Amusingly, it’s now apparently OK to turn off the swirling tornado of notifications, alerts, bings and (bleeping) beeps that seem to define the working day for so many of us.
We can now move on to actually doing things until complete – one thing at a time – clear in the knowledge that its OK because it’s a trend:
via Singletasking: The Next Trend in Web Working?.
We freelance web workers multitask like it was going out of style. Question is, is it actually going out of style? Some people think so, and they look to singletasking as the next trend in how we work.
Singletasking is just what it sounds like: approaching and tackling one task at a time, sequentially, instead of trying to do a whole bunch of things at once, as has become de rigeur in our modern multitasking age. If you’re like me, the thought is probably at least a little refreshing, and maybe more than a little appealing right off the bat.
The principle is sound. Take on one task at a time, and don’t begin another until the one you’ve already started is complete. It sounds simple, but you know as well as I do that actually implementing that kind of thing in real life will take a lot more effort than you might first think. For one, it means ignoring any urge to procrastinate, and making sure that you prioritize very carefully in advance, lest you realize too late that what you thought was most urgent actually could’ve taken a back seat to something else.
I’ve got nothing against multitasking, except, of course, that it tends to get in the way of doing good work.
That’s why I tend to post here in spurts (when I’m busy, I’m busy), and why I find myself writing more and more using “clean screen” writing tools.
It’s also why the racy new notification system in Unbuntu Linux is mostly turned off.
I’ve got words to write and thinking to do, and if it’s one thing I’ve learned about twitter, Facebook, chat and email, it’s that the person on the other end isn’t doing to do that thinking for me.
Keep writing (with as few distractions as possible), Tom Chandler.
Comments 6
OK, I’m focused single-mindedly on writing this comment, and I won’t let anything distract me until it’s done.
Multi-tasking is often far less efficient than single tasking because the brain has to switch gears as it rapidly shifts between tasks.
I only multi-task when one of the things I’m doing does not require active thinking. Example: driving while listening to the radio.
John Soares´s last blog ..Is Online College Instruction More Effective than In-Class Instruction?
Posted 30 Jun 2009 at 7:54 am (Quote) ¶It’s an impressive testament indeed; doing one thing at a time has become a trend. It should remain one – at least until writers start getting paid big bucks to tweet.
How about the odd feeling you get when you deliberately stop yourself just as you feel a distraction turning into a time-sink, then stop and return to the main task at hand? Is that how a smoker feels when trying to quit?
I feel pleased to hear myself think, “No, that’s not what I need to be working on,” and dismayed that I have so little self-discipline.
John White´s last blog ..“I Asked You For a Chainsaw. You Gave Me a Cuisinart.”
Posted 01 Jul 2009 at 6:38 am (Quote) ¶I have a terrible concentration span… I easily get distracted.
I now write my daily tasks in order of importance and work on each one until complete. I usually only put a few things on the list at a time so not to be overwhelmed by the ‘list’ that is meant to be helping me.
I also set aside email time, social networking time etc, this means turning all notification tools off and closing down my email applications.
I have done this consistently for quite a while now and my productivity has shot through the roof.
I read somewhere that if you do need to multi-task then grouping like tasks will help you to have a better completion rate.
Regards,
Karl
Karl Foxley´s last blog ..Premium Wordpress Themes, Ideal for Business Blogs
Posted 10 Jul 2009 at 5:03 am (Quote) ¶Multi-tasking was in fashion for so many years…back in university days i couldn’t do it, my mind wasn’t built that way. So i stopped trying and did like I always did – one things at a time. Now, single-tasking is back, it has come full circle probably…never left for me though.
My ulcer thinks this sounds awesome.
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