Once Napoleon amazed his contemporaries with the ability to do several things at the same time. Now we have all become «Napoleons», having learned to solve different problems in parallel. Alas, this did not make us more efficient, says business coach Greg McKeon.
Some two decades ago, the word «priority» was used only in the singular and meant the main task. It goes without saying that there can be only one main task. Now it is just as natural for us to talk about priorities: quite often we are solving several important tasks at the same time. Multitasking is undoubtedly the trend of our time. Both individuals and entire companies work in this mode — and they consider it a virtue. An employee should be very, very busy doing his many tasks — this over-busyness is encouraged and approved.
Renowned business coach and writer Greg McKeon in his bestseller «Essentialism»1 invites us to take a critical look at this cult of multitasking.
Multitasking is a myth
Yes, we are able to do two things at the same time. For example, we can watch a TV show while we cook dinner, or answer an email while talking on the phone.
What we cannot, however, is focus on two tasks at the same time. Multitasking forces our brain to constantly switch from one task to another. The trouble is that he does not know how to do it without loss. Every time you interrupt his activities and force him to do something else, you pay the price. There is even such a special term — “switching cost”, which refers to the drop in brain performance at the moments when we switch attention from one task to another.
Back in 2003, researchers calculated that the average computer user checks email once every 5 minutes. After that, it takes the brain 64 seconds to focus again on the previous task. Roughly speaking, just by being distracted by viewing mail, we lose one of the six minutes of our working time.
Find your key task
Doing several things at once does not mean doing them faster and more efficiently. The opposite is true: we get the best results when we focus on one thing. Mastery requires concentration and consistency. You need to define for yourself one, and only one, priority task for the current day. Of course, we can also plan other things, but the main thing must be done at all costs. This is something that is non-negotiable.
When we choose a key task, our whole life naturally builds around it. This is the basis that «holds» the entire daily routine. If everything suddenly goes upside down, we will not be at a loss to decide what to do and what not. After all, we have already decided in advance for ourselves what is really urgent and paramount for us.
- «I have a lot to do, but I’m not busy»
Know how to say «no»
Our society has long fallen into the trap of «efficiency» and overemployment. It is a big mistake to think that there is any meaning in this. We proceed from a false premise: “Just look how busy I am all the time! How much work do I do! So it’s all terribly important!» The conclusion seems to follow from this: «I myself am very important, since I work so much.»
Of course, each of us is important and significant in our own way. But it’s not about that. We delude ourselves into believing that the more work we have, the more meaningful it is. In fact, meaning appears only when we really bring something of ourselves into our corner of the universe.
To do this, we need to become true masters of our craft. These people have one thing in common. They know how to say “no” to everything that distracts them from the main thing. They are focused on one thing.
We need to say no to employment for the sake of employment and say yes to true craftsmanship. Do you have a business that you would like to be an expert in? Have you found this key to each of your days? If you do not devote yourself to something important for you, then you will simply disperse your strength for nothing.
1 G. McKeown «Essentialism. The Disciplined Pursuit of Less» (Crown Business, 2014).