification….
5. Take mini-breaks (inbetween those focused blocks of productivity) and you’ll likely find a surge in creativity, focus and productivity.
6. Take care of your body in order to do a better job with your mind. This means eating well, drinking plenty of water, and exercising. Doing this alone will help your ability to focus better, and make sure that your energetic presence is all that it can be!
7. Meditate. Yep, I’m saying that meditating will help you to get more done too. Why? Meditating helps to clarify your challenges and all of the issues swirling around in your head… and to bring the answers to your challenges right to the top! We can create triggers for our peak performance states, and through meditation learn how to instantly funnel emotion into deep focus and creativity.
Peter Drucker opens his book by stating that, “To be effective is the job of the executive.”
Now, are you or are you not the executive of your business?
“Intelligence, imagination and knowledge are essential resources (for executives)… but only effectiveness converts them into results.”
Okay, now that you know the steps, while you’re reading this post- put down the phone, turn off the stove and take a deep breath.
In…Out…
Now, doesn’t that feel better?
Okay, now empower yourself to be more effective by putting a stop to multitasking, scheduling your projects into uninterrupted blocks of time, and integrating the other 6 steps above.
When you do this, I promise you that your overall productivity and your bottom line will improve dramatically! Not only will you be more productive, but you’ll also find yourself having more fun with everything that you do, more of the passion behind “what you do” will flow back in, and the people that you work, live and play with will all appreciate a more-connected and more-present you!
Topics: Empower |
December 4th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Hi,
I have just found your blog.
I would love to deal with you.
It would be wonderful, if you could write a post with my links.
I have a site about credit cards and a site about books.
I would like to know how much money does it cost. Contact me if you are interested in such a deal.
Regards,
Diana
December 5th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Thanks for all the great advice! Your seven steps are so simple, and I’m using them in my busy life of family and business.
Gaylene
December 10th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Diana- Thank you for your comment. Please contact me directly by writing to: Jennifer@EmpoweringWomenInBusiness.com I look forward to learning more and to connecting with you!
-Jennifer