
Stop multitasking and work hard
← Back to blogThe productivity guide for project management: stop multitasking and work hard.
Last time we shared some thoughts about planning and managing tasks to be more productive. Following up on our productivity tips for project management, here we’ll guide you on how to avoid unproductive multitasking time, and how to do work efficiently on your projects.
- Complex tasks gets us stressed and cause anxiety. Luckily, we can divide and plan, to simplify what seemed so complicated. Also, if you do so, you'll get a better idea of the resources you might need and potential setbacks that you might run into. You will have the feeling of control and dominate what seemed just mental ;)
- But for that, please, stop multitasking: this only prevents you from focussing and creates chaos around you. Success (and personal satisfaction) will come if you actively focus in one task at a time, and are prepared to work hard.
- There are no magic formulas to avoid having to work hard to get what you want. Experts so far considered that our brains need about 28 days repeating a new routine to make it a habit that will run more or less autonomously (see Psycho-Cybernetics ). After that, it’s just easier and costs us less effort.
- Consider the timing. So, should we make our most important tasks, those strategic, creative and critical at the beginning of the workday, when the mind is at its optimum? Or is it ok to start with something expendable and renewable, like answering emails from colleagues or co-workers? Of course the first one. High productivity means that 20% of our work will determine 80% of our successes and benefits. So let’s focus on this efficiency, shouldn’t we?
Quoting Picasso: “if the muse arrives, you’d better be working” meaning that great ideas come with steady everyday work. And nothing great has come out of nowhere but perseverance, effort and habits.
So try, try hard, and be consistent: one step at a time!
Find this interesting? Learn more by downloading our e-book Time management for boosting your productivity .