ARE you one of those who is into multitasking, thinking you can achieve more? I was one myself.
Take politicians for example, they have to multitask, to serve their self-interest as well as that of the public and in the process, they forego the latter for the former.
We have seen how our voted representatives have had their attention torn between safeguarding their interests and also having to deal with the day-to-day complaints and concerns raised by the rakyat.
In fact, this is an attribute many corporate organisations look for in their employees, and I used to be a great proponent of the need to multitask, whether at work or at home. At least, I used to be until I read this book by Cal Newport, a computer scientist who has produced many titles for those stuck in the work rut.
Deep Work was selected as the best leadership book in 2016 by Amazon, where the writer strongly vouches that single-tasking, rather than multitasking, in a state of intense focus can boost productivity.
The writer contends, much to my disbelief, that multitasking makes people less productive and that focusing on a single task at a time maximises effectual output. It appears that this skill of Deep Work is becoming a rarity and, therefore, is increasingly valuable to us, and those who cultivate this skill will be irreplaceable.
What is the antithesis of Deep Work? Shallow work, obviously, and those who multitask tend to take on numerous jobs concurrently and are able to graze over them superficially, without getting really involved in the work they take on.
When we work in a distraction-free environment, it allows individuals to use their cognitive capabilities to the maximum. In the world today, Deep Work has become almost impossible because of the false sense of achievement people have when they take on more jobs and complete them without quality output.
In the context of Deep Work, the concept of attention residue comes to the fore when one switches from task A to B and not being able to devote 100% attention on the new task. Some people remain stuck at the original task, compromising on the delivery of the second.
The biggest culprit that interferes with attention deficiency is digital media, with the constant stream of push messages from multiple platforms. It may look seemingly harmless to cast a glance at the inbox every five minutes or so but as you switch to your inbox ,you are actually creating a new target for your attention. There is then constant oscillation between Tasks A and B, with neither getting your full attention.
According to the author, Deep Work has rules, and he contends that knowledge is not the hard part, rather it is the doing. Because humans are naturally attracted to distractions, we do not perform at our best in multitasking. The simple rules are: Work deeply, embrace boredom, quit social media and drain the shallows.
We have covered the first, and the second on embracing boredom simply means we have to learn to tolerate it and do not yield easily to distractions. To reach out for things to do at the slightest show or boredom is easily habituated. Instead, go for serious concentration and focus the way athletes live and drive their goals in and out of training.
Rule 3 is the most relevant I would think; quit social media as it is a prime example of shallow living. How many times in a day do you pick up your phone and indulge in social media posts, not knowing what you are actually looking for but fully aware that they offer nothing beneficial in return.
Finally, draining the shallows means keeping low value activities in check. Some examples are checking social media posts, making phone calls, answering emails and even attending meetings where you become just another headcount.
There is a saying, when an action is due, do it now and do it right, and to live by it you need to have focus and attention and learn to dodge distractions. Remember, while multitasking seems like the best way to manage multiple duties, it can distract you from the more important tasks.
It would be good to do one thing well than doing many things poorly.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
