“WHAT?” [You say with disdain and incredulity.] “Everyone knows that the most effective people can handle multiple tasks at once! In fact, it’s a requirement in my job, and I’m so good at it because I can multi-task!”

Well – let’s think about that… Are we really multi-tasking, or are we possibly instead doing several jobs ineffectively? We think it’s the latter…   let’s discuss…

What if, when we think we are actually doing several jobs at a time, we only truly have the mental capability to focus on one thing at a time? Go ahead – try to type a letter and read a book at the same time – You Can’t!

Can you be in the middle of two jobs at once? Of course – but you’re still only doing one thing at a time. Try reading email and scheduling a meeting at the same time. Or talking to your loved one and playing Candy Crush! Chances are the loved one won’t think you’re giving them the attention they deserve…

So – maybe instead of trying to juggle several things at once, maybe the best way to be efficient and effective is to prioritize and then focus on efficiency on the ONE task you are accomplishing at a time.

I’d like you to try an experiment – one that finally opened my eyes to this concept. Take the picture I’ve included in this post, and print it out. You’ll see that it has some simple tasks for you to accomplish. There are 4 rows of letters and numbers that you need to fill out – so let’s try to do them in a multitasking method, and then with a focusing method.

In the first row you will see that we are going to fill out the 10 columns with numbers 1-10. In the second row we fill out the letters A-J, in capital letters. In the third row, we fill out the 10 columns with Roman Numerals 1-10, and in the final row we fill out the columns with the letters a-j in lowercase letters. Simple, right?

But first, we are going to fill out the rows by columns – start with Column A, and fill out all four rows. Then proceed to Column B. Make sure that you time yourself, to see how long it takes. This is a multi-tasking exercise – four simple tasks, but all four ‘at once’.

Next, after you have that accomplished, let’s’ try it by row – fill out all of row 1 first, then proceed with row 2, then row 3, then row 4. Time this exercise too.

You will find that the second exercise, where we completed a task with focus before proceeding on to the next task, is approximately 25% faster than the ‘multi-tasking’ exercise! Quite enlightening, huh!

This concept of Focusing and Finishing is gaining some credibility – check out this study with students by Zhen Wang. She found that while those who multi-task may feel good about what they’re doing, the quality and effectiveness of their work suffers.

So that’s what it’s about – focus, and productivity. In the end, you’ll get more done with less effort, and probably with better quality. Now, go try this experiment with your employees or friends – and see if they get the same results!