Did you know today is Single Tasking Day? It’s a day to put multi-tasking aside and focus on getting a single task done. To mark the day, today’s post will look at the productivity cost of that task switching that we’re all guilty of. Then, I’ll provide time management tips to help you get more done, today and every day.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the downside of multi-tasking in keeping things in focus. Despite science to the contrary, many of you swear that multi-tasking makes you more productive and helps you get more done, but does it really?

The productivity cost of task switching

The world today seems to admire people who claim they’re great at multi-tasking and can focus on more than one thing at a time.

Many experts report that the human mind and brain are incapable of performing two tasks at the same time. So when you think you’re multi-tasking, you’re really just rapidly shifting your attention from one task to another.

No matter how great you think you are at it, task switching reduces the amount of work you can get done. In fact, Psychology Today indicates it could be zapping up to 40% of your productivity. Why? Because it takes more time to get tasks done than if you’d stuck with the initial task until completed, and there’s a higher risk of making an error.

The only exception to the rule is you may be able to perform a physical skill that you’re really good at—like walking—while doing a mental task like carrying on a conversation or listening to a podcast. Although I’ve been known to trip over my own two feet so even that’s debatable.

Interruptions can’t always be avoided

Let’s face it—sometimes task switching is forced upon us. Your phone rings when you’re in the middle of something. People ping you with instant messages despite your online status showing you’re busy in a meeting. And don’t get me started on the incessant chat messages popping up during meetings.

So, how can you minimize distractions and get more done today?

Time management tips

Ultimately, it’s up to you to take back control of your time and your calendar, so let’s look at some ways to do that. Here are six time management tips that have worked for me.

Book focus time in your calendar

Do you regularly block time in your calendar to get work done? If you don’t, it’s a great habit to get into. I’ve learned over the years that other people will take over your time if you let them. These days, I set aside a couple of two- to three-hour blocks of time every week. Doing this helps me free up time to work on high-priority tasks.

Do the most important task first—or when you’re at your most productive

Have you heard of the “Eat the Frog” technique? It’s a time-management technique made popular in a book by Brian Tracy. In a nutshell, it involves starting the day by completing your most impactful task, or an unpleasant task you’ve been putting off.

Now, if you’re a morning person like me, that’s a great approach. But, if you’re at your peak in the afternoon, you might choose to eat your frog at the end of the day. Ultimately this comes down to knowing your goals and priorities (your frogs) and making a plan to get them done.

Try the Pomodoro Technique

I had never heard of this technique until a couple of years ago, but it has been around since the 1980s. I’ve tried it a few times and it works well for larger tasks that need a longer block of focused time.

The Pomodoro Technique involves committing to short blocks of focused work time. You set a timer for a block of 25 minutes—or a shorter time if that works better for you—of uninterrupted work time. At the end of the 25 minutes, take a five-minute break. After four rounds, take a longer break—15 to 30 minutes.

And, if you really want this to work, don’t use your cell phone as a timer because it’s more likely to distract you than help you focus. A kitchen timer works great. In fact, the technique got its name from the tomato-shaped timer that Francesco Cirillo, who is credited with inventing the technique, used to track his time when he was in university.

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Take a break

I recently downloaded an app on my phone that signals me every hour to remind me to get up and move. Since using it, I’ve noticed a big difference in my energy levels.

Taking a break may seem counterintuitive to getting more done, but regular breaks are essential to maintaining productivity. If you turned your thermostat up to 100 degrees on a cold winter day, and ran your furnace non-stop to try to heat your house to that temperature, chances are your furnace would burn out. You’re no different. You can only maintain optimal performance for so long and at some point continuing to work is counter productive. Breaks are essential.

And, make sure you get up and move during that break, especially if you’re feeling mentally blocked. Research from Stanford University shows that going for a walk can increase creativity by 60 per cent.

Remove distractions

You’ve blocked your calendar, decided which frog you’re going to eat, and have your Pomodoro technique timer all ready to go. You’re all set, right? Not necessarily. Think about the other distractions that could get in your way.

Here are some things you can do to remove additional interruptions:

• If you’re in the office, find a quiet place to work where people can’t see you.
• Turn on the do not disturb feature on your chat application to stop the pinging.
• Close your email application. This is a big one for me. I’m constantly checking email. Try to limit the number of times you check email in a day. It’s probably enough to limit your email activity first thing in the morning, before or after lunch, and near the end of the day.
• Put away your phone or, if you need to be reachable in the event of an emergency, turn off notifications to limit the number of distractions.  

Be selective about meetings

Finally, ineffective meetings are the biggest productivity zapper of all. You know the kind of meetings I mean. Meetings without a clear agenda or purpose. Discussions that could have been resolved with a simple email. Or, meetings with a cast of thousands—many of whom have no real stake in the issue at hand.

Free up some time with these smart meeting tips:

• Every time you get a meeting invitation, ask yourself if you really need to attend.
• If there’s no meeting objective or agenda, contact the organizer to ask what the meeting is all about. If you don’t get a response, decline the meeting. You’ll be surprised how quickly you find out if your attendance really is critical when you do that.
• If you have nothing to contribute or don’t feel you’ll add any value, politely decline the meeting.
• Look at the attendee list. If there are multiple invitees from your team, make a deal with a co-worker to have just one of you attend and fill the other one in after.

Obviously, depending on the protocols in your workplace, there will some meetings you just can’t decline. But imagine the impact to your productivity if you freed up just one or two hours a week instead of spending that time in unproductive meetings.

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Ultimately, time management is a very personal thing and what works for one person may not work for everyone. I hope these time management tips will at least give you some new things to try that may boost your productivity.

What is your favourite time management tip? Tell me about it below.