Your ability to get things done depends significantly on how well you can focus on one task at a time. Avoid multitasking, try monotasking and get more work done within the same time.
Do you often find your tasks in hand getting out of control? You start each day with a plan to get so much done, but find your day becoming a frustrating one due to the lower rate of accomplishments of your tasks even after using time hacks. If yes, then you need to adapt a few effective time management and productivity techniques in your working style to get your tasks done faster.
We all want to get the maximum things done within a given time frame, and usually, we think we can get more done by juggling multiple tasks at the same time. Although, when you try to do multiple things at once, you will often find that you are accomplishing very little.
Multitasking Does Not Guarantee a Higher Output Rate
We all have a limited amount of cognitive bandwidth as well as time. Our brain tends to think that it has more capacity than it really does, but in reality, it needs to work extra hard when you keep switching back and forth between tasks to accomplish multiple tasks at once.
Your ability to get things done depends on how well you can concentrate on one task at a time to complete it, whether it needs two minutes or two hours. When you multitask, your mind tends to make more mistakes. When you toggle between tasks, the neural networks of your brain need to backtrack things to figure out where they left off to resume precisely.
Multitasking also reduces creativity. Truly innovative thinking can happen only when we allow our brains to follow a logical path of thoughts and ideas. And this is more likely when we focus on a single mental thread for an ample period. Ultimately, you will find yourself to be much more efficient if you monotask.
5 Productivity Hacks to Get Things Done Faster and Better Through Monotasking
To get more things done within the same time, you need to attain a work setting and use time hacks that encourages monotasking or the practice of performing one task at a time. You need to create such an environment in a thoughtful manner since you can not simply block off hours at a time just for a single task.
Here are a few small things to make your day productive that you can follow. Incorporate them in your working methodology to monotask and yield productivity benefits
.
1. Mitigate Temptations:
Do you frequently feel the urge to check your social media while you are working on a task? Resist such time-consuming and productivity-lessening temptations as much as possible. You can use tools like SelfControl, Freedom, StayFocusd and FocusMe to block addictive internet activities.
2. Work on One Tab/Screen at a Time:
Always try to put your focus on a single tab/screen while working on a specific task. Meanwhile, put away your cell phone, turn off your second monitor and close those extra tabs of the browser which are not adding any meaningful aspect to your task.
3. Get Up and Move:
Whenever you find focus is reducing irreversibly while doing a specific thing and your mind begins to wander off-topic, you need to get up and take a little stroll. A brief walk or similar physical activity can be a brilliant time hack as it improves your mood enough to gain your focus back.
4. Take Scheduled Breaks:
Our brain and body function best at a given time, only if it is well-rested for a while. When you schedule your tasks through monotasking, you also need to plan small breaks and schedule them appropriately. It saves you from mental and physical stress as your brain and body get ample time to rejuvenate. Learn about Pomodoro and some more time management techniques to become more productive here.
5. Having Quiet Time to Focus:
Always take some time to clear space in your mind and heart before beginning a task. Keep a piece of paper nearby to note those thoughts that bother you during your quiet time. This way you can quickly refocus on your task with a list of things that may need to be addressed later. You can further explore a few more strategies to maintain balance in your life here.
The next time you feel overwhelmed with too many tasks at your hand and seek apt ways to accomplish them, use the above-mentioned things to make your day productive.
Need help to work smart to get more things done within the same time? Take the free 'My Time Management Style' Assessment to enhance your productivity and have a personal life.
Smita D Jain is a Certified Life Coach, Executive Coach India and NLP Practitioner. Smita’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Personal Clarity Coaching Programs enable busy professionals unhappy in their jobs to tap into their passions and transform them into professions so that they work because they want to, not because they have to.
Prior to her journey as a coach, Smita had extensive experience of 14 years as a corporate and business strategy professional with Fortune 500 companies. She is also a speaker at various public forums, a published writer, and an Amazon bestselling author.
You can learn more about Personal Empowerment Life Coach and Executive Coach Smita D Jain’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Coaching Programs by visiting www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com and
book a complimentary strategy session at https://www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com/booking.
#timemanagement #smartwork #worksmart #lifecoach #productivity #study #studymotivation #productivityhacks