I posted a few weeks ago about the quantifiable effects of multi-tasking (short answer: they’re not good) and bemoaned my non-ability to do one task at a time. I made a little progress on doing one thing at a time (for about a week) but quickly slid right back into doing ten trillion things at once.
However, I am getting inspired to try the one-project-at-a-time idea… again (hopefully with more success this time!). I just read one of my favorite blogs this morning (Success Rocks! by Lea Woodward, a business coach specializing in heath & fitness companies) and she did the math. She figured out that doing 4 projects at once is way less efficient (from a $$$ standpoint) than finishing up 1 or 2 and then moving onto the next two. Whoops. Guess I should probably structure the way I’m running our multiple-company pursuits right now. My desk is currently so messy, piled with to-do piles, that when my supportive spouse brought me flowers yesterday, um… I totally missed them. Apparently, they’re on my desk at Bramble Berry right now complete with a card. He was a little puzzled why I hadn’t acknowledged them yesterday. And I’m just more than a little embarrassed that my desk has come to such a huge chaotic mess that I could miss an entire flower arrangement on it.
To read Lea’s article, click here.
As for me, starting tomorrow, I’m going to try to do one task for an hour and stay with it. Baby steps. Must start small. I’ll keep you posted on the daily struggle to stay on task, one task that is.