Multitasking is an enemy of productivity
5 simple ways to fix your productivity loss.
When talking about multitasking in life, most of us might think about doing several activities at the same time. It is true that doing several tasks simultaneously makes us feel overwhelmed and less productive, and all of us know it is better to avoid doing so. However, there is a single place that is most of the time overlooked (and might also have the most influence on our work routine). Yes, it is our computer.
The modern computer has an excessive computational power as we could not imagine twenty years ago. Nowadays we can simultaneously run several programs, surf the internet and play background music videos at the same time. While we are avoiding doing physical tasks simultaneously at all costs, we are doing it extremely with our computer. So, it is not surprising if someday you ended up achieved nothing except surfing and watching lots of internet contents.
Think back to the time that we can only do a single thing at a time, here are five tips that will boost your productivity in front of the computer from near zero to something you will be really proud of.
1. Turn of the Wifi
Wireless internet is a cool thing, right? Not always, especially when what you want is productivity.
All of the modern devices now included Wifi connectivity and we are always connected to the internet without noticing. Now, getting distracted by the internet is just a single click to the web browser. The internet is so easy to reach like the candy on your table. You know it is not good for your productivity, but it is irresistible and you still take it.
Turn of the internet from time to time will have a significant boost on your productivity. Let’s try doing the 2–3 hours focus time a day without the internet first, and you will see the difference.
2. Keep your phone away (at least temporarily)
For the same reason, turn on “do not disturb mode” and then put your phone somewhere you cannot realize its presence. Then, you are good to go productively.
3. Limit social network consumption
It can be as simple as delete some apps from your phone. For example, I have Instagram on my phone but no Facebook. This way, I can still reach it through the web browser when I need to, but it will not always at my reach.
4. No instant e-mail
Treat an email like mail. Yes, it’s electronic, but it doesn’t have to be instant. For example, you can have a time that you will check your email. I recommended twice per day, but you can also do more if needed. People can wait a few hours or so before receiving a reply. And if you do it as your routine, people will learn how long they need to wait until receiving your answer. It’s their problem if they do not manage their time well, but it will be your problem if you have nearly zero productivity because you instantly reply to any email and have notifications all the time.
Along with turning off Wifi, turn off push notifications from email and just check it a few times a day. A rule of thumb is, do not check it as the first thing you do in the morning, but wait until you have had some productive hours in the morning already. This way you can ensure that the productivity is still preserved while you are interacting with your email.
Doing this way also helps in terms of efficiency. Replying dozens of emails in a row may take 10–20 minutes, but replying one by one for the whole day will cost you much more. Not just the replying time, but the distraction period that you lost your focus and have to gain it back is enormous especially if you have countless emails entering your inbox every day.
5. One app at a time
Forget how many things modern computers can do simultaneously. They are, but you are not.
Let’s see one example if you want to write a book. How could you do it?
Simple, it was like the old-time with the typewriter. You just open a single text editor and start writing.
Don’t sure about word choices and want to access the dictionary or thesaurus, later. Want to add some figures from the internet, just note it down, you can do it later. Want to add some references, the same answer, later.
Make a clear note of what you want to add or edit. Then you can find them later.
This way, you will be in distraction-free mode and you will also find that your productivity is skyrocketing.
