4 Ways of stopping multitasking and focusing on a single task
Have you ever enjoyed walking and listening to music? Or drinking beer and chatting with your friends? Isn’t it cool to multitask? Doesn’t it make our life more full of action?
Have you ever enjoyed driving a car and chatting with your friends on the phone? Well… it’s obvious that multitasking has its pros and cons.
But what can we do to focus on one task and consequently do it well?
1. Let’s plan
The habit of using the calendar can help a lot. We know that our brain is a pattern based mechanism. And we have this “meetup” pattern, which helps us to get to the meetings and not to get late. What about imagining every task as a meeting with ourselves? Next time let’s schedule every important task in a Calendar app and please, let’s be on time with ourselves!
2. Let the time be your personal motivator
“Damn it, now is 23:30 and I have to send my project till 00:00” – haven’t you noticed that people make impossible possible after such kind of phrases?
Sometimes it’s a good idea to cheat our brain. Next time let’s put a timer in front of us to start doing impossible things. Fake deadlines are hard to use, so let it be our secretly exclusive weapon. But we just cheat our brain? Self-deception would not work! There is a scientific study which proves that even when people know that they deceive themselves - the effect still works. That’s the reason why we get scared watching scary movies. We understand that it’s just a video, but still, we’re afraid.
Link to the study: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015591
3. White noise?
Have you ever tried to listen to the white noise?
White noise is hardcore for first 15 minutes, but later after we get used our brain starts to ignore the audio channel. And all our attention goes to eyes and hands. If the white noise is too difficult for you to listen to- try the brown noise, it’s much more softer.
http://onlinetonegenerator.com/noise.html
4. Empty walls in front of us
Do you remember the situation in your life when you are sitting in a cafe and working on with your laptop? And in front of you people are walking and moving around and your eyes are checking the environment from time to time. This mechanism in our brain is cool, coz it can help us to survive.
For example, we’ll notice if a lion wants to attack us while working on a laptop in an African savanna. So let’s sit in front of the walls and not have any moving object noticeable by our eyes.
Questions:
- Do you agree or disagree with approaches listed above? And why?
- What is your favorite and most effective way of avoiding multitasking during work?
- What music do you like to listen while working? Share with us links in comments (I’m sure you have something better than the white noise)
- Do you create fake deadlines?
Source: “The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It” by Kelly McGonigal
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10865206-the-willpower-instinct
Comments
To be honest I can partly agree with most of approaches listed. I'm not sure if listening to white noise can improve someone's productivity. For me it would be just a noise witch keeps annoying me while I'm trying to do something.
I don't have way to avoid multitasking, because I don't think that it's the worst thing which can happen to us while working. But I have one trick helping to avoid avoiding our work ;) When you work by the computer - don't you EVER minimize window with your work. NEVER. It happened me a few times that I have minimized for example Photoshop with my project and then I've totally forgotten that I was doing something really important and urgent.
While working I avoid listening to fast and rhythmical music because it makes me immediately in a dancing mood and I can't work anymore ;)
I don't need to avoid multitasking I am well organised person and I deal with any of my duties easily.
While working I usually listen some chill playlists on spotify it makes me more concentrated.
I don't think that multitasking is a bad thing - of course wise one. If you have to write some document it is bad to start cleaning an apartament, but reading and responding e-mails meanwhile is not a bad thing.
I like to listen to classic music while I work or guitar, smooth music, sometimes blues. It needs to be something which is not too rough and dynamic, so it does not distract me, but instead, calms me down, so I can focus only on my activity.
I have never heard of a white noise, this is the first time I read about it.
While working and programming I usually listen instrumental movie music. It makes me more focused on my work.
Here is the link to my favourite playlist: https://play.spotify.com/user/1117319416/playlist/6dlwJYNRdkTfZMALZclyIx
That’s why in order to concentrate on one thing I just have to get out of home.
Studying in café, library or even at work is much more effective for me than studying at home.
At home almost everything distracts me form food in fridge to members of my family.
I can't see how listening to the white noise would help in anything honestly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPni755-Krg
Recently I found out that if I listen to something like this, I can really focus on the work. When I listen to some simple relaxing music I tend to get distracted by it. Of course for me it has to be instrumental music. When I hear words I focus on them too much and try to analyze song. I'm not a type of person that believes in this "brain waves" music. Thanks to your article now I know why it was easier for me to work while listening to this :)
Lately I have been using the white noise while studying (I am using the sound of rain) and it really helps me focus and I don't get distracted that easily. Besides I always use the Pomodoro Technique while studying. It makes me more effective and the time passes by more qucikly.
To avoid multitasking I try to set some amount of time to make some actions. When I have 5 projects to do, I can switch between them, but try to do only one at a time.
Often, I'm listening to my favorite music, but I noticed it doesn't help me because I'm trying to listen to the words or getting very emotional because it's my all times favorite song. So, I would like to try to listen to the white noise; it sounds interesting!
But your list is quite interesting, I should try it one day. Maybe it will help me.
About the music during work - I prefer something neutral, like Apparat or Trentemoller, or it could be Chopin. And a cup of tea or coffee. In other way - no job:)