distractions

Master of None (Multi-Tasking Misery)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Remember that time when I wrote about the Pomodoro Technique?

That was definitely one of my favourite posts of the Life Hack series that we’ve had so far – it addressed time management and cutting out multi-tasking. But I know that a lot more can be written about both concepts, especially as solo posts, which is why I’ve decided to dedicate today’s post specifically to the topic of Multi-Tasking Misery.

In case you need a refresher, here is what I had to say the first time around when it came to … Multi-task misery. Learn to multi-task the right way, by cutting it out of your life. If you keep a million tabs open on your browser, you’re gonna have a bad time. Please remove distractions while you work and spend time with others. Turn off your phone, close your tablet, and focus on the task at hand.

If you do your homework on the topic of multi-tasking, you will discover rather quickly that there are a few schools of thought on the subject. For the sake of simplicity, we are going to break them down into two groups – believers and researchers.

Believers act as if.

The idea behind the phrase “act as if” is straightforward. It uses the Law Of Attraction, which is the idea that if we act as if something already exists for us, whether that thing is a physical or mental possession, we will somehow create conditions to have that thing be realized in our lives.

It’s a cool idea in theory, but I have to wonder how realistic that expectation is.

What I am getting at dear readers, is that believers act as if multi-tasking works and therefore they set up the conditions for them to accomplish multiple tasks at any given time. Whether this is good or bad, believers often get what they expect.

On the other side of the coin are the researchers. Researchers have used experience and testing to determine if multi-tasking is really the way to go. I’ll give you a hint as to the answer, I’m covering this group off second, and I was taught to end a point with your stronger argument.

Multi-taskers are in fact truly guilty of task-switching, because people cannot physically do more than one task at a time. What they are really doing is using up precious energy jumping between tasks, never really getting in the zone, and ultimately wasting important productivity. This loss comes in the forms of longer individual task completion time, error increases, and wasted brain power.

Let’s talk more about that wasted brain power. According to this article, research shows that while multi-tasking does slow you down, it also effects your IQ points. People can experience drops of 15 points from multi-tasking, which is equivalent to staying up all night or smoking marijuana. What this means is that your cognitive function goes down and your decision making ability is limited.

And there is also research that indicates that using your phone, laptop, and tablet while on another activity, say television for instance, can permanently reduce your brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex, AKA the place where you experience empathy and emotional control.

So what’s a creative to do? Especially when we are so used to  jumping back and forth on multiple projects, emails, and visual stimuli? I have another article that will help, but below is a nice short list.

  1. Plan your day in blocks – which I’ve written about at length recently
  2. Manage your interruptions by taking a deep breath every time an external OR internal prompt comes up, then use 5 minutes to refocus
  3. Turn off computer notifications and flip your phone to be back side up
  4. If you have a wandering mind, especially in meetings, acknowledge the thought or thoughts, but quickly remind yourself where you are and get back to the task at hand
  5. Emergencies happen – instead of using the dreaded multi-task, stop and note where you were, especially what you were going to do next. Then deal with the problem at hand. Once done you can refresh the other task more easily.

Another life hack covered, and another tool to put on your belt my friends. But what do you think of this theory, is it whack or a great hack? Please share, subscribe, and comment if you’re up to the challenge. Otherwise, I’m theoried out for the day, so I’ll hit you back tomorrow with Nextfest.

 

Tim!

 

The Best Laid Plants (Plan To Make Plans)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Remember a week ago when I said we were done with the preliminary series of Life Hacks AKA Skills To Invest In?

Well while that was true, I wasn’t telling you that we were done altogether, only that we were done with the basic concepts.  This is because we did touch on each concept in one way or another dear readers, but we didn’t spend dedicated time on 2 topics in particular, and I want to get to them this month.

Which is why today we’re going to focus the first topic – Planning To Make Plans. Before we dig into it, let’s take a peek at the skill summary:

Plan regularly! Build routines to start your day AND end your day. You are going to have to organize throughout the day too, so make an outline to insure you aren’t starting from scratch over and over. Please also set deadlines for major projects by planning ahead. You’ll benefit from organizing your desk/workspace, minutes save hours, believe me.

We will definitely hit all four of those highlighted points dear readers, but if you’re patient with me, you just might foresee the great plan being laid out.

1. I don’t care who you are or what stage of life you are at, it’s important to have a daily routine and to schedule your days in a way so that they always start & end the same. How do you accomplish this you ask? Try theming your days

Monday – production and creating
Tuesday – management, company identity, and running your business
Wednesday – production and creating
Thursday – marketing, communications, and partnerships
Friday – production and creating
Saturday – FUN, aka relaxation
Sunday – reflection, feedback, strategy for the upcoming week

2. Organizing throughout the day can be daunting, especially with all the various forms of distraction we have so handy in our lives. But if focus on what exactly you want to accomplish that day, or to put it another way, what positive influence do you need to make on the world and that follows your passions for life, you can then set up an outline that will cover your needs. Especially with so many internal or external distractions, model your days (on Sunday) so that you hit four or five points throughout the day each day of the week

WORK – 2-3 tasks you need accomplished that day
PLAY – dedicated time for fun and recharging activities
FOOD – both prep and eating should be identified
HEALTH – to slot in exercise and self-care
MIND – for reading, learning, and simple reflections

3. Deadlines always seem scary, but guess what? You’ve already started to lay the groundwork to fit them into your routine. By coming up with a weekly and daily schedule, you can very easily develop a monthly schedule too. This is where deadlines can be helpful – You should never set deadlines for the non-creative work, as a creative professional, but you should set deadlines for projects, within reason. Where the reason comes in is somewhat subjective, but essentially you don’t want the deadline to be so far out that it loses meaning, or so close that it overwhelms, you need to find that 2-4 week sweet spot.

4. Organizing your desk and/or work space: Or how to keep your creative space inspirational. No matter what kind of creative person you are, you must know that your environment effects your creativity. But the question remains, how do you make your space both visually interesting & comfortable to work in?

– Have beautiful objects around you and music that motivates
– Organize based on your personal aesthetic and make it functional, -with stocked supplies
– You need to control the light – have access to daylight, but be able to to dim for abstract thought
– Comfort is crucial – your seat, your clothes, your shoes, the temperature… all important
– Remove distractions (phone, social media, TV, children) and troublesome clutter

This might seem like news to you, common sense or somewhere in between, but no matter what stage of planning your life is in, we all benefit from these types of theories because our current technologies are incredibly efficient at depriving us from focus – Dangerously so. But that’s just a theory after all.

I’m out of theories for now, but be sure to check back tomorrow when I examine something timely and lay out the monthly schedule.

Tim!