Podcast

David Johnson:
Try not to multitask
These days, it seems like all of us have less time than we’d like to accomplish the things we want to do. The internet and social media have sped up how you get your news, how you stay in contact with people, and how you communicate with your customers. It has also caused all of us to create some bad habits—one of which is multitasking.

Stress has been defined in different ways over the years. Originally, it was conceived of as pressure from the environment, then as strain within the person. The generally accepted definition today is one of interaction between the situation and the individual. It is the psychological and physical state that results when the resources of the individual are not sufficient to cope with the demands and pressures of the situation. Thus, stress is more likely in some situations than others and in some individuals than others. Stress can undermine the achievement of goals, both for individuals and for organizations.

Set time limits for tasks
Now take that project or that work product and break it down into smaller sub tasks and set up some time tracking, or time-block how long it will take to do each of those tasks—even if they’re five minutes apiece.
So actually scope out what you want to accomplish very, very clearly so that you know when you’re actually done—when you’re successful—and you can check that off the list and get that hit of dopamine that will keep you energized, motivated, and happy to continue doing work.
Otherwise we have a tendency to wake up and jump into work without intentionality, and then we work for hours and hours and hours without really feeling like we’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish.
—Dr. Sahar Yousef, cognitive neuroscientist

Take breaks regularly
If you want to continue to work at optimum levels, keep this time management tool in your toolbox and make sure to make it a priority.