Friend or Foe? The Impact of Multitasking on Your Productivity

BY AMBER DE LA GARZA, THE PRODUCTIVITY SPECIALIST

Long before I started my own business, potential employers found the skill of multitasking proudly listed on my resume. I thought I was great at it. I thought my ability to multitask made me more productive. I thought companies would want to know that I could split my attention in multiple ways. I thought multitasking was my friend, a companion I could lean on to help me get more done in less time. I thought wrong. As work environments become increasingly more demanding, one may think that if you want to be efficient and productive in your work, you should attempt to excel at multitasking. The problem? Multitasking is one big lie!

Things can truly go awry when we attempt to multitask, and I’m sure most of us have a story we could share. Perhaps you were measuring a client’s window, paused to check texts or calls and then ended up scribbling down the wrong dimensions. Custom materials are ordered and you end up eating the cost because you were multitasking. I encourage you to not let it happen again. Time is our most important asset, and attempting to multitask results in wasting it. Great at your job you may be, but you are simply not capable of doing two attentionrequiring activities at once and doing them both well.

In fact, what you may consider multitasking is really switch-tasking or alternating back and forth between tasks rapidly, neither of which are receiving your full attention. Each time you alternate between tasks, you are losing time and focus, which results in increased errors, poor communication and overwhelm. Being efficient requires you to focus on one activity at a time so all your effort and brainpower can be focused on accomplishing that activity well. Multitasking is your foe!

There are two different kinds of temptations to “multitask” that prevent you from working efficiently: internal and external. Be wise and refrain from both.

Internal Multitasking

Internal multitasking occurs when you purposefully give in to self-created distractions. Common examples include stopping to check Instagram in the middle of a project or writing an email and, before hitting send, working on another email that popped into your mind. Other examples of internal multitasking include having multiple tabs open on your computer or working on one project but brainstorming ideas for a different project in your head. These examples are actions triggered by you internally. You are choosing to switch from one task to another.

External Multitasking

External multitasking occurs when someone else interrupts to demand your attention for a different activity than the one you are focused on. Perhaps you are working diligently on a task, project or email and your phone rings. You pick it up and, while speaking to your client, you continue typing your email. You are halffocused on your email and half-focused on what your client is saying. While passively listening to what she’s telling you, you are likely making errors in the email you are writing and you’re certainly are not able to focus on what is being said to you.

Internal and external multitasking are not examples of multitasking at all. They are simply examples of alternating focus from one task to another and not performing either one well. Multitasking is a true misnomer! You cannot accomplish multiple tasks at once that require even a smidgen of your attention. Notably, it takes an average of 23 minutes for someone to return to an original task after an interruption, according to research from Lifehacker. When you have to switch gears back to a previous task after losing focus on it, it takes valuable time to return to the level of concentration you were at previously, thus decreasing your productivity.

When you feel overwhelmed and get the itch to multitask, do this instead:

1. Take a deep breath in and exhale slowly. You’ve got this! 2. Remind yourself you’d merely be switch-tasking, which is unproductive. 3. Take a break if needed to relax and refuel so you can refocus. 4. Return to the task you were working on and invest all your time, focus and energy into completing that one task. 5. Once that task is completed, move on to the next task. 6. Repeat.

Don’t buy into “The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing It All’ Gets Nothing Done”, as Dave Crenshaw calls it in his book. This simple, yet powerful, book shows clearly why multitasking is, in fact, a lie that wastes time and costs money. Far from being efficient, multitasking could even damage productivity and relationships at work and at home. Mindlessly tap your toe or chew gum all you want while designing a floor plan or choosing window treatments, but if multiple tasks ever require your focus—even just a little bit of it—do yourself this favor: Complete one task, then move on to the next. V

Amber De La Garza, aka The Productivity Specialist, is a sought-after coach, trainer, speaker, writer, host of the “Productivity Straight Talk” podcast and creator of the S.T.O.P. Leverage Formula. She helps small business owners improve their time management and elevate their productivity to maximize profits, reduce stress and make time for what matters most.

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