Has this happened to you?
I'm really glad we get to spend a nice quiet meal together tonight.
I know it's really rare to just sit down and concentrate on us but I'm really like it when
we...
BEEP
Do you have to get on your phone again?!?
Do you have to respond to every noise it makes?
I can...this might be something important.
It could be like work related...hold on.
I'm sure it's just another tweet.
Well...but...like...I mean...what?
Technology has completely changed how with interact with each other, our work, and ourselves.
We’re bombarded with 5 times as much information as we were in the 80s, it pulls us in through
immediate notifications, and people expect immediate responses no matter where you are
and what you’re doing.
Most of us cope by “multitasking” — doing two things at once.
We keep our email open while we work on documents, continue texting with one group of friends
while we’re hanging out with another, and scroll through Twitter while watching Netflix.
Here’s the thing though — humans can’t multitask!
Now if we’re doing two different things at the same time, and one of them is something
we’ve done a bunch of times, we can sorta multitask.
Like driving your daily commute and listening to music.
But the moment one of those tasks gets difficult, like driving in a new part of town or trying
to find a parking spot, you’re going to have to turn off the music.
When people think they’re multitasking…
I’m doing my homework and watching TV!!!
Rachel will you accept this rose?
Wait..who just...who did he give it to?
…what they’re actually doing is quickly switching from one thing to another.
Try watching both of these videos at the same time.
This isn’t multitasking, it’s called task switching, and it makes you dumb.
Most people think they’re really good at multitasking but when psychologists studied
this in the lab they found people made 20% more mistakes when multitasking.
Not only are you doing a worse job when you multitask but it also takes a lot longer to
get things done.
And the more you multitask, the harder it becomes to recover from distractions.
Your brain is built to do one thing at a time…and even that takes effort!
The default setting on your brain is day dreaming mode.
This is where your thoughts wander from one thing to another.
But focused attention is super complex task.
You have to filter out distractions in your environment, ignore thoughts about doing something
that’s more interesting, remember important information, make decisions about what to
do, and solve problems as they come up.
All that work is really exhausting for your brain.
And after awhile, your brain needs to switch back to day dreaming mode in order to recharge.
Protip - Every couple of hours take a break from your work and daydream.
Just let your mind wander as you go on a walk, look out a window, or listen to music.
And no, you can’t read your email or check social media — stuff like that triggers
focused attention and undoes your daydreaming recharge.
This is why I hate open offices.
While they make employees feel more connected, all those distractions have been found to
hurt attention spans, productivity, creativity, and lead to more stress.
Open offices take away control of your environment.
When you can’t control your environment and limit distractions, your attention is
going to suffer and you’ll do a bad job.
The most important skill you need to learn to be productive is to concentrate on one
thing at one time.
Learning how to pick a task, embracing it fully, silencing your phone and putting it
away, closing all the other tabs on your browser, shutting the door, blocking out other noises
in the environment, and keeping it up for a set period of time — that is what’s
going to lead to success in this era of constant distraction.
How do you stay focused when you need to get work done?
Let me know in the comments below.
I’m at Ali Mattu on Twitter.
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