Multitasking Isn’t the Life Hack We Thought It Was

Here’s what to do instead

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

If you’re juggling a lot these days, you know that stepping back and taking in everything that needs to get done can be, well, quite overwhelming.

Managing all the responsibilities that life throws your way is hard. Finding balance is a never-ending challenge. Your to-do-list can bear down on you like a crushing weight.

We hear a lot about the perks of multi-tasking, but research shows that this approach isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Instead, to accomplish many things, you need time to focus.

A temporary one-track mindset can help you draw that glorious line across a completed task.

With this mindset, you make it your goal to get through a task at a time for a predetermined time period.

This will take some refinement. You will need to figure out how much time you should reasonably spend on a specific type of task. To get you started, you can use time management tools like the Pomodoro Technique.

As you set aside dedicated time to work on your tasks, you can break down big items into smaller pieces, which will accomplish two other things.

1. A big, vague goal will be divided into actionable steps.
2. There are more milestones to be met, so there is more opportunity to feel a sense of reward.

Successful time management is an art. Maybe there is no big hack out there, but there are simple strategies that can help you accomplish more.