Its a common misconception that to get a lot of things done, you need to multitask. You can relax and stop trying to do 3 or 4 things at once. It doesn’t work. As a matter of fact, you’ll find yourself getting more done with less stress when you stop juggling.
“But Carole – you always have a bunch of projects going at once. What do you mean stop multitasking?”
Here’s the thing. If you are trying to do 3 or 4 things at once, you can’t give any one of them your full attention. Every task will suffer. If you do manage to get things done, you’ll find that you’ve made errors that you have to go back and fix.
My secret is breaking things down into easily managed tasks. I focus on one at a time. If I’m dusting, I dust all the way through. I don’t stop and do this or that along the way.
Breaking big projects down into manageable chunks -
I painted half of the family room last Saturday. That allowed me to move what I needed to move, paint, and put it all back. Its all I could manage in the time I had available. Another afternoon, I’ll do the other half.
While working on upgrading this site, I set a goal for the day – one thing I wanted to learn and accomplish that day.
I won’t say inch by inch it was a cinch – but I got a lot done that way. Fully focus on one little thing at a time and get it done. By breaking a major task into little chunks instead of waiting until you have a whole day (which never happens), you will actually get it done faster in the long run.
Set limits -
You know how much you are capable of accomplishing in a day without killing yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and in most cases no one will die if you don’t get the whole thing done today. Chill!
Disconnect
You can’t get anything done if you’re constantly answering the phone and answering every text as soon as it comes in. How we ever decided that its OK for people to intrude on your life every minute of every day is beyond me. No wonder no one can get anything done!
With a little planning, and a little discipline – you can move mountains!