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Some advantagesof single-tasking
that would improveyour productivity
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
There are numerous of papers about multitasking, that all of us are
trying to achieve and implement at work and life.
Nevertheless, the single-tasking is an absolutely opposite approach.
It means focusing all your attention on just one task at a time. You
might think that is completely inefficient to act this way. After all, if
you are able to complete various tasks at the same time, why
wouldn’t you?
However, some studies proves that single-tasking really works
better than multitasking in the end. Moreover, you are able to
perform more and create higher quality work with a single-tasking
approach.
Let’s figure out why multitasking isn’t as useful as it might to be.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
MULTITASKING WORKS! DOES IT?
So as we mentioned before, our
brain is not adapted to the
multitasking approach. We
literally can’t do it.
If you’ve just asked: “What if I’ve
done it before”, don’t be exited
too early, thinking you have a
special gift.Here are two reasons explaining your thoughts:
1. Some tasks that don’t require cognitive effort like chewing or
walking can be done in parallel with something else that does
use our brain. That is why, you can easily talk during lunch or
while a promenade.
2. Trying to perform several intellectual tasks at the same time,
our brain can switch between the different tasks very quickly.
That might seem as multitasking, though in fact several
different things are performed less efficiently.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
Working on two different tasks at once, our brain is constantly
switching back and forth between them, as a results we lose the
time. It is a really short period of time, that we hardly notice. It
slows down our performing when we try to complete several tasks
at the same time, instead of one after the other.
In addition to slow performing of these tasks, this approach also
affects the quality!
Just think about how much energy our brain use by constantly
switching from one task to another. Thus, we lie to ourselves that
we work in twice harder to complete everything at once, but as
result — we fail.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
However, many people are still
using this approach. Partner and
senior trainer for The Potential
Project, Jacqueline Carter states
that there are three main
reasons why some people try to
multitask:1. They still don’t have an idea that it is literally impossible (i.e.
they haven’t had a chance to read this research yet — I
thought the same not too long ago)
2. They have too many tasks
3. They’re not completely focused on their original task
These last two reasons are pernicious, because even when you
know you can’t really multitask, these situations make it oh-so-
tempting. I’ve known about the myth of multitasking for a couple of
years now, but I still find myself doing multiple things at once
(badly) when I’m strapped for time, or struggling through a boring
task.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
Though we can try to catch ourselves and use willpower to stop
falling back on our old multitasking habits, a more efficient
approach is to retrain ourselves. If we focus on making single-
tasking our default working method, it’ll be the one we fall back on
without thinking about it — and our work will be done better, and
faster, as a result.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
SINGLE-TASK TO RETRAIN YOUR BRAINYou’ve probably been in this situation before: You’re listening to a
mixtape or playlist of songs you love. You’re singing along, enjoying
one of your favorite tracks, when you hit that three-second gap
between tracks. At just the right moment, you start singing the next
song from the album — only to realize that it’s not playing, because
this is a compilation.
But you knew exactly what the next song was, how it started, and
when it would start to play. Your brain has learned that album you
love so well that it knows not only what to expect, but when to
expect it.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
Art Markman, professor of psychology and marketing at the
University of Texas, says our brains are great at seeing patterns and
using them to predict what’s coming next. “An important function of
the brain is not just to predict what is going to happen next, but
when it is going to happen,” he says.
But this can actually be dangerous, because we’re training our
brains without realizing it.
If you check your email every 20
minutes, your brain learns that
pattern. If you scroll through social
media apps on your phone every
10 minutes, your brain learns that
pattern.“…whenever you engage in an activity frequently, your brain is
trying to predict when you will need to do it again,” Markman says.
Your brain thinks it’s doing you a favor when it disrupts your
attention at those intervals in the future, because it knows you
probably want to check your email or see what’s happening on
Twitter.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
Each time you check your email you probably think, “I don’t have to
check my email right now. I’ve decided to. I’m still in control.” But it
doesn’t take long before you’re not in control. You don’t have to
check your email, but you can’t stop your brain from thinking it’s
time to disrupt your attention so you can switch it to doing
something else now.
The way to get around this, Markman says, is to retrain your brain.
You have to fight the timing that your brain has learned, and teach
it a new frequency. Markman suggests starting small, and increasing
the length of time between distractions bit by bit, until your brain
has learned to let you focus for longer periods before your attention
wanes.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
To start, simply grab a timer, and
take notice of how long you work
before your brain tells you it might
be time for a distraction. When you
start thinking about whether to
pick up your phone or check your
inbox, take a look at the timer and
see how long you lasted. Do this a
few times to get an idea of your
average focus time.
Once you know what kind of schedule your brain tends to follow, set
a work timer for just a tiny bit longer than that. When you get
distracted, stop yourself from jumping to your inbox, or even
another task — if the timer hasn’t finished yet, push yourself to stay
focused until it does.
You’ll find it’s tough in those last few minutes to stay on task, but
eventually your brain will learn the new schedule. When it’s easy to
focus for that period, increase your timer a little and work on
training your brain to follow that schedule for a while.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
Single-tasking helps your brain learn to stay focused on one task for
longer periods, so you can get bigger chunks of work done. You’ll
also find your work improves, because you’ll have a better chance
of entering flow — that elusive state of being so deep in your work
that time flies by without you noticing.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
SINGLE-TASK TO GET MORE HIGH-QUALITY WORK DONE
Speaking of higher quality work, let’s talk about how single-tasking
is the key to doing deep work. Associate professor and author Cal
Newport uses the term deep work when talking about the kind of
work that requires long stretches of uninterrupted focus time, and
makes a big difference in your job or your career. For Newport, an
academic theoretician, his deep work is research projects. For an
author, it’s when they shut up and write the book. For a developer,
it’s being elbow-deep in code, creating something new.
Unfortunately, most of us these days are “drowning
in the shallows,” according to Newport. We’re stuck
spending the majority of our time on busywork —
those pesky tasks that have to be done, and can be
time-consuming, but don’t actually help us move
forward. Answering emails, scheduling
appointments, attending meetings that aren’t really
useful are all examples of busywork.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
When you’re overrun by busywork, you have to actually work at
making time for deep work. One way Newport suggests doing this is
by creating an environment that’s used purely for deep work.
He points to examples of writers
who build or buy reclusive huts to
work in, and disappear from
society until their books are
written. Many writers have
rooms, huts, or houses they write
all their books in. Those spaces
are for deep work only, and
aren’t tainted by busywork like
meetings and emails.
As John Cleese says, creating a protected environment where you
do your deep work tells your “tortoise brain,” the part that does
creative work, but is hard to coax out amongst the hustle and bustle
of modern life, that it’s safe to emerge. Your tortoise brain learns
that this place is for deep work, and it starts to emerge on cue when
you’re in that environment.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
Just as your brain learns patterns of timing, it can learn a pattern of
space, and know that when you’re in this place, you only do deep
work.
This approach, Newport says, makes
“work an experience, not a chore.” He
predicts that in the future we might be
able to use virtual reality to help us
create a deep work environment right at
our desks.In the meantime, you can try a similar approach without having to
build or buy an entire cabin in the woods.
Find a workspace that suits your personal deep work, and protect it.
If it means a favorite armchair or a tiny, unused meeting room in
your office, it doesn’t matter. It just needs to be separate from
where you do busywork.
When you’re in that protected space, practice single-tasking on your
most important deep work. Try taking just one deep work task with
you, and cutting yourself off (as much as possible) from potential
busywork interruptions, like email or chat rooms.
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
START WITH THESE RULES FOR SINGLE-TASKINGFinally, let’s go over some practical ground rules
to help you practice single-tasking. Leo Babauta,
author of zenhabits.net, has been practicing
single-tasking himself for years, and uses these
rules to help him get back on track when
multitasking is taking hold again.1. Only have one browser tab open at once (or set of tabs, if
they’re related to one task)
2. Focus on what you want to get done — if you’re not sure, it’s
easier to get distracted
3. If you start reading an article, read it to completion or save it
for later in an app like Instapaper — don’t leave it open all
day in your browser
4. Use one app at a time on your phone, rather than switching
quickly between several
5. When you’re interrupted or you switch tasks, take notice of
what you’re doing so you’re aware of your behavior
6. Have more digital-free time
+380 93 409 3246 • ardas-it.com
This last rule is an important one. If email, social media, and internal
chat are your main distractions, spending more time completely
away from your phone or computer can help your brain get used to
longer periods of time without those distractions.
Finally, single-tasking can be
practiced on things like having
dinner or spending time with your
family just as much as on work tasks.
Leaving your computer turned off
and your phone in another room can
help you enforce single-tasking more
easily by making those common
distractions unavailable.We’ll give the last word to Leo Babauta, who has caught himself
multitasking many times, and had to remind himself to focus on a
single task. Even though it takes effort, he believes single-tasking
is worth it for the boost in true productivity:
… I think giving in to constant switch and distraction is a way to run
away. It feels busy and productive, but it’s an avoidance.
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