1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:12,880 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to stop multitasking, well mostly. One of 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: the most common questions I get asked that talks is 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 1: what I think about multitasking. My answer is that it depends. 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: Most of us understand multitasking is doing two or more 6 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: things at once. By that definition, it's both innocuous and inevitable. 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: My guess is that you're doing something else while listening 8 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: to this podcast, driving, making your coffee, getting dressed, exercising, 9 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: waiting for the bus, and that's fine. You're also multitasking 10 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: if you exercise with a friend, make dinner with your spouse, 11 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: talk with your kids while driving. All of these are 12 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: great ways to spend time, no complaints from me. There 13 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: where we get in trouble with multitasking is when we're 14 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: doing two things that require the same kind of attention 15 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: at the same time. You know what I mean, checking 16 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: your texts while someone is trying to talk with you, 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: answering emails while you're on a conference call, writing a report, 18 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: while monitoring Slack or instant messages. Look, I know it's tempting. 19 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: We all have so much to do. Avoiding email entirely 20 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: during an hour long conference call can seem like a 21 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: huge waste of time, And yet we're never really doing 22 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: two things like answering email and listening to a call 23 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,639 Speaker 1: at once. We're taggling our attention back and forth between 24 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: the two. We're losing time on every switch, so it's inefficient, 25 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: and the danger is that we're not paying attention to 26 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: the right thing at the right time. I know this 27 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: has happened to me. I will admit that sometimes if 28 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: I'm on a call and it's running along, I will 29 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: look at my inbox. Inevitably I miss the question. Then 30 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: the person is saying, and what do you think about that, Laura, 31 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: and I either have to embarrass myself by asking the 32 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: person to repeat the question, or I flubbed through an 33 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: answer that has nothing to do with the matter at hand. 34 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: For stuff like the US, it's really hard to rely 35 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: on willpower. I mean, your inboxes right there. Instead, I 36 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: think the best answer is to be very careful about 37 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: scheduling yourself into stuff that will make multitasking tempting. In 38 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: other words, if you know you're going to be able 39 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: to check email while you're on a call, ask if 40 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: you really need to be on that call. Maybe the 41 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,519 Speaker 1: agenda is too vague, maybe there are too many people. 42 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,239 Speaker 1: Maybe you can send around a quick email instead. You 43 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: might also change the format. I know I'm doing a 44 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: lot more video conferences these days because everyone pays more 45 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: attention when they can see each other's faces, and if 46 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:41,359 Speaker 1: you think about it, in our distracted world, attention really 47 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: is the ultimate sign of respect. So challenge yourself today 48 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: to pay full attention to whatever you've chosen to do. 49 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: See if you can convert some calls to video chats, 50 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: or to keep your phone in a desk during a meeting. 51 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: I promise you'll feel more engaged, which actually makes work 52 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: feel more pleasant. In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks 53 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 54 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 55 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 56 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod 57 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then Breakfast p O D. 58 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 59 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeart media dot com That Before Breakfast is 60 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should 61 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch