Five Steps to Effective Focus Through Monotasking
No matter how great you are at balancing multiple tasks, juggling emails, work projects, homework, and family, you name it –
multitasking is actually not your friend.
You may feel that you’ve crammed your to-do list in a short space of time successfully, but the truth is multitasking is an illusion.
Switching from one task to another actually makes your energy dissipated and is less efficient.
Earl Miller, professor of neuroscience at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT explains that every time our brain goes through the process of switching tasks, there is a loss in productivity and creativity. .
When you return to the activity you stopped, you spend a lot of mental energy refocusing.
Neuroscientists agree that the human brain works best when it tackles one task at a time – aka monotasking.
The zen-like focus in extended concentration on one task at a time is most beneficial for innovative thinking.
In short, learning how to monotask can radically improve your performance and life!
You will be calmer, more focused, and importantly – more aware of your inner voice when you speak.
The challenging part is that we are all so used to multitasking!
Many people take their phones into the bathroom, scroll while eating or cooking, and are rarely focused on simply doing one thing at a time.
Here are five easy steps to improve your focus:
- Plan your time effectively
Think about your day ahead of time and schedule how long you believe each task will take.
Plan to spend that allotted time purely focusing on that one task.
- Detox from technology
Take a break from scrolling! Turn off your phone while you work on tasks or silence notifications.
Work up to taking a full day (or longer) off social media or any technology that keeps you hooked.
- Leave your workspace
Make sure that where you work there is no distraction.
This will help you train your mind to work on only one thing at a time.
- Rest and nap
Taking short naps during the day or even just making sure to take a 15 minute break from work every few hours will do wonders for your mind and body.
Add a walk outside or a quick yoga routine and you will feel amazing!
- Remind yourself
Every so often when you catch yourself getting bored, or reaching to try to balance tasks, take a breath and be where you are in that moment.
If you’re cleaning the dishes, just clean the dishes.
If you are talking to someone, just talk to them and listen. It will bring you back to a zen frame of mind.
Try to implement these easy steps and you will reap the benefits of slowing down and creating excellent focus in all areas of your life.
