Stop Glorifying Multi-tasking, Prioritize Productivity at Work

An insight from one of my most recommended books, Deep Work by Cal Newport

In a world where your employer or your manager is calling the shots by setting the number of tasks and deadlines, sometimes it can get overwhelming. The 24/7 hustle-and-grind may sound cool. However, it's crushing productivity slowly.

Another problem in most of our work cultures is the fact that we are constantly being interrupted.

Cal Newport, author of the popular book “Deep Work” quotes,

“Unless your talent and skills absolutely dwarf those of your competition, the deep workers among them will outproduce you.”

Read that twice.

The person who wins is often the person who has a tight focus on one task for a prolonged period of time rather than the one whose focus is scattered across multiple tasks.

One way I implement this strategy is by timing 30 or 40 minutes (to begin with) and giving one task my utmost attention. I make sure to keep my cell phone away during this.

The focus here is not to get the task done, but to give the task undivided focus for a prolonged period of time.

If you have scheduled hours of time on a task, then take a break from your focus NOT your distractions.

Don’t reach out to that Netflix site to take a break. Pick a productivity-inducing activity like a quick workout, meditation or reading a quality book instead.

This simple strategy helps keep me in the flow. Following this routine on a daily basis, you end up on auto-pilot mode and will be less likely to get distracted. In other words, it builds immunity against distractions.

How about you? What helps you keep your productivity in the loop?