Multitasking is a Myth

Everyone knows that multitasking sounds impressive. The majority think that the more tasks you can cram into a short time period, the better.

However, are multitaskers really more productive? The reality is, this skill is vastly overrated. This is because the human mind is made to focus on no more than one to two tasks at a time. Whenever you try to do multiple things, your effectiveness goes down dramatically.

This is supported scientifically. Each task will end up taking longer, and you will make more mistakes as well. The fact is that you are never more effective than when you just focus on only one task.

However, what if that isn’t possible for you? After all, a lot of business owners wear many hats. Some have to handle the advertising, product development, and customer management all themselves. What’s the solution to multitasking in that scenario? Here are two ways:

1. Batch activities

For instance, don’t pick up the phone throughout the day. Instead, have a set time each day that you handle all your calls. Answering the phone during the day causes a dramatic decrease in production, because you are constantly being distracted from the more important tasks.

And for some activities, batching can even save you time. For instance, instead of doing your company errands sporadically, get them done at the same time each week. This will prevent you from making multiple trips. This will save you time, in addition to reducing distraction.

The kind of things to batch include all your routine tasks like checking email, phone calls, tracking cash flow, and so on.

2. Outsource your work

Many tasks can be easily given to others. And the fewer tasks you have, the easier it is to single task.

For instance, let’s say you make handmade soaps and lotions. There are only so many hours in the day and at some point, your income is going to level off if the whole operation is dependent on you.

Not only is your income limited, but your effectiveness at making them will be as well. This is because you also have to focus on marketing, customer management, and other day-to-day tasks.

This produces a tremendous temptation to multitask. However, when you outsource the customer management and marketing, you can then produce a lot more of your handmade soaps and lotions. This will give you more time to focus on the important activities of product creation (a.k.a. Doing What You Love), which is why you started your business. The fewer activities you have to focus on, the easier single tasking will become.

The bottom line is, multitasking does not work and is a myth. Even if you don’t have the money right now to outsource anything, focusing on just one task at a time will result in maximum effectiveness.