How to Avoid Multitasking and Use Time Blocking to Boost your Productivity

Most of the time, we moms tend to multitask. We do everything, usually, all at the same time, because that’s how life seems to necessitate.

Cook and entertain a baby? Yep, part of the job description. Change a diaper while on a phone call or on hold? Same. But should this multitasking extend to our professional life?

This post is part of our 31 days of tips for Working Moms to find Calm in the Chaos of Life series.

What is Multitasking?

Multitasking is when you perform two or more tasks simultaneously (at the same time). For me, this usually looks like listening to an audiobook or podcast while working on spreadsheets. I can do this when the work I’m doing doesn’t require 100% of my concentration. Otherwise? I find myself either not working, or not listening.

You might ask yourself, is it possible to multitask or are there any negative effects of multitasking? Many say there are! In fact, according to Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience at MIT, people only think they’re multitasking. What they’re actually doing is switching rapidly between tasks. But it takes more mental energy to get back on task, causing a decline in productivity.

Some negative effects of multitasking are:

• We lose focus when interrupted, such as losing our train of thought.
• We waste time refocusing on each task after switching from task to task.
• We don’t retain as much information, having to repeat work (re-read) in order to keep up.
• We may make more mistakes as our attention is divided between tasks.
• We have a harder time filtering out distractions if we get in the habit of always multitasking.

 

What is Single-Tasking?

Monotasking, also known as single–tasking, is the practice of dedicating oneself to a given task and minimizing potential interruptions until the task is completed or a significant period of time has elapsed. {Source}

Monotasking can be accomplished by batching or time blocking, allowing us to focus on an activity for a set time.

When you batch activities, that means you work on similar activities together. One example is doing research on a specific topic, or a set of specific topics. When you’re already out there finding references and taking notes, you’ll get more done faster if you research several topics and save your notes, rather than coming back tomorrow to do research on a different related topic.

So how do you Time Block?

Time blocking is when you designate a set time on your calendar to focus on a specific task. This means you actually write the activity on your calendar, with a start and end time.

Related: The Pomodoro Technique is a great tool to apply to your time blocks.

It helps when you have several hours to focus on one activity, rather than jumping from email to email. And yes, you can even time block a set schedule to check email!

Here’s an example of a day on my calendar where I time blocked work in between all the other appointments and meetings I have.  I know I will have limited time to get work done this day between my son’s dentist appointment and my back-to-back meetings in the afternoon, so I know I need to put all my focus for those two “free” time blocks to really get my projects done. And yes, after missing time in the morning I’m likely to eat lunch at my desk to make up some of the time.

 

Also, putting those on my calendar means I show up as unavailable in Outlook and Jabber if someone wants to message me or set up another meeting, allowing me to continue to focus.

Some benefits of time blocking are:

• It makes you think about your task list and consider how long something may take to complete.
• It makes you look at your schedule to find pockets of time you can focus on an activity.
• It helps you focus and turn plans into action.
• It increases productivity!
• If you’re like me and have to bill your time to projects, it helps you keep track of time spent on certain tasks.

You can time block for the week ahead or daily. You can plan out your tasks at the end of the day to start tomorrow on a more productive note, or see how things look when you start work for the day to assign blocks of time where you need to. Some people like to plan their week in detail on Sunday night – if this is you – great! Just be consistent!

What if you run out of time and are not done with the task? Well, this happens. If you run out of time because another interruption is scheduled (a meeting or you have to leave to make daycare pickup), then make a note of where you left off and your train of thought, and resume your progress next time you sit down to the task.

If you finish before your time block is up, that’s fine too. Pick a similar task to transition to (following our batching technique), or start your next task early.

Monotasking will take some practice, but it has been proven to be the better method. Letting your brain focus on one task for a longer period of time is the best way to improve productivity. What type of tasks do you time block or batch?

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This post is part of the 31 Tips for Working Moms series. See the rest of the posts here: