Monday, January 05, 2015

One of the biggest buzzwords in the electronic age is ‘multi-tasking,’—an idealistic phrase suggesting the best workers are able to do several things at once. But, says Rick Newman, chief business correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, the fact is that multi-tasking can impair productivity, raise anxiety levels, and ultimately impair your health.

“Multi-tasking,” he points out, “causes attention fragmentation, which happens when we try to direct our brain power to a number of different things at once—and it really doesn’t work so well. Even ringing phones and dinging email alerts can temporarily lower your IQ.”

Newman consulted with behavioral scientists to formulate the five best ways for workers to improve, not hamper, their productivity:
 

Ask yourself if you’re addicted – If your children are ‘Blackberry orphans’ battling for attention because you can’t ignore a tweet or an email, you are electronically addicted. You need aggressive strategies – like leaving your devices behind once in a while – if you are to rejoin the real human race.

Selectively detach – Give yourself the power to work uninterrupted during certain times of the day. That means giving correspondence a time and place and denying the urge to read and answer every incoming distraction.

Turn everything off – If you find it impossible to deny every ding, take the plunge and turn off your devices – at least until you have a handle on your workload and can afford a little time for catching up.

Say no as often as possible – It’s hard to ignore the boss when she wants something asap, but you can say no to co-workers who tend to interrupt your work. Make yourself unavailable for gabbing, and shorten your to-do list by leaving off items that don’t really need to get done.

Say something meaningful – Busy people who manage their time well don't read emails, blogs, or Facebook updates that tell them what somebody had for breakfast. They spend their time on useful information. If you post your thoughts for professional reasons, leave out the personal trivia. Add value by saying something relevant or linking to informative material.

Exercise – Physical activity can de-clutter the brain, and many exercisers say they feel bursts of creativity after just 15 or 20 minutes of working out. If you're going to do it, try to single-task instead of running while you answer a few emails.

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