Hi! You're right, I've also noticed that distractions make me go extremely slow sometimes. It's amazing how fast I get things done when I concentrate. That's why I started researching the issue of attention and multitasking. The brain is amazing.
Great column! Just this week I had a conversation with the wonderful G.Radick who raved about a book called Rest in which the author discussed the importance that rest had for many 10th and 20th century thinkers. In fact it would seem that major thinkers like Darwin purposely took leisure time and then were really productive in during their work time.
I also recently learned about a few people who work on different manuscript at the same time as in the same sitting... lets write a paragraph here about Darwinism and one here about the Polynesian war... how is that even possible I ask myself. I also heard that some authors like Asimov worked on different stories in tandem --- this seems like a decent strategy if I am not taking progress on project X, I can try to focus on project Y, and if not project Z.... eventually making progress on all three.
Wow, that's interesting. I feel tremendously identified with what you say about rest. I didn't know the book, but I came to the same conclusion through other paths.
In fact, I wrote about the case you mentioned about Asimov. An inspiring lesson I learned from him was that we should always have several active projects and we should focus on one to the maximum and be concentrated, but if we get stuck, the best thing is to rest a little and concentrate now on another project: (https://followmentalgarden.substack.com/p/isaac-asimov-inspiration?utm_source=publication-search).
Even before the internet and all these popup notifications I knew I was not a multitasker. I like to focus on a task before moving to the next one but not a single job I have had has worked like this. This is why being an administrative professional has caused me such stress over the years. It literally involves having people interrupt you all day long to cater to their “emergencies” and if all your people are having “emergencies” it can get exhausting. I don’t tell people I am a great multitasker anymore, I tell them I am organized and meet all my deadlines. I work as a paralegal now and the work is more project oriented than the secretary work, so it helps a little, but I still spend more time than I want organizing and updating task lists so I don’t miss critical follow-ups. Trying to work with your team to create practices so you don’t duplicate effort is another issue. I can never get consensus. But I’m hopeful I can continue to improve in this space.
Actually, neither you nor anyone else is able to multitask effectively. Even if we think it is possible, it is not. The case of offices is catastrophic, as you say, everyone always has some “emergency” and so you never get to concentrate 100% on anything.
I understand the situation, the best thing you can do is to minimize distractions as much as possible.
The best drilling managers I ever worked for insisted we completely finish the first step before we start the second.
This system works. Well motivated in one particular instance, we were able to get 8 hrs work done in three by adhering to this protocol.
Hi! You're right, I've also noticed that distractions make me go extremely slow sometimes. It's amazing how fast I get things done when I concentrate. That's why I started researching the issue of attention and multitasking. The brain is amazing.
Great column! Just this week I had a conversation with the wonderful G.Radick who raved about a book called Rest in which the author discussed the importance that rest had for many 10th and 20th century thinkers. In fact it would seem that major thinkers like Darwin purposely took leisure time and then were really productive in during their work time.
I also recently learned about a few people who work on different manuscript at the same time as in the same sitting... lets write a paragraph here about Darwinism and one here about the Polynesian war... how is that even possible I ask myself. I also heard that some authors like Asimov worked on different stories in tandem --- this seems like a decent strategy if I am not taking progress on project X, I can try to focus on project Y, and if not project Z.... eventually making progress on all three.
Wow, that's interesting. I feel tremendously identified with what you say about rest. I didn't know the book, but I came to the same conclusion through other paths.
In fact, I wrote about the case you mentioned about Asimov. An inspiring lesson I learned from him was that we should always have several active projects and we should focus on one to the maximum and be concentrated, but if we get stuck, the best thing is to rest a little and concentrate now on another project: (https://followmentalgarden.substack.com/p/isaac-asimov-inspiration?utm_source=publication-search).
On the other hand, I also talked a while ago about what you say about taking breaks on purpose and then coming back inspired. Something I do on my daily walks. I feel like I come back with renewed energy: (https://followmentalgarden.substack.com/p/i-like-being-bored?utm_source=publication-search)
Even before the internet and all these popup notifications I knew I was not a multitasker. I like to focus on a task before moving to the next one but not a single job I have had has worked like this. This is why being an administrative professional has caused me such stress over the years. It literally involves having people interrupt you all day long to cater to their “emergencies” and if all your people are having “emergencies” it can get exhausting. I don’t tell people I am a great multitasker anymore, I tell them I am organized and meet all my deadlines. I work as a paralegal now and the work is more project oriented than the secretary work, so it helps a little, but I still spend more time than I want organizing and updating task lists so I don’t miss critical follow-ups. Trying to work with your team to create practices so you don’t duplicate effort is another issue. I can never get consensus. But I’m hopeful I can continue to improve in this space.
Hi Rosemary, I fully understand your case.
Actually, neither you nor anyone else is able to multitask effectively. Even if we think it is possible, it is not. The case of offices is catastrophic, as you say, everyone always has some “emergency” and so you never get to concentrate 100% on anything.
I understand the situation, the best thing you can do is to minimize distractions as much as possible.