What Is Multitasking?

Multitasking is the process of doing multiple things or tasks at the same time. Multitasking can be made of tasks that require only mental work, physical work, or a combination of the both. An example of multitasking is driving and talking on the cell phone at the same time.

Why Multitasking Does Not Work

Numerous research shows that we humans are not capable of multitasking. What seems like multitasking is actually our brain switching from one task to another. Those who think they are good at multitasking are actually good at switching from one task to another, as our brain cannot process tasks simultaneously. It is good at switching between tasks quickly, however. So the whole concept of multitasking is a human delusion, as our brain is very good at deluding itself.

Why Multitasking is Bad

Multitasking can cause stress, as much as 40 percent drop in productivity, and 10 percent drop in IQ, as a Harvard Business Review post points out. Also, multitasking while driving causes 20 to 30 percent crashes annually in America. Tasks involving multitasking can cause 50 percent more errors and take 50 percent longer to finish, research shows.

But How It Is Possible to Perform Some Tasks Simultaneously?

If multitasking is bad and our brain can’t multitask, how come we do some of these tasks together? For example, talking on the phone and watching TV, cooking several items together, reading and listening music, writing and watching TV, and so on? The answer – these are not actually multitasking; we don’t need our brain to fully concentrate and pay attention to perform these tasks. If you really want to test if you can multitask or not, try writing an article and taking notes from a lecture at the same time, or pay your bill online and instruct your kid how to play a game at the same time.

Last Word

We do not multitask, but we switch from task to task. Be more productive and efficient by concentrating on one task at a time. Do fewer things, but do it better. Make life simple and less stressful – don’t multitask.

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The Continuous Depletion of Time Account

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Do Not Waste Your Most Valuable Resource – Time. The One-Shot Supply of This Mostly Precious Asset Should Not Be Taken As Granted

When we were born, we all started with one-time supply of our time on earth. If you consider your first day on earth as Day 1 and assume you will live up to 100 years of age, here is what you have:

100 years X 365 days = 36500 days X 24 Hours = 876,000 hours.

These numbers are the same for everyone. Whether we are old or young, black or white, religious or atheist, the world’s richest person or the world’s poorest person, all of us have the same amount of time to waste and to utilize. Time is neutral, does not discriminate, and does not treat anyone unfairly.  

The moment you were born, you started depleting your time account. Although some of us may live longer than others, but we can’t stretch time beyond our mortality. Think of time as your bank account where you have 876,000 units (or more or less depending on how long you live) deposited for you only once. There is no way you will be able to deposit more units or manipulate your account to inflate your units.

Yet, most of us take this most valuable and precious resource for granted and keep wasting it till the day when we have nothing left in our time bank account. The difference between a successful person and failed person in every aspect of time is the results of how successfully or poorly each utilized their time.

Let me give you some examples of how poorly we waste our time which can never be deposited back into our time account. These examples are hilarious and sad at the same time, as we failed to value our most precious resource, “Time”, which can never be recovered.

- Driving hours to save $10
- Standing in long lines and wasting hours to get free stuff
- Sleeping away the whole afternoon
- Buying and then returning something many times and spending endless hours doing so
- Spending hours watching useless TV channels like talk shows and reality shows
- Spending unproductive hours online on sites like Facebook, YouTube, etc.

These examples can go on and on. But you should have an idea already how people are endlessly wasting time without realising what they are doing.

Stop the leakage of your most valuable asset – your time. Consider every moment of your time is precious and understand that it will never be regained. Utilize each unit of time properly and in productive ways. Lifetime success and happiness will be upon you if you can successfully manage and use each and every unit. Time is what makes the difference between a winner and a loser. Don’t wait for that moment to regret when you will have only the last remaining units in your time account.

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Stop Rushing to Become Productive and Save Time

You have seen them everywhere – people rushing to everything they do, 24/7. They have become so habituated to rushing that it has become a norm in their daily living. Ever wonder why and where they are rushing to reach? Will it be ever possible for them to sit back, relax, and enjoy a moment life has to offer?
Today, I am going to describe why rushing actually slows you down, and if you were rushing until now, it is time to take your time to concentrate on the moment and achieve the most out of your life.

Rushing is Unhealthy – Rushing will make you unhealthy and will shorten your life. Rushing increases stress hormones and also increases inflammation in the body. Rushing also has been linked with obesity as rushing leads to overeating and unhealthy eating habits.

Lack of Focus – When you rush, it is impossible to focus on doing your best on what you are doing at present. If you don’t concentrate and put in your best, your results will be sloppy and you are actually lagging behind in the long run with the poor quality and performance.

Wasting of Time – When you rush, you think that you are saving time. But actually, you are wasting your time. If you are not taking your time to produce something at its excellence, you will eventually end up doing the same thing over and over – taking a lot more time had you done the same work taking your time in the first place.

Lost Opportunities – When you rush, your intention is to finish what you are doing as fast as possible – and nothing else. This leads you to missing opportunities, ideas, improvement, and much more. When Newton saw an apple falling from the tree, if he was rushing to see it, he would not have discovered gravity. When you rush into something, you missed all opportunities associated with it.

When you do not appreciate life and the time you have and rush into everything, you won’t be able to better yourself and appreciate the limited time you have here on earth.

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Wake Up and Feel Fresh In The Morning

In this article I am not going to talk about how to sleep enough to wake up naturally without an alarm clock. Nor will I talk about how to make waking up a regular habit so you don’t need an alarm clock anymore. While I don’t disagree that it may be beneficial and a good habit to wake up at the same time daily, it may not be a realistic option to wake up at the same time for everyone due to various work-life circumstances. I am not in the position to afford the luxury of waking up at a pre-set time daily due to my lifestyle – and I am dependant on alarm clocks to meet my lifestyle demands. Today, I am going to discuss how to wake up in the morning effectively without causing too much stress and strain on your health.

Keep Your Alarm Clock Out of Reach – Do not keep your alarm clock too close. If you do, chances are you will stop your alarm clock and go back to sleep without knowing. When you wake up in the morning, your mind is not fully conscious yet, and even without realising you will go back to sleep again. Don’t keep it too close and not too far either. It should be placed somewhere that requires you to get up and move from your sleeping position to get it.

Use Gentle Alarm Tone – Do not use a harsh or too loud alarm tone. Use a gentle tone that makes you happy or gives you positive vibrations when you hear it. An alarm tone is the first thing you are starting your day with. If this is harsh and annoying, it’s bound the set you off for the whole day.

Don’t Rush Out of Bed – Once you are up and awake, don’t jump out of bed or rush to leave the bed. Take a deep breath in and out a few times, slowly sit up, and then slowly walk to the washroom.

Splash Cold Water – Splash some cold water (not too cold either) on your face, it will invigorate your senses and will make you happy and fully awake. Don’t forget to drink a glass of water.

Take an Invigorating Shower – Taking a shower works perfect for me to make me cheerful and get ready for the day. However, if I plan to work out or need to do some cleaning, I skip my shower right after waking up.

There are some specific things that work for specific people. The art is to find out what works for you and perform those to make your day more productive and a joyous one.

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Handling an Accumulated Backlog of Work

I have a schedule for most of the tasks I perform on a daily basis. I know exactly what I am going to be doing on each day of a week. For example, I know what my assigned tasks are for next week’s Monday, or even for next month’s Monday. This strategy works out to be perfect because instead of doing one big task for hours, I break it down into days and I don’t feel like I am doing something that is draining my energy and taking too much time. The main problem with this strategy is that if you skip a day (due to an appointment or some unexpected events) or a week (due to vacation or business trip), you will be overwhelmed by the accumulated backlog of tasks and it will not be easy to get back into the flow again. How can you handle situations like this when you are way behind?

My simple solution is that I let go the days or week I missed and start again from the beginning of the cycle. Let me give you an example to make it a little clearer. My workout schedule is something like this:

Monday: Yoga

Tuesday: Lower Body Workouts

Wednesday: Squash

Sunday: Upper Body Workouts

Now, if I miss one day, there is no point in me doing the rest because each of these is part of a program and they complement each other. So if I miss one day, instead of going to the next day it makes sense for me to start it all over again from day 1.

Another example should make it even clearer. Instead of writing a full article in one sitting, I break it down into parts and write a little bit every day. Let’s say I am scheduled to write an article for the Entrepreneur Journey site this week. I would write a little bit daily for the whole week to make it a complete article. Now, if I miss a couple of days in the beginning or in the middle, there is no way for me to finish the full article on time. So, instead of pressuring myself, I would set aside writing for that week and start again the next week.

The strategies mentioned above may or may not work for you – depending on how you handle your daily tasks. If you like to tackle one big task at a time, this may not work for you. In that case, you need to come up with other strategies to get rid of your backlogged tasks. However, if you handle smaller tasks daily like me, take a break if your are off schedule – you will be surprised to see the renewed level of energy and enthusiasm when you restart your cycle after a few days of unexpected but calculated break.

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Time Management and Personal Development

One of the biggest reasons that people do not achieve anything in their lives is because they get lazy. Another big reason is that people say they simply do not have the time. A person will say they would love to learn a new language, but they just do not have the time to do it. This is incorrect and a cheap way out. It is a way for people to keep from bettering themselves because it is a good excuse. In fact, you do have the time because it comes down to time management. In order to practice good time management, you need to do the following:

1. Make a list of the things you do in a day that are done every day. This can include making meals, getting ready for work, going to work, being at work and spending time with the family. Add all this up and determine how many hours that is.
2. Add in eight hours sleep and then subtract the total from 24 hours.
3. See how many hours you have at this point. Those are hours you can use for personal development

So, if you spend eight hours at work, one hour going to work, one hour getting read, one hour preparing meals and three hours with the family, you get the following amount of hours: 14. Add in eight hours and that comes to 20 hours, which leaves you four hours every day that you can use to better yourself. Four hours multiplied by 365 days means that in one year, if you keep to a schedule, you have the potential to use 1,460 hours to better yourself, that comes to a whopping 60 full hours per year. That is a huge amount of time you can use to change who you are and to better yourself. Granted you will not use all that time for personal development. Movies, walks, sports will all take time out of that but even cutting that in half you get one full month of time to better yourself. That is a month you can use to lose weight, learn a language and more and all it takes is scheduling your time properly. Should you sit on the couch and watch television instead? Sure that is okay, as long as it fits into your time management scheme, however don’t let it become a habit or your decision to better yourself will fail to the background.

You need to make yourself a time budget when you are trying to better yourself personally. This will tell you how much time you can spend on something and you cannot go over budget. You got five hours of television a week? Well, use them wisely. You can’t go over with a financial budget, and you cannot go over with a time budget. That is what bettering yourself comes down to, having discipline to make the commitment to change who you are and what you are.

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