<strong>Scenario:</strong> <em>"Dude! To work faster, we must work on 10 things at once. Then we'll finish work 10x faster. In the meantime, we'll watch some freakin' TV! And bake some cookies! Yay!"</em> It's something oh-so-common among the entrepreneurial freaks: <span class="highlight"><strong>Multitasking!</strong></span> It seems great on the surface: <em>"The more things you do simultaneously, the quicker you'll finish things." </em> Right? Not quite. Here's why: <h2>Why Multitasking Sucks</h2> The Fab-3 reasons why you shouldn't multitask: <ul> <li><h2>You drain productivity.</h2> You think you're a super badass: <ol> <li>You're doing ten things at once. </li> <li>You think you'll finish all ten items much quicker than if you were to do each one-by-one. </li> <li>You end up quarter-assing all ten. </li> <li>Nothing gets done. </li> <li>Your clients get mad.</li></ol> <br /> Boo. We're definitely guilty of it. We're sure you've done it from time-to-time too. <span class="highlight"><strong>Instead of getting <em>something </em>done, you're getting nothing done. </strong></span> Your productivity starts draining like Clay Aiken's popularity.</li> <li><h2>You become dumber.</h2> <em>"Wait. I become dumb? Meeh?"</em> Oh yes, your badass heard that right. If you're doing two things at the same time, you're not just splitting your brain's capacity to kick-ass. <span class="highlight">You're dramatically dumbing down your brain.</span> Think Paris Hilton. (Zing!) UCLA Psychologist Russell Poldrack <a href="http://time.blogs.com/daily_rx/2006/07/public_release_.html">studied</a> the adverse effects on the brain when you multitask: <blockquote><h2>What</h2> Poldrack and his research team recruited a group of volunteers, all in their 20s, and set them to work on a simple categorization task, asking them to sort a stack of cards into different piles depending on the shapes printed on them. <h2>Results</h2> <span class="highlight">When the subjects sorted cards without distractions, the brain's hippocampus—a seahorse-shaped structure used in storing and recalling information—was actively engaged. </span> When the beeps were sounding, the hippocampus was quiet and the less-sophisticated striatum—the part of the brain used to master unthinking, repetitive skills like riding a bicycle—took over. </blockquote></li> <li><h2>You miss deadlines.</h2> Productivity drainage + Dumber brain = Missed deadlines. Try this two-day experiment: <ul> <li><strong>Today:</strong> Try finishing ten lengthy to-do items, simultaneously.</li> <li><strong>Tomorrow:</strong> Try finishing one lengthy item one-at-a-time (ten in all), fully focused on each.</li> </ul> <br /> Notice the number of missed deadlines on the first day. Pretty crazy, eh? </li></ul> <h2>How to Really Get Things Done</h2> Use the oh-so-not-yet-famous <em>Trizoko 3</em> step process: <ol> <li><h2>Focus on one destination point.</h2> You don't go into the grocery store without getting a certain item. <span class="highlight"><strong>Likewise, you shouldn't work on anything without one clear destination point.</strong></span> <em>"But I have ten to-do items on today!"</em> By fully focusing on one thing at a time, you'll optimize your brainpower -- exponentially improving productivity. That means, you'll complete the ten items faster by taking an item-by-item approach. Peep this model: The total time it takes you to complete Task A by, <ul> <li><strong>Multitasking:</strong> 41351807498214 hours.</li> <li><strong>Doing one-thing-at-a-time: </strong>0.01 seconds.</li> </ul> <br /> (Okay, we're embellishing it a bit, but you get the point.)</li> <li><h2>Block out everything else -- like you're an intensely insane, focused badass.</h2> That is, remove all distractions that keep you from your destination point. <ul> <li>No AIMs, MSN, MySpace, or whatever over-hyped product you friendly folks are using these days. </li> <li>No email-checking. </li> <li>No TVs. </li> <li>Nada.</li></ul> <br /> We'll now act all-mama on yo behind: Clean your desk! A loose paper will ruin your intensely insane focus. A misplaced item will do the same. <h3>You need the focus of a badass.</h3> Before a sprint, a 100-meter champion doesn't: <ul> <li>check his email</li> <li>chat about what Vanessa wore yesterday</li> <li>give interviews</li> <li>talk to friends or family</li> <li>smoke the peace pipe</li> </ul> <br /> Oh no: he stays <em>absolutely focused</em> with what he's about to do. <span class="highlight"><strong>You need that freakishly focused mentality.</strong></span> Removing distractions helps you get that mindset.</li> <li><h2>When you're finished, have a new destination point.</h2> Repeat the steps as needed: <ul> <li>Destination A, fully focused </li> <li>Destination B, fully focused </li> <li>Destination C, fully focused</li> <li>etc., etc., etc.</li></ul> <br /> The secret to all of this, of course: <span class="highlight"><strong>Have as many destination points as possible in a day.</strong></span> Your productivity will soar higher than a mutha luckin eagle.</li> </ol> Say it with us now: <h2>"I am an intensely insane, focused mutha flucka. I do one thing at a time."</h2><br /> 2006-10-04T22:12:02-07:00 true 357 how-to-get-things-done 0 2009-11-03T18:00:51-08:00