Multi-tasking Must Die: 5 Ways to Single Task
February 2, 2009 by Phil Gerbyshak
Filed under Business
MULTI-TASKING MUST DIE! I said, and I believe it. I just can’t do it, at least not with everything. You probably can’t either.
At the very least, I know I can single task my direct reports and so can you. If you’re having a conversation with one of your direct reports, the worst thing you can do is try to multi-task them and focus on other things. Not only is it rude to the other person, but it’s also not a very effective way to get anything done. Every time I find myself multi-tasking the people who report to me, I remind myself how I feel when I am multi-tasked, and it gets me out of that mindset.
5 Ways to Single Task Your Direct Reports
Turn away from the computer and directly towards the other person – My biggest distraction is e-mail and instant messenger. If I’m looking at the screen, I feel compelled to respond and not pay attention to what’s going on in front of me. Physically turning away forces me to give my full attention to the person in front of me.
Lean forward towards the person talking – When I lean in, I find myself more engaged in the conversation than when I’m sitting back in my chair. It also helps me hear what the other person is saying and tune out some of the other noise in the office.
Turn off audible alerts on email and instant messenger – If there are outside noises on my computer, it might cause me to glance to see who is trying to reach me. It also might break my concentration, or the concentration of the person talking to me. Noise equals distraction.
Send your phone directly to voicemail (or just ignore it) – I’m fortunate I can send my phone right to voicemail so I’m not interrupted by it when one of my team members is talking to me. Sometimes I forget to do so, in which case I resist the urge to look to see who it is, and I just let it roll to voicemail in 3 rings.
Take your Blackberry out of your pocket and set it to silent – If you are a Blackberry user like me, you might keep it in your pocket or an your hip, set to vibrate, in case something important comes your way. Trust me: NOTHING is more important than the 3 minutes you focus on the problem in front of you right now.
- Do you single task your direct reports?
- What tips have you found most effective?
- What doesn’t work for you?
Photo credit: Make your own tombstone
I completely agree. The temptation to multi-task is huge but science has now proven that there is really no such thing as multi-tasking.
Actuallly, we are shifting our attention in micro-bursts, which means at any given point in time we are not really paying attention at all.
Totally agree. Great Post Phil. Today I was meeting with someone and needed 20 uninterrupted minutes so in the middle of our meeting we moved out of my office to another part of the building where we wouldn’t be disturbed.
Hear, hear, Phil! As Kim says, I think it’s Rock and Schwartz’s work into the neuroscience of leadership, among others, that shows we don’t multi-task – the brain can’t; it jumps back and forth from one focus to the other. And it’s that constant jumping back and forth that is why the brain gets so tired by it. Your ’step away from the screen’ thing, Phil, also applies to children and parenting. If my son comes into the office, I make a point of turning away from the screen to give him my complete attention. That’s all they need from a parent half the time. But, in return, I also expect him to turn away from the Playstation when I ask him something, and show equal consideration by paying attention back…Still working on that one :-) . There is a generational thing in the workplace, too, tho’. Younger employees of mine (I gave up employing people: I wasn’t very good at it) would be working on something on their main screen, while listening to music with one earpiece of their iPod in, having a conversation with me (using the other good ear, but without turning off the iPod) and having at least two chat windows open. This isn’t multi-tasking so much (for the reason Kim outlines – it doesn’t exist) as a trained short attention span. Nano-short, in fact. They seem to get a buzz from the flitting back and forth. A guy at Microsoft once said to me “I work with brilliant minds that have the attention span of a gnat”. That’s a real issue for managers in the workplace today, I think.
When we attempt to do more than one thing at a time it is virtually impossible to do any of them well. The only exception is listening to rock & roll. I do everything while listening to classic rock.
Don’t just set your blackberry/iphone/etc to silent during a meeting, turn off all email notifications. Period. I only keep appointment notifications on so that I am never tempted to check my mail when I’m in the middle of something else.
Great article.
Internet related activities are one of the biggest attention robbers these days. Especially browsing, checking email and now twitter.
I read somewhere that when you are distracted (or you distract yourself) it takes your mind 20 minutes to come back where it was at. But since most of us get distracted more often than every 20 minutes…. we can do the math on this one: We never get anything done.