To Multi-task or Not To Multi-Task: Is there really a choice? 4 tips for reducing the effects of too much task-switching
There’s a lot of uncertainty happening right now, especially for my nonprofit and farming friends. Sometimes when things feel out of control, the best antidote is to remind yourself where you do have some control.
Here are some tips for where you can exercise some control with your work (or life) tasks and leave you feeling more refreshed at the end of a day.
Without further ado, I present: A Case for the Reduction of Context-Switching.
What is context switching? It’s when you switch between different types of tasks. Your brain switches contexts, and this has both a productivity and mental fatigue effect.
When switching topics, one or two things typically happen:
You start to plan for the next thing
Your brain is still processing what you were just working on
This means that every time you switch tasks, (multi=tasking, I’m talking about you!!), you:
Lose some time as your brain works to stop thinking about what was just happening and starts to plan for what’s next. This can be a fraction of a second for simple tasks, or up to 23 minutes for more complex tasks.
Your mental energy takes a hit. Each switch fatigues your brain a little bit more.
This happens every time you interrupt yourself to answer an email, when you switch from one task to another, like planning a grant proposal to writing copy to planning a meeting. It happens when you are interrupted by others or have to stop what you’re doing to go to a meeting. You see the pattern.
Those of us working on small (and mighty!) teams context switch A LOT!
But knowledge is power! *
Some context switching is unavoidable. And a managed level of context switching can be good - working on different projects and problems can boost creativity.
Once you know the negative and positive impacts of context switching, you can work with it to your advantage.
Here are some ways to work WITH your brain, not against it.
Theme some of your work days. Dedicate a day to completing tasks for a particular project. A scheduled meeting can anchor your theme to give your day more flow.
Task Clump. (Ok, it’s technically called task batching, but for some reason I like the word clump). Clump similar type tasks together and give yourself a timeframe to work on them
Respond to email during specific time blocks. Then don’t look at it while you are doing other work.
Switch tasks with intention. Give yourself time to mentally put a task behind you and focus on the next one at hand. Set the intention to focus on the present and sneak a peak of yourself working on the next thing. I like to couple this with movement for extra umph. Here are a few of my favorite ways to do that. I pick them according to how much time I have or what I’m feeling at the moment.
Take a deep, cleansing breath
Stand up and do a few quick stretches
Take a bathroom break
Get up and make a cup of tea
Take a brisk walk around the block
Of course, our own work habits and preferences vary. My energy reserves suffer a lot from too much context switching, while others may appreciate the variety.
There’s a balance unique to each of us and the best way to find that balance is to start noticing how often you context-switch and how that affects your energy levels.
Be a scientist and play around with more and less context switches when you plan your day until you understand what works for you.
I hope you take one of those ideas and run with it!
More reading if you want to nerd out on context switching:
*I feel like there was a ‘90’s Knowledge is Power poster common to classrooms but I can’t picture it. Anyone else remember this?? Send me a pic if so please, so I can solve this mystery.
