WEBVTT - How to stop multi-tasking (mostly)

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to stop multitasking, well mostly. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the most common questions I get asked that talks is

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<v Speaker 1>what I think about multitasking. My answer is that it depends.

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<v Speaker 1>Most of us understand multitasking is doing two or more

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<v Speaker 1>things at once. By that definition, it's both innocuous and inevitable.

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<v Speaker 1>My guess is that you're doing something else while listening

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<v Speaker 1>to this podcast, driving, making your coffee, getting dressed, exercising,

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for the bus, and that's fine. You're also multitasking

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<v Speaker 1>if you exercise with a friend, make dinner with your spouse,

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<v Speaker 1>talk with your kids while driving. All of these are

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<v Speaker 1>great ways to spend time, no complaints from me. There

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<v Speaker 1>where we get in trouble with multitasking is when we're

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<v Speaker 1>doing two things that require the same kind of attention

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<v Speaker 1>at the same time. You know what I mean, checking

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<v Speaker 1>your texts while someone is trying to talk with you,

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<v Speaker 1>answering emails while you're on a conference call, writing a report,

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<v Speaker 1>while monitoring Slack or instant messages. Look, I know it's tempting.

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<v Speaker 1>We all have so much to do. Avoiding email entirely

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<v Speaker 1>during an hour long conference call can seem like a

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<v Speaker 1>huge waste of time, And yet we're never really doing

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<v Speaker 1>two things like answering email and listening to a call

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<v Speaker 1>at once. We're taggling our attention back and forth between

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<v Speaker 1>the two. We're losing time on every switch, so it's inefficient,

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<v Speaker 1>and the danger is that we're not paying attention to

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<v Speaker 1>the right thing at the right time. I know this

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<v Speaker 1>has happened to me. I will admit that sometimes if

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<v Speaker 1>I'm on a call and it's running along, I will

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<v Speaker 1>look at my inbox. Inevitably I miss the question. Then

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<v Speaker 1>the person is saying, and what do you think about that, Laura,

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<v Speaker 1>and I either have to embarrass myself by asking the

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<v Speaker 1>person to repeat the question, or I flubbed through an

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<v Speaker 1>answer that has nothing to do with the matter at hand.

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<v Speaker 1>For stuff like the US, it's really hard to rely

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<v Speaker 1>on willpower. I mean, your inboxes right there. Instead, I

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<v Speaker 1>think the best answer is to be very careful about

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<v Speaker 1>scheduling yourself into stuff that will make multitasking tempting. In

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<v Speaker 1>other words, if you know you're going to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to check email while you're on a call, ask if

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<v Speaker 1>you really need to be on that call. Maybe the

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<v Speaker 1>agenda is too vague, maybe there are too many people.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you can send around a quick email instead. You

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<v Speaker 1>might also change the format. I know I'm doing a

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<v Speaker 1>lot more video conferences these days because everyone pays more

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<v Speaker 1>attention when they can see each other's faces, and if

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<v Speaker 1>you think about it, in our distracted world, attention really

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<v Speaker 1>is the ultimate sign of respect. So challenge yourself today

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<v Speaker 1>to pay full attention to whatever you've chosen to do.

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<v Speaker 1>See if you can convert some calls to video chats,

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<v Speaker 1>or to keep your phone in a desk during a meeting.

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<v Speaker 1>I promise you'll feel more engaged, which actually makes work

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<v Speaker 1>feel more pleasant. In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four, then Breakfast p O D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeart media dot com That Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch