Just Scramble the Eggs

One morning a few months back, I decided to make scrambled eggs for breakfast. Bob was sipping coffee, catching up on emails and iPad stuff. It was a cool Florida morning – cardinals and bluejays sparring for the cracked corn in the feeder, sunlight dancing on the lake.

I sliced the mushrooms and scallions, added a dash of half ’n half to the beaten eggs and poured it all into the skillet. About then, I heard the signal go off that the clothes in the dryer were finished.

I’ll dash out there, take out the dry load and put in the new load, I thought. When I got out to the garage, I found a grackle that had inadvertently flown in and was desperate to see daylight and trees, his yellow eye quivering with fright. Once I opened the big garage door he made his escape and I carried out my task with the clothes.

I’d forgotten the eggs by now. When I came back to the stove I turned them and saw the brown underside. I knew I’d ruined our breakfast.

The Myth of Multitasking 

Multitasking! You are a myth and I am losing my grip because you’ve convinced me for years that I’ll get more done when I welcome you into my life. You are a smooth-tongued liar and I’m going to expose you.

A little research not only turned up some amazing discoveries for me personally, but applying what I’ve learned has changed the way I now handle my work load.

I found out that in 2007, Microsoft did a classic study on their workers to observe what happened when they responded to email or instant messages. It took them anywhere from 5-10 minutes to deal with the message and then another 10-15 minutes to get back to what they’d been doing before the interruption. A mere three of these distractions an hour meant they got virtually nothing accomplished during that time.

You’ve discovered this yourself. The inefficiency caused by one glance at your phone. What’s the matter with us? We can’t seem to stop ourselves from this behavior and we are now programmed to respond to every ding or flash because we imagine it’s probably more important or exciting than what we are doing.

Along with this addiction to being “in the conversation,” we’ve eradicated our right, our need to pause or to have a moment of silence where nothing else is going on.

Three Detriments of Multitasking

Stress – Multitaskers are notorious for feeling overwhelmed or having too much to do on their plates. They feel they’ll never get it all done unless they do two or three things at once. After awhile, this behavior causes them to go numb to the growing pile of tasks which ultimately leads to procrastination.

Lack of productivity – Last time I checked Amazon, I found 38,315 books listed on the topic of productivity. Almost everybody cares about it, but task-switching sucks up 40% of our ability to be productive. It robs us of the focus and energy it takes to stay on task.

Loss of well-being – Rather than giving us peace and assurance that we’re getting more done, this practice has us jumping from one task to another, one focus to another. It just doesn’t assure that we get much of anything done that matters. The result? More stress, lack of productivity, and a sense of dooming failure.

There’s only one solution.

Why Monotasking is the New Multitasking

In the 1990s multitasking was the buzzword. Twenty years later it’s become so much the norm that it’s rare for any of us to work on only one thing at a time. Current research shows that our brains are just not wired to focus on multiple tasks at once. Multitasking would be better labeled “task-switching.”

Definition: Monotasking is the disciplined commitment of choosing to focus on only one thing at a time. It precludes interruptions and distractions by determining ahead of time how to deal with them when they show up.

What if you could do one thing that would reduce your stress, improve your productivity, and boost your sense of well-being? Would you try it?

One Simple Trick to Keep You Focused

If you’ve never heard of the Pomodoro Technique of staying on task, take a minute to read the info on this link or watch the short video. (Yes, this is sort of multitasking, but it’s part of your research so it’s permissible!)

Three Benefits of Monotasking

Calm Assurance – When I decide to work on one project for three 25 minute segments (a 5 minute break between each), I surprise myself with what I get done in just an hour and a half. At least at the end of the day I can say I’ve whittled down the size of that one thing. It only works if I promise myself I will not check emails, look at FB or Twitter, answer text messages or even get a drink of water.

More Energy – Because I’ve eliminated distractions and interruptions whenever possible, and committed to focus on one thing only, I become energized by what I’m accomplishing. At its best, monotasking can put me in “the zone” or a flow state where creativity opens up and fresh ideas come to mind.

Relaxed and Peaceful – when I keep my promise to do what I planned in the morning for that day – the most important tasks – I find I’m able to let go of the work that isn’t done. It will be there tomorrow and I’ll follow the same course. I feel happy, relaxed and peaceful when I leave for the day.

As a writer, my fundamental task is thinking – uninterrupted, deep and focused thinking. Barking dogs that signify I have a text or dings on my iPhone that announce every email are my enemies. But I know that Chatty Cathee – she’s just so social! I freely admit this Cat is too curious not to see who just chimed in. Silencing the technology while I’m working is my only solution.

Since I’ve been practicing what I’m preaching here I look forward to each day’s work and I know I’m not only getting more done, but the quality of my work is measurably better.

When it all comes back around, I guess the answer is this: if you’re cooking breakfast – just scramble the eggs.