Revisiting How To Be Productive - Hint - It Ain't in Multitasking!

I came across the photo above when doing some recent research into productivity and multitasking. The picture came from a blog article written by a company called, Activtrak and tackled the issue of multitasking. The article rightly pointed out the pitfalls of multitasking and how, from a productivity standpoint, it is not the best way to get things done. And, in many cases, it keeps employees from doing their best work.

I loved the article and the picture brought a smile to my face. I mean, seriously, look at the woman's face. I can bet you that we all, in our business lives, have felt and looked like her. She is:

·        Being pulled in many directions at the same time

·        Dealing with Projects with deadlines

·        Returning endless phone calls

·        Responding to multiple texts and emails

·        Putting out fires

·        Handling drivebys by your employees

·        Handling her own personal business e.g., scheduling doctor’s appointments, going to kid’s soccer games etc.

All of this can give you a headache, like the one experienced by the woman in the photo. As the article indicates, multitasking, rather than concentrating on one task at a time, can lead to you making mistakes at work, decreasing your productivity, putting out a lower quality of work, can worsen relationships within the workplace and increase your stress levels.

Bottom line - Multitasking is not the best way for you to work. We all have done it and many do it routinely. But it is not the right way.

Those of you who have known me for a while know that I was obsessed with all things productivity and strategic planning when I was still in the enterprise world at Microsoft Global Security. We hired productivity and process mapping experts to make our teams as efficient, strategic, and productive as possible. As busy business people, or even those managing a household, we all have multiple entities all vying for our attention at the same time. But you can implement practices, non-multitasking practices, that can help you nail your most important priorities, and have you leave work each day without feeling like your hair is on fire.

Practice #1: Prioritize!

If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. Too many people, and I have been guilty of that myself in the past, treat every incoming thing to do as a priority. Until something else comes in, then that becomes the priority. It is a vicious, never ending cycle that leads to multitasking.

You must be rigorous in stack ranking the things you need to do daily,. Do not repeat, do not, go for the low hanging, easy-to-do tasks first. Set your priorities and goals for the next day, the evening before. Decide what are the 1-3 things you must get to and nail tomorrow. When you get to the office or your computer at home, start working on these things. When other things come in that need to be taken care of, you must be disciplined enough to determine if what comes in supersedes your top 1-3 priorities. It might. Especially if it is an emergency situation or your boss says you must drop everything to get this new thing done. Barring that, these new items go to the lower priority list. You will get to them.

But only AFTER you get your main priorities done. It isn't easy to do. But if you can't get this one right, your battle to overcome multitasking is lost.

Practice #2: Tame the email and scheduling dilemma

I have done whole blog posts and podcasts about this one. But the bottom line is that if you are constantly checking your email and texts and not managing your calendar properly, you will end up multitasking. And these are the results of that:

·        Answering each email as it comes in is a disaster in waiting. Your focus then moves from your task at hand, to the email. Then the next email, and the next. Oh, and then the next text. Then what happens?

·        You start to take care of the low hanging fruit since it is easier now that you are busy responding to all those emails and texts

·        You find that your calendar shows you in back-to-back meetings almost daily. It makes a lot of people feel productive but it is just the opposite.

The solution? First, set up times during the day to read email. Three to four times during your workday. Don't tell me it can't be done because I have done it and continue to do it, even in retirement. I still have a lot of responsibilities but adhere to the discipline of not looking at email constantly. I got this tip from a book I read many years ago called "Organized for Success," by Stephanie Winston. The author interviewed top CEO's and executives on how they kept themselves organized and productive. One of the tips by several of them was to look at email periodically. They didn't let email dominate them. They dominated the email. Much of the multitasking dilemma comes from constantly looking at and responding to emails. Stop it! If something happens that truly is a "hair on fire" emergency, you'll get a call about it. Most situations, if we are real about it, are not that. They are routine with varying degrees of urgency. Three to four times a day. Period.

Re the calendar, as Nancy Reagan used to say about people with drug issues, "Just Say No." You must be a hard ass on saying no to calendar invitations. Unless you really need to be at a meeting, decline the invitation. Early on in my Microsoft career, I wasn't good at this. I figured if I, as the CSO, were invited to some meeting, then I should go. As I got older and somewhat wiser (some would argue that I was just the opposite!) I realized that this is a fools game. Unless I am in a meeting to help make important decisions, or, my expertise is truly needed, then I don't go. Even if it ruffles feathers. My time is too precious during the workday to go to non-vital meetings. I have been in staff meetings where I have glanced at the calendar of a peer sitting next to me, seeing nothing but a whole week of back-to-back meetings.

All week!

If and when you get some time after all that, you will definitely default to multitasking since you will feel overwhelmed and under the gun. Just say no. If you don't have to be there, don't go.

That's it folks. Sounds simple but it isn't. It takes discipline and the willingness to resist our innate impulses to react to everything that comes our way. You must, especially as a leader, go into the work day telling yourself that everything is not a priority.

It may be important.

But what are the most important things that you need to accomplish that day?

Your answer will dictate how you approach that day.

Prioritize. and tame the email and calendar. Doing this helps you carve out the time to handle those 1-3 priority items that need to be done. It buys you precious hours and minutes to think strategically, vs putting out endless fires leaving you drained at the end of the day. It puts you in a position to make better decisions with less mistakes.

You definitely will be more clear-headed, focused, and decisive.

Look. None of us are perfect at this. I still, on occasion, have to fight the tendency to veer off the path of tackling my priority items first, when something comes in that is vying for my time. But just like a muscle is trained to the point where it does what you want it to do when you need that muscle to perform, I've done this long enough that my default, is to never multitask.

You can do it!

Try it and let me know how it goes.

Till next time.