A Simple Way to Be More Productive

A simple way to be more productive is to do one thing at a time.

Decide what’s important and put other things aside. It’s like your rent or mortgage. Don’t buy a new television if you need that money for rent. Time is a scarcer resource than money, so you need to budget. I want to write this blog. I think it will take 25 minutes for a first draft. I should put 25 minutes aside to work on it.

It is in vogue to say you can multitask. People drive and talk on the phone, text, eat, tie their tie, or put on make-up. They will study with the music on. They are using your brain and time on the wrong things. You cannot spend money on a car and on rent at the same time. You cannot spend brain power on two things at the same time.

Multitasking is a myth. I can prove it to you. Ask someone who is reading something on their phone a few questions. More often than not, they nod and mumble, not even answering the question. Do you trust the answer if they are looking at their phone? Would you want your doctor to tell you about your serious diagnosis while looking at their phone? Would you trust the doctor’s answer?

When you want to efficiently accomplish a difficult task, remove the things that take away your focus. It is just like my book, The Three Rules to Lose Weight and Keep It Off Forever. Of course, I suggest you read it. But a major theme is all or none. You commit to all of the diet or don’t bother. When I started on the plan, I removed all the foods against The Rules from my house. When I quit drinking alcohol, I removed all alcohol from the house. Even if I could avoid eating the food or drinking the alcohol, knowing they were near me distracted me. 

The main temptation that affects my productivity is the internet. I feel the need to check the news or my email. If the internet or your phone distracts you, turn your phone off or set it to focus mode. I must have my phone turned on, but I don’t keep it at my desk. I only answer it during writing time when it is my office. I know it’s them because the ringtone is “Uninvited” by Alanis Morissette. If you have different temptations, get rid of them before you start your task.

There are other tools, and I’m not sure one is better than the other. I am using a Pomodoro timer right now. It is set for 25 minutes. I will focus on writing this post for 25 minutes. I may go longer, but I will try not to be distracted until the timer goes off. I don’t have music on. Some people say they work better with music on, and the studies are mixed. If the work is simple, such as cooking, I put on light music. But if I need full brain power, the music is off. You may think music helps you, and you may be right. Try to work without music for a few days. See what happens. Most people do better without it.

Even after removing the temptations and the music, it is still difficult to pay attention and focus. Do it anyway. Don’t give yourself an excuse that you wouldn’t allow your kid to use. If they say that they can’t start a homework assignment because they’re hungry or want to play a video game, I hope you tell them to start their homework anyway. Well, the same goes for you. If they sit down to homework and five minutes later say, “I need a snack,” tell them, “25 minutes.” Same for you.

Doing one thing at a time is a simple way to be more productive. But people often tell me they don’t have time to put everything else aside. Most people have more time than they think. If you leave home for the office at 7:00 and get home at 6:00, you may think you don’t have time to make dinner. If you choose wisely, and you focus, you can make a good dinner spending twenty minutes of active time or less. Okay, now it’s 6:20. You think you don’t have time to help your child with homework or to read with them? If you’re spending more than thirty minutes on their homework, you’re doing it, not helping. Fine, it’s 6:50. 

Relax for a few minutes and eat at 7:00. Done at 7:30. What else do you want to do? Practice drawing or play an instrument? If you focus, you can accomplish a lot in thirty minutes. Fine, it’s 8:00. What more can you do in the two hours before bed? Many people will watch videos or TV. That’s fine. I am not judging. If it is more important to you than other things, great. Do it with intent. If you tell people that you don’t have time to exercise, read a book, or call your mother, don’t forget you spent two hours in front of the video screen. 

It is not just the big things that distract us. Just like the samples at Costco that ruin a diet, a few minutes of loss of focus here and there add up. I am a physician. I work part-time now, but I used to see 22 patients a day. I would have all my notes written before I left work, and I rarely left more than thirty minutes after my last patient. I focused on each note in between patients. Many physicians don’t. They talk, snack, walk to the break room, and so on. If I focus, I can get a lot of work done between patients. Think about that if you bring work home with you. Maybe if you focus on it and don’t get distracted, you can do some or all of it at the office. 

Charles Emerson Winchester III from M*A*S*H* said, “I do one thing, I do it very well, and then I move on.” Hawkeye mocked him for it. Perhaps in an emergency, you must handle a few things at once. But in general, Winchester’s policy is sound. If I truly want to be productive and make fewer mistakes, I do one thing at a time. That is a simple way to be more productive.