I admit it, I’m a multi-tasker. It has served me well in my career. That said, there are times when it’s a strength that’s over-played. For example, I need (right now) to focus my attention on writing my first blog post. As I wrote the second sentence, I heard the familiar ‘alert’ reminding me that I had a new email and I switched screens to see who emailed me. Sound familiar? A study conducted at the University of Michigan suggests that when we switch between tasks (aka multi-task) we reduce our productivity by 20-40%. Ouch.
So for those times when you need to give a task 100% focus, here are some tips:
1. Turn off email alerts, IM, Twitter and Facebook.
2. At my office, I have an ambient noise machine that helps drown out ‘noise distractions’ such as people passing in the corridor or a loud meeting next door.
3. Keep a very simple, prioritized ‘to do’ list. Most people are over-whelmed with the amount of ‘tasks’ they need to accomplish in a day. I have a client who used to stay at his office until midnight several nights a week so that he could feel like he was accomplishing something. A prioritized ‘to-do’ list will help you leave work with a sense of accomplishment (I use a Moleskine brand small notebook to create my list).
4. Always start your day by doing your most important task first (for me, it’s always follow-up emails from my coaching sessions).
5. Your first task every morning should be to plan your day and update your to-do list. (Most of us check email - it’s a good idea to break this habit).
6. OK - this is a sneaky one. If you work in ‘open space’ and do not have an office. To avoid being interrupted by co-workers, you might consider putting on your telephone headset to give the impression that you are on a call. Sneaky I know, but sometimes it’s the only thing that works.
7. If you are continually bombarded by interruptions from other people, consider having office hours (i.e. time when you welcome people to stop by and discuss what’s important or ‘hot’ or needs immediate attention).
Finally, if you are going to change or experiment with a different work style, you should let people know what you are doing or trying to accomplish. Otherwise, they will think you are ‘acting odd’. If you disclose your goal, you will also be engaging others in supporting your accomplishing the goal (and creating greater accountability for your efforts).