Research shows that it takes 25 minutes to regain your concentration and focus on a task after an interruption.
Remember the Karate Kid? Mr. Miyagi tells Daniel, “Focus, Daniel-San!” and “Look eye. Always look eye.”
Who knew that he was also delivering great business productivity advice!
As busy as you are, and you are, it’s important to focus.
For some, there’s a badge of honor associated with multitasking. “I can do it all,” we like to say. And the ability to juggle multiple tasks – and get them done – is a commendable skill.
You still need to focus. Trying to accomplish multiple things at once is really making us all less effective. And we are distracted. I came across this infographic recently – smartphone users check their phones 150 times a day. If you’re constantly checking your phone at work, you’re distracting yourself and by removing your attention from the task at hand to check a text, a Facebook or LinkedIn status alert, or to just make a quick status update is making you less effective.
Research shows that it takes 25 minutes to regain your concentration and focus on a task after an interruption. Office workers are also interrupted every 11 minutes on average. This math is not good for your ability to get things done.
I know that I’ve poked fun at teenagers with their constant phone-fidgeting and checking whatever the cool app today is and that they just can’t pay attention. When we engage in multitasking, we’re doing the same thing only we can put a little lipstick on it because we’re at work and “need to get a lot done.” Well, you know what they say about lipstick and pigs.
Divide your attention among multiple tasks at the same time and you’re essentially just an older teenager.
I’m not saying that you have to stop getting multiple things done throughout the day. What I am saying is focus on them one at a time instead of attempting to toggle between multiple things at once. You’ll do them all better.
Do you have any productivity tips that help you stay focused during the day? Share them in the comments below. We’ll have another productivity post for you next month. Stay tuned!