How to Stop Multitasking and Start Unitasking
Though in the workplace, you will be praised for being able to multitask, this can greatly affect your mental health by causing stress. It is a misconception that being able to juggle several tasks at the same time can save you time and energy. In reality, multitasking can prevent you from dedicating the needed attention for each project, causing you to be more prone to error because you are too busy trying to do everything at once. Take a step back and take control of your life and work habits by unitasking. This can relieve stress, assist with setting priorities and prove to be overall more effective.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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1
Get to your job ten minutes early and take a deep breath. Relax before you begin to think about the work day that lies ahead of you. Jot down on a notepad five important things that you need to accomplish in the morning. Write the list from most important to least. Do not schedule anything during your lunch break. When you return from lunch, write the list for the afternoon tasks.
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Instead of checking your e-mail every five minutes and listening to your voice mail every time the red light indicates a message, assign yourself designated checking times. Write down the exact time that you will check your messages. If your job demands close attention to your messages, check once every hour. Even if you check four times before lunch, you will feel better knowing that there are set check-in times.
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If you feel tired, take a quick five minute break to reboot. Take a quick walk, drink coffee or stretch. Clearing your mind is important when you have many responsibilities. If you neglect to take this break, you might feel overwhelmed and more compelled to multitask to hurry up whatever urgent task needs to get done by the end of the work day.
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When you are working on a project, devote your full attention to it to prevent errors. If the phone rings, and you are in the middle of something, ask the receptionist to take a message. Finish the task completely before jumping into another one. If someone comes in and needs your approval on something, instead of giving a quick answer, ask for a better time to go over the topic. If you think things through, pressure will not build up as easily.
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Understand how valuable your time is. Once you understand this, you will be able to enforce appointments and stick to a schedule that will benefit you. Working late is acceptable once in a while, but it cannot become a daily routine. Make sure you know what your priorities are to your job as well as to your own life outside of your career.
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Close your door when you need to. In today's workplace, people often view closed doors as a sign of unavailability, which is looked down upon. To many, an ideal employee should be accessible at all times. This attitude can affect a person's work performance negatively because of the constant pressure to always be on. Ten minutes of tranquility and peace can allow you to devote more availability during the rest of the day.
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Tips & Warnings
Switching from a multitasker to a unitasker is difficult to do overnight. Take baby steps until you are fully comfortable with the adjustment.
The unitasking approach may not go well with some employers. Be sure to emphasize what a good worker you are and how you can manage to do an amazing job without juggling ten tasks at once.
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