How multitasking is causing you damage
A common theme when working from home for many of us is that we experience a huge number of interruptions daily, which leads us to multitask various activities. Unfortunately, there are two big problems with multitasking.
The first one is that when we try to do two tasks at once, it actually makes us incredibly slow. In our virtual program ‘The Evolution Project’, we get the participants to do an activity where they have to complete two separate tasks, simultaneously, whilst timing themselves. Then, we ask them to repeat that activity but, this time, making sure they finish up the first task before moving onto the second one, whilst also timing themselves. What they learn is they are about five times slower when they try to multitask two things at once. Hence the fact that we simply cannot multitask. What we're really doing is switching our attention from one task to the next, backwards and forwards, really quickly, and every time we do that, we have to reset our working memory which slows us down dramatically.
The second problem with multitasking is that it’s very stressful for the brain. Every time we have to reset our attention between tasks, it takes a lot of resource, and it exhausts the brain. One of the reasons why we find virtual meetings so tiring is that we tend to be in a meeting but we're also clearing out our inbox, reading another website or doing some sort of work.
Here are some strategies on how you can work more efficiently, whether you're working at home with children or just trying to juggle multiple tasks throughout the day.
1. Develop awareness about how inefficient it is to multitask - Be mindful when you catch yourself multitasking unnecessarily.
2. Work in chunks – Try to work in 50-minute chunks to get the most out of your day. If you're home-schooling your kids, for example, set them up with ‘focus tasks’. Give them a series of things to do, some of which to include a bit of autonomy so that they can immerse themselves. This will have them occupied for longer periods of time which also helps free you up to focus on your work.
3. Brain breaks - As we know, virtual work is tiring. So, make sure there's points in the day where you get away from the screen to go outside and move around. If you are home-schooling your children, you can also give them periods throughout the day where they can do something fun like a puzzle, FaceTime a friend or watch something on the telly. This will give them a chance to relax their brain so that they're not focusing on learning for the entire day.
4. Reduce distractions that are unnecessary - When you're working it’s best to close the emails, turn the phone off and remove anything that's going to take your attention away from what you are doing. The same goes for the kids, remove any unnecessary distractions.
5. Have realistic expectations about what you can achieve – Especially if you are home-schooling children, this can be a huge distraction from your usual work tasks. Cut yourself some slack and get really clear about what you can achieve.
I hope these tips help you through this very challenging time. Stay safe and look after yourselves.