The myth of multitasking

“Never half ass two things. Whole ass one thing.” -Ron Swanson

How often have you heard someone say “I’m a great multitasker”?

It’s a common declaration and often something that employers have looked for as a necessary skill. It’s also a myth.

Humans aren’t built to multitask. What we often refer to as multitasking is more akin to multi switching, diverting our attention from one task to the next without fully divesting from the other. While this practice will give the illusion of being busy it rarely results in productivity.

So a project to increase our productivity is to reduce multitasking habits. My personal favorite technique is time blocking and utilizing a “pomodoro” timer. There are multiple apps a AI label that set up your timer but in essence it is just a 25 minute block of work followed by 5 minutes of rest. Set a task for that 25 minutes and don’t diverge from that task. Use your 5 minute break to walk around the office (hello NEAT) and remove yourself from the task at hand. You can then return to that task or work on something else for your following block.

Multitasking is a myth that not only hurts productivity but steals time from you and your family. Money is transient; we can always make more. We can’t get time back. Use it wisely.