Single-tasking is becoming the new multi-tasking.
The last 20-30 years has been the golden age for "multi-tasking." In just about every job description, interview and annual review, one's ability to "multi-task" has been a topic of conversation.
We believed multi-tasking would improve productivity; though research has shown that multi-tasking can actually decrease productivity by up to 40%. But what we really didn't foresee was the impact multi-tasking would have to other critical skills. Skills like learning, innovation and focus.
The next meeting you're in, I want you to take a look around. Count the number of people that are distracted, sorry, multitasking. Count the number of people on devices (phones, laptops, tablets, etc) and the number of times someone asks for information to be repeated; the number of emails that happen after the meeting to seek clarification on tasks and asks. This is wasted time. Wasted productivity. If multi-tasking is so great, why is so much time wasted because of it?
Multi-tasking has impacted our ability to focus. We can't sit in a 30 minute meeting and apply all of our focus. Whether multi-tasking is something we feel compelled to do from habit or from fear of "falling behind," multi-tasking is damaging our ability to dig in and focus.
Learning and innovation are the other two critical areas that multitasking has damaged. Change is one of the few constants in a professional setting. Skills we learned in college or even a short five years ago are no longer applicable. We have to be continually learning and adapting to new information. We can't absorb, process, retain and apply new information while "multi-tasking."
Innovation requires new mental models to be created and applied to old (or new) problems. We cannot innovate while we're firing off emails and texts. The reason "hackathons" are so powerful is because for 24-48 hours, teams are entirely focused on solving a problem (singular!). These teams are mono-tasking! They remove distractions, remove the illusion of "productivity" and they focus on the problem in front of them. Once that problem is solved, they solve the next. And the next. One at a time.
We need to bring back "mono-tasking" especially in the areas of learning and innovating. We are in desperate need of re-training ourselves to be present in the moment and to apply all of our concentration to the task (singular!) at hand.
The next time you have something that requires all of your focus...put the phone down, silence it, turn your email notifications off and give yourself 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted thinking time. You may surprise yourself with how much you can accomplish and learn!
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