The Merits of Monotasking
Multitasking is an office efficiency killer. When you receive a phone call and continue working on your current project, you’re probably not doing either activity very well. This activity ‘switching cost’ is significant, because you often sacrifice speed and accuracy while multitasking.
According to Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, authors of Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life,
“We often think that combining tasks will save us time, but scientific evidence shows that it has the opposite effect. Even those who claim to be good at multitasking are not very productive… They are some of the least productive people… It has been scientifically shown that if we continually ask our brains to switch back and forth between tasks, we waste time, make more mistakes, and remember less of what we’ve done.”
Quoted in the New York Times, Dr. Gloria Mark, a professor of Informatics at UCI and author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, says, “Every time you switch your attention to a new task, your brain has to reorient itself.” Experts argue that multitasking is more cognitively demanding and can cause mental fatigue, leading to stress and burnout.
Successful monotasking, or focusing on one task at a time, requires you to consciously ignore the multitude of distractions occurring around you. Intentionally scheduling your day can help you stay on track with your monotasking. In a Forbes article, Barnaby Lashbrooke recommends reserving “creative jobs requiring deep focus, which are particularly suited for a monotasking approach, for the time of day when you’re most alert.” Dr. Mark recommends continued practice to retrain your brain gradually to focus on monotasking.
Asynchronous Communication
Another way to stay focused on a single task during a busy day at work is to leverage asynchronous communication, which does not occur in real time.
“Asynchronous communication takes the form of email, text, letters, or voice notes; any form of communication that doesn’t take place in real-time… Negating the need for real-time contact means less perceived urgency, fewer distractions, and more uninterrupted chunks of time for producing and creating. Like life was before notifications, before we were expected to be so responsive.
Some of the greatest entrepreneurs, artists, and inventors locked themselves away for long periods… seeking solitude and space for uninterrupted thinking.”
Lashbrooke also says he reserves time in his day specifically for what he calls ‘distraction demolition.’ During this scheduled period, he “deletes, ignores, saves or replies to every email, message and notification from that day.” Project collaboration tools such as Slack or Asana, or setting aside a specific time to exchange emails or texts, facilitate efficient asynchronous communication between team members.
The Block Plan Approach
My alma mater, Colorado College, operates on the academic block plan. It has influenced my tendency to leverage asynchronous communication to focus on a single project at a time. The block plan is based on the idea that focusing on a single academic topic at a time enables better learning retention.
Colorado College states, “The Block Plan allows you to focus your energies solely on what you want to do. By taking one class at a time…, your time is spent learning deeply.” By focusing on one task at a time in the office, I deliver higher-quality work in shorter periods, yielding higher returns for both my clients and my business.
Real-Time Communication Isn’t Dead
There will always be a need for real-time, synchronous communication. We should set aside time to find a community or other individuals who share a common passion and purpose. Meetings to brainstorm ideas or troubleshoot current issues are best suited to real-time. During working hours, in-person meetings or virtual calls can be scheduled rather than occurring ad hoc, allowing team members to plan monotasking around a requisite meeting for real-time communication.
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