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As a mom, multitasking is a way of life. Among the “mom community”, it is worn as a badge of honor – yes, I can tie my kid’s shoes while cooking dinner and talking on the phone.
Similarly, most jobs require multitasking – checking emails throughout the day, texting, phone calls and the actual work for the job.
And with our smartphones, we can check Facebook, text our friends, tweet, and pretend to have an engaging in-person conversation (don’t you hate it when people bring their phones out at restaurants?)

I used to pride myself on my ability to multitask, until I discovered that multitasking is a weakness, not a strength.

Multitasking Creates An Intake Overload

According to a study performed by the American Psyhological Association, multitasking causes a 40 percent drop in productivity.
The losses come from the time it takes to mentally switch gears and get going on a new task.

Standford performed a study and found that “high-multitaskers” (those who do it a lot) couldn’t focus on the task at hand alone, but kept thinking of the other tasks that they weren’t doing. They were slowed down with processing irrelevant information.

By giving our brains a break and doing less at one time, we are able to accomplish more.

Maximize Your Brain Power

By focusing on tasks we can save time and get more done – seems like a no-brainer.

To get started, here are some single-tasking tips:

• Check your email only at specified times througout the day
  • According to a McKinsey Global Institute Study, we spend 28% of our workweeks emailing!
• Turn off phone notifications
• Limit large projects you’re involved with to 2 or 3 at a time
  • This gives you limited focus with the ability to switch between projects when there is downtime.
• Go to a separate area when getting work done.
  • Very challenging for those that work at home, but extremely important
• Strengthen relationships by really listening
  • Something my kids and husband can appreciate