Can I go a week without multitasking?
Maybe 'singletasking' is the secret to productivity... or at least better for my own sanity.
I cannot concentrate on writing today’s Substack newsletter. My second screen is open on The Guardian, the little red bubble above my mailbox said there are 3,543 things demanding my attention, and there is a lot of noise coming from downstairs. I’m thinking about each thing individually but also at the same time: I’m aware that whatever is currently at the forefront of my mind is a thin veil, waiting to be pierced by the ping! of a notification.
My neurodiverse brain is frequently distracted, but I’ve noticed my concentration worsening over these last few weeks. I’ve been trying to multitask, which I’m well aware is a fool’s errand. There is no successful multitasking. Any two (or more) jobs I attempt in one go will produce results much worse than if I’d done them separately, deliberately, each with all the attention I could give.
But the life of a freelancer is one with multiple, overlapping tasks. I’m working on several pieces at once, planning the next book and doing odd jobs here and there to earn whatever I can because, friends, money is tight. To stop and focus on a single task at a time doesn’t just feel like a luxury, it feels irresponsible – like I wouldn’t be working hard enough if I did just one thing while I could be doing more.
The belief that multitasking is simply optimisation is fallacy. Yet despite knowing that trying to make myself do more than one thing is ineffective, I give in to it every time. I think “this task is so easy, it won’t be affected by me doing something else at the same time”. See: washing up and listening to an audiobook (either the plates come out dirty or I miss half the story because I’m trying hard to get a stain off a pan), or watching ads for money on my phone while researching for a piece (I have to re-read everything three times before it sinks in because I keep stopping to hit the little ‘x’ and then ‘next ad’).
Multitasking can also make us use up more of our resources (whether time, energy or money) on a single task. If you eat while distracted, watching the TV or scrolling on your phone, you’ll feel less full and likely eat more. If I make mistakes while writing a piece because I’m also listening to the news, it’ll just take me longer in the editing stage.
This week I will attempt to do things differently. This week I will be singletasking. I will do my best to minimise distraction and to sit through the initial discomfort of forcing focus without motivation. Motivation, I know, comes from doing, not thinking about doing. If I really feel I need to switch tasks (an email will need an urgent response, my dog will ask to be let outside, the postman will knock on the door), I will do so, but I will stop whatever I was doing first and not attempt to juggle the two.
This attempt will involve:
Switching devices to ‘do not disturb’ mode. A lot of my current distraction arrives in the form of a notification at the top right corner of my screen.
Planning my working day in advance. This will involve scheduling in time for things like checking emails and messages, so I don’t miss if anything important does come in.
Most importantly, being kind to myself if my mind does start to wander. If I do get frustrated at the task at hand and wish I could make it less annoying, or less boring, by also doing something else, that’ll be understandable. If my brain feels so scattered that I can’t concentrate at all, I’ll take a deliberate break. I.e., I will not multitask ‘rest’ with ‘work’.
This isn’t just about being more productive, or producing better work. It’s about how rubbish it feels when I’ve spent the day doing one million things and finishing nothing at all. How short my attention span is, how little I enjoy watching films or reading books at the moment because they are just too slow.
I started this Substack because I wanted to be more mindful as I moved through my days. Evidently, I’m still learning how.
Let’s compare notes
I’ll be reflecting each day on how my attempt at singletasking has gone. I’m so curious to know, what will I find hardest? What things will make my concentration worse, or better? Will I actually get more done or are all experts wrong about how bad multitasking is?
At the end of the week, I’ll write everything up and share it with you here on my Substack.
You’re welcome to join me in my quest to make this a week of singletasking! Do let me know in the comments if you’ll give it a go, or if you have any bits of advice for me and my distractible brain.