You’ve probably heard this before. But keep reading, there’s a bigger point I want to make here.
Research suggests that what we call “multitasking” isn’t actually us doing several things at once. Instead, it’s more like rapid task switching. We spend a little time in one context, jump to another, then bounce back again. It’s more like pinball than spinning plates. And it turns out this “multitasking” is far less efficient than simply focusing on one thing at a time.
But like I said, most of us already know this at some level.
So why do we keep doing it?
Because it feels productive. When you’re bouncing between tasks it feels like being in a Rocky training montage. You’re exerting effort, keeping your mind busy, and it feels like you’re getting a lot done.
But in reality, multitasking just puts you in slow motion. Time and time again, studies have shown that people who try to multitask, accomplish less than those who focus on one thing at a time. And it’s not just slower. The lack of focus produces an inferior result!
The Desire to Multitask is a Signal
Despite everything I preach about the importance of focus, I still fall into this multitasking trap almost daily.
Come in my office on any random weekday and I’m likely to have 30 browser tabs open, three half-written emails, and a pile of random papers on my desk. And I do the same thing when I’m trying to be productive around the house. I’ll unload the top rack of the dishwasher, then pick up some toys, then wipe off the table, then back to the dishwasher. There’s no method to the madness, I’m just chasing that multitasking high.
But I’ve learned to treat the urge to multitask as a warning bell. When I feel that pull to bounce between tasks, that’s telling me soemthing. It’s a sign that I want to procrastinate. Either there’s something I know I should be doing that I’m avoiding through busywork, or I haven’t taken the time to clarify my priorities enough to know what I should be doing.
So I’ve come to see multitasking as a choice I’m making to feel productive instead of doing the harder work of determining what I should be doing and then focusing intensely on that one thing.
Multitasking is just one way we perform what Cal Newport calls pseudo-productivity, “The use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort.” (Slow Productivity, 22).
What I’ve found is that disciplining myself to finish one task before moving to the next isn’t just more effective. It’s actually more fulfilling.
How to Practice Single-Tasking
Treat single-tasking like a discipline. It’s a small act of faithfulness in how you steward your attention. Here are a few ways to start:
- Name your next action. Before you sit down to work, identify the one thing you’re going to do. Not a list of five things. One thing. Write it down if it helps.
- Close the tabs. Literally. If it’s not what you’re working on right now, close it. You can reopen it later.
- Set a container. Use a timer (even just 30 minutes) and commit to staying in one task until it goes off. No switching.
- Notice the urge. When you feel the pull to jump to something else, pause. Ask yourself: Am I avoiding something? Have I actually decided what’s most important right now?
- Apply it everywhere. When you write, just write. When you pray, just pray. When you’re watching a movie with your family, just watch the movie. Full presence is its own reward.
The goal here isn’t robotic efficiency. Don’t beat yourself up because you try to multitask at times throughout the day, just notice it as a signal and adjust accordingly.
What we’re after with single-tasking is faithfulness: Doing whatever our hand finds to do with all our might (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
