In an earlier posting I wrote about dividing the work day, when possible, between key projects and daily routines/office work. I shared the simple observation that the best way to tackle key projects is through concentrated focus and attention.
We all know this, of course, but we also look up to the person who is skilled at “multitasking.” The evidence points in another direction. The well known writer Peter Drucker made the startling observation,
“I have never encountered an executive who remains effective while tackling more than two tasks at a time.”
Multitasking, per se, is not bad. In the reality of the everyday world, it is often necessary. But it doesn’t mesh well with concentrated focus on important projects. Research conducted at the University of California suggests it takes a person from 6 to 20 minutes to recover and refocus after and interruption. If you are interrupted several times an hour, concentrated focus becomes impossible.
It’s not a question of “either-or’” but “both-and.”
Set aside time in your daily schedule for the multitude of small tasks that need doing, and use your multitasking skills.
But also create chunks of time in your day when you won’t be interrupted. Use these periods for concentrated focus on key projects.
This simply will not happen without planning and discipline. That’s the rub.
If you work to make this happen, the “Tyranny of the Urgent” will take over and your work day will become a constant stream of “multitasking” or “switching” as the author of The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done prefers to call it.
