How To Be More Productive, From A Woman In The Know

First, what is multitasking and why do you think it’s flawed?

The definition of multitasking is simple: it means to deal with more than one task at the same time. The phrase has been adopted by all sorts of typically high-achieving people, including mothers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and those who identify as ‘busy’. Historically, it’s been a mark of status to be able to achieve multiple tasks at the same time, and it has also been gendered, with the old adage that ‘men can’t multitask’ becoming a go-to way to claim that men are useless.

However, the fact is that our brains cannot complete multiple tasks at the same time. When we think we are ‘multitasking’, the tasks are actually being carried out in a sequence, with our attention often returning to the initial task before revisiting a new one so that our brains are rapidly switching between tasks. This constant switching is draining for the brain, tiring us out more quickly. It has a negative effect on our ability to focus, even when we are not multitasking. Studies show that when the brain is constantly switching gears to bounce back and forth between tasks – especially when those tasks are complex and require our active attention – we become less efficient, use up more energy and are more likely to make a mistake. In fact, research has shown that doing more than one task at a time, or switching between tasks, reduces productivity by 40% and done habitually, it can lower our IQ by up to ten points. 

So, what’s the alternative – is there a way to become more productive?

Mono-tasking, or single-tasking, is the practice of dedicating yourself to a given task, minimising interruptions and distractions until that one task is complete. You can then move onto the next task using the same approach, and so on and so forth. According to a study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, it takes an average of twenty-three minutes and fifteen seconds to return to an original task after an interruption. This means that working on one thing, to completion, minimises the between-time where we procrastinate before returning to being productive again.

Mono-tasking can save a huge amount of time while also creating more focused work. It also means that tasks are complete, and you can mentally move on. Reducing how much you multitask, or indeed not multitasking at all, will lead to smarter work cycles. You’ll be able to create more hyperfocus, to move efficiently through your to-do list, and to ensure that you are making your energy stores work for you as effectively as possible. 

Many of us are programmed to multitask – so how do we stop?

It’s my belief there are five ways to stop multitasking and start mono-tasking. Accept that you cannot do more than one thing at one time; separate the urgent from the important; be realistic about how long tasks will take; challenge yourself to consider why your level of self-worth comes from your level of productivity; finally, note that a busy life is different to a full life.

To start mono-tasking, choose to only make up to three big decisions per day; track your energy, not your time; use a desk timer to keep accountable with tasks; close all of your tabs, and set yourself up to win by creating an environment with few distractions; finally, run your day in minutes. An eight-hour working day is 480 minutes, and only a third of the total time you have in a 24-hour cycle. You have much more time than you think.

There’s a lot of talk about ‘habit pairing’ at the moment – can you tell us more?

Habit pairing simply asks you to pair a habit you don’t like doing with one you do. The power of the feeling you get from doing the task you do like is greater than the negative feeling you have for the one you don’t. I believe that working smarter is about making small adjustments, not seismic changes. My Smarter Method also recognises that success cannot be achieved simply through the omission of things you don’t like – almost every story in life will be peppered with good and bad. Instead, we can learn systems and processes that allow us to manage those tasks we don’t enjoy in a way that makes them less painful. I have found habit pairing to be a brilliant way to passively create new habits – for example, listening to a podcast while doing the washing-up, calling a friend on a long, boring train ride or watching reality television in the gym. These don’t count as multitasking, as they are tasks that require different parts of your brain – you are not switching from one task to the other, as your hands can wash up while your ears listen to a podcast.

Do prioritisation or deadlines play a part in making you more productive?

Working out whether something is urgent or important is a skill. It is difficult to do when you can’t see the wood for the trees because everything feels urgent. You might generally make your decisions about the difference between something being urgent and important based on the deadline, asking yourself, “How long do I have before this is due?”, and using the answer to decide what has to be done first. 

However, deadlines must work for you, and if you’re constantly coming up against issues with completing work within the time frame set, there’s either something that needs to change about the way you’re working, or the deadlines are unrealistic. The outcome, however, should never be that you just endlessly miss deadlines and are forever branded as a deadline-misser. A good tip is to move the deadline before you’ve missed the deadline. It’s also worth remembering that an approaching deadline generally means a task is urgent – but is it important? 

What’s your advice if you’re struggling to work out the difference between urgent and important?

First, define both terms – what is your definition of urgent, and what is your definition of important? Does the proximity to the deadline determine how important a task is? Also, have you considered the environment you need around you in order to complete the task? Tasks can feel more urgent than they are if you are without the tools you need to complete it. This is known an environment check. Is the deadline real, or have you set it yourself in order to allow yourself to fail, thus affirming your negative self-belief that you are a deadline-misser? Could you prioritise the urgency of a task based on your capacity? For example, what are your energy levels? What’s your state of mind? Are you firing at 100%, or is it a 60 & kind of day? If so, match the task to where you are at, and make that urgent. Finally, dpeak to someone – reach out to people around you, in the office, on social media. Might someone have a template that can make your life easier?

Can you explain what an environment check is in more detail?

An environment check is a simple process that demands that you think about the best possible environment to set you up for success when you are doing hard things. Once you have established what you need to achieve first, it is important to think about time that it will take, your current mood, and what your set-up needs to be in order for you to succeed. For example:

• I need to work from home today as I can’t have any distractions.
• I want to be in the office as I don’t want to be by myself.
• I need a coffee. 
• I want my heating on and a concentration playlist in the background.
• I need to sit away from my computer and create the plan with a pen.
• I need to remove some of these meetings, as they are draining and no one will care if I reschedule them.
• I am going to blow-dry my hair.
• I will need to stay off social media.
• I will need to put my phone on ‘do not disturb’ mode.

Okay – so any final thoughts?

As I’ve explained, we can’t multitask. De-prioritising tasks based on your own understanding of your capacity, what you’re in the mood for, what environment you need to be in in order excel, and what the ideal set-up is for each task, is something that takes practice. The thing to remember is that not everything is urgent. There’s a reason that when you go to A&E, the person with a critical injury is seen before the person who has sprained their finger. Doctors are literally presented with life-and-death decisions, and they consider what is urgent versus what is important and act accordingly. If you can’t get enough of this topic and want to find out more, look up the Eisenhower Matrix, which can help you determine what is urgent, not urgent, important and not important. Then focus in on tasks based on their urgency – it will transform how much you’re able to achieve in the working day.

‘Smarter: 10 lessons for a more productive and less-stressed life’ by Emily Austen is available via Amazon.co.uk. For more tips and advice follow @EmilyMAusten on Instagram.