Clean desk with books and old fashioned clock on it
Productivity,  Time Management

Stop Multitasking Today and Have the Best 2021 Ever!

Ah, multitasking! The theory that the more tasks you simultaneously undertake during the day, the more productive you’ll be. While the idea may have merit (who doesn’t want to make the most of their day?) the reality is far from ideal.

Multitasking can mean working on multiple projects at your desk or looking at multiple windows or platforms on your smartphone. Researchers have proven that multitasking doesn’t work and is actually detrimental to your mental wellbeing. When you’re multitasking, you’re not devoting your full concentration to any one task or goal. Instead, your brain is scattered in a million directions, often confused over what the next steps are to reach completion. Very often, projects remain unfinished at the end of the day, which can sometimes then lead to low self-esteem, anxiety, or depression.

Whether you’re working on a client project or keeping your office space clutter-free, if you stay focused on the task at hand, you’ll work more quickly, which means possibly doubling your productivity in any given day. Simply by focusing on one task at a time.

Does Multitasking and Your Need for Organizing Collide?

Take a look around your office space. Is it cluttered or clear? If your desk is free of cluttered distractions, it’s time to celebrate! If your office isn’t a catch-all room for the family (unfortunately, mine often is), kudos to you! For many entrepreneurs, we are SO ultra-focused on work tasks that organizing our space can take a back seat until piles of paper start to fall over or until we’re looking for an important document or item we can’t find.

It may feel natural to automatically start multitasking and tidy up our office while taking a break from work (or worse, while in a Zoom meeting or online conference). While this could certainly help temporarily, this process will end up extending the amount of time it takes to complete the task, especially when it doesn’t rank higher on our to-do list.

If your office is a mess and you are only clearing out things in short spurts of time, how many days or weeks will it take until you finish that task? Unfortunately, too long!

Instead of only allocating a few minutes here and there, work towards incorporating time blocking into your routine. As an example, you can block off an entire morning to devote to clearing out your office. To stop being interrupted, keep your computer off, turn your phone ringer to silent, and focus 100% on decluttering your space. Time blocking allows you to concentrate on dealing with your clutter at once without being distracted.

Keep your computer and phone off to keep social media notifications and distractions at bay. Even better, move your laptop and phone to another room so you’re not tempted to check them.

Eliminate your multitasking tendencies even more by concentrating on one desktop, table or corner of your office instead of looking at the whole picture. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and leave things for another day, but don’t think about all the piles of paper or disorganization. Focus on and start with one area until it’s tidy and clutter-free, then move to the next area.

Turn Your Need to Organize into a Game

If you need even more incentive to stay focused, grab a kitchen timer or set a timer on your phone, and work as quickly as possible before the timer goes off. Set it for any amount of time you choose and then get to work.

This idea is also known as the Pomodoro Technique, where you set a timer for 25 minutes, stay focused on your task until the timer goes off, then take a 5-minute break before resetting the timer. Many people use this method when working on the computer, but it certainly works when doing other tasks or chores, too.

Check out this short video below from Trello that quickly shows you how the Pomodoro Technique can help you:

Still Struggling to Get Organized?

If you are still finding it difficult to find time to organize your workspace, you can always reach out to a professional organizer who will work with you to find and implement unique solutions to manage and contain your clutter. Delegating this task to someone you trust will allow you to prioritize your time and focus directly on your business tasks. It’s the best of both worlds: You remain focused, and your office gets organized!

If you currently use time-blocking, the Pomodoro Technique, or other productivity hacks to help stay focused and on track, I would LOVE to hear from you.

Share in the comments what you do to minimize distractions throughout the day and you may just help someone reading this implement a new strategy for themselves.

#TeamWork

Hugs to your non-multitasking Day!

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Organized Inspiration is a BC Based Professional Organizing Service provider helping busy families and professionals elevate their lives and minimize daily stress by creating a life that isn’t full of clutter, disorganization and daily distractions.

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