Very well written article as usual. I am very aware of our short attention span and the effect of what we like to call “multitasking” on our overall performance. However, for many it is simply not possible to shut off all distractions and have a certain amount of time just for their work. Is there anything a person can do to minimize the amount needed to get back into optimal performance in the case of an unavoidable distraction?
Distractions come in all types and shapes - including your own thoughts even when the environment is well managed. The only way around that is to be profoundly connected to the task you are doing such that it takes all your attention and crowds out all distraction - which is precisely why I kept this strategy in part 3, if we don’t start with what we covered in parts 1 and 2 then no strategy will live long enough.
That said, we always have to identify our sacred hours where we know distraction is the least (usually in the AM/PM bookends) and guard those.
I still multitask but with that in mind, I am aware now of how it impacts my work performance and affects my mental state-especially at work; checking emails, responding to text messages and phone calls, talking to people, checking my schedule-while walking to attend an unscheduled meeting. Due to our 'selective attention' process, we tend to consciously attend to one event while suppressing distractions. When we are 'multitasking'- or as I can see it, squeezing tasks into our limited attention span, we are overwhelming our system, which could still work, but it will definitely be compromised in terms of quality and efficiency, and would lead to frustration..
Indeed, we compromise quality when we multi-task. That is not to say not to multi-task, we can do the laundry and watch a football match at the same time. However, knowing there is compromise allows us to make a choice when we know the task is critical and requires our creativity.
Very well written article as usual. I am very aware of our short attention span and the effect of what we like to call “multitasking” on our overall performance. However, for many it is simply not possible to shut off all distractions and have a certain amount of time just for their work. Is there anything a person can do to minimize the amount needed to get back into optimal performance in the case of an unavoidable distraction?
Distractions come in all types and shapes - including your own thoughts even when the environment is well managed. The only way around that is to be profoundly connected to the task you are doing such that it takes all your attention and crowds out all distraction - which is precisely why I kept this strategy in part 3, if we don’t start with what we covered in parts 1 and 2 then no strategy will live long enough.
That said, we always have to identify our sacred hours where we know distraction is the least (usually in the AM/PM bookends) and guard those.
I still multitask but with that in mind, I am aware now of how it impacts my work performance and affects my mental state-especially at work; checking emails, responding to text messages and phone calls, talking to people, checking my schedule-while walking to attend an unscheduled meeting. Due to our 'selective attention' process, we tend to consciously attend to one event while suppressing distractions. When we are 'multitasking'- or as I can see it, squeezing tasks into our limited attention span, we are overwhelming our system, which could still work, but it will definitely be compromised in terms of quality and efficiency, and would lead to frustration..
Indeed, we compromise quality when we multi-task. That is not to say not to multi-task, we can do the laundry and watch a football match at the same time. However, knowing there is compromise allows us to make a choice when we know the task is critical and requires our creativity.