And don't forget that when you task switch, you're costing yourself about 25 minutes every time for getting back into the original task. This is why it is critical to give yourself the time and the distraction free zone to do something like this.
Indeed, and you can imagine if you are interrupted four to five times in a day how far behind that sets you.
Look at it in the lost opportunity costs. Figure out how much you make as a default, then how many interruptions you get. Multiply that and THEN multiply that number by 3.
This is the actual potential costs you can expect to lose over the lifetime of that project.
Let's say I make $30/hr and I get interrupted 5 times today.
5x25 minutes is 125 minutes
That's roughly $60 lost for interruptions alone.
But it is $180 lost to this opportunity at scale.
Is that interruption worth losing $180?
If not, then you need to make sure you keep those interruptions at bay.
Oh, I absolutely can imagine. In fact, I don't have to. I have six kids, and for many years I was self-employed and worked from home. The kids used to come in and ask me stuff all day long.
Once I wrote down the time in a scratch pad every time they came in and discovered that they were coming in to talk to me *every three minutes* all day long. I was working in three minutes blocks.
Now I have a small office space nearby (and the kids are mostly grown anyway). The amount of work I can get done there in a comparitively short amount of time still staggers me.
This is a such an important concept for us to get out heads around. Especially as creatives who have no shortage of ideas and can interupt ourselves on the regular :)). Discovering time blocking in my 20's was also a game changer for me - until then I'd been a proud multi-tasker, but I now know (for me at least), jumping between different tasks or doing multiple things concurrently carries a cognitive load that is not only inefficient but exhausting.
This is spot on. The amount of satisfaction I feel after getting one thing done in this way seems to inevitably set me up for getting a bunch more things done soon after (especially if I've been procrastinating). I've lately found that turning on do not disturb and leaving my phone in another room really helps when in this mode - anything to remove potential sources of distraction.
For more than fifty years, I’ve used a “trick” that helps me. I write down two or three (when I was younger, it was often as many as six) things I want to do, and as I’m working on the first one, the tasks that threaten to derail me on the bottom of the list. I play a game with myself to make me do the tasks in order. That way things get done, and I get lots of variety, and I don’t have to prioritize.
My tasks are usually the kind that can be completed in less than five minutes, and I make “a little progress” on lots of things. If I actually find myself focusing on a mental job, I let myself stick with it until it’s actually done or I need a break. This works well on housework!
Agreed! It IS simple but hard. I recently learned a mindset from Ikebana practice - have 3 parts to every task: Prepare-Do-Clean Up. This has actually helped me a lot, and created a mental "container" - with a clear beginning-middle-end for each task (VERY satisfying for my ADHD brain!).
I struggled with this yesterday. I worked for hours to complete my portfolio. And then I finished a short story. And shopped for some shelves. And did a load of laundry. But I didn’t finish my portfolio.
Congratulations on getting things done yesterday. I think you either had a mental block and/or anxiety about the portfolio and your subconscious asked for a much needed break to regroup as well as some wins (yay clean clothes!). May sound counterintuitive but maybe a long luxurious scenic drive might help? When I’m in my element, my aha moment is that everything is connected. So, doing something that appears to have nothing to do with your portfolio is actually still organizing things in your head that have everything to do with your portfolio.
You are spot on about the anxiety! And your observation that everything is connected feels very comforting and useful to me. If I can combine that with the hard deadlines I need to meet, I’ll feel very satisfied.
So so true and yet so hard to do. Despite practicing meditation daily and working super hard on my concentration right now I seem to be in a distracted season. I will try this tomorrow though 🙏🏻
I feel like it's a little mean of you to call me out like this, as if you saw me reading the email notification about this post in the middle of a totally doable but also definitely multi-step work task that's been dragging on for days and days... ;-)
One practice that helps me stay focused on one thing, when I do it, is to write down the “need to do destruction” in a to remember note pad I’ve placed near-by. This gives me a little peace that those important things will not be forgotten. When I finish the one thing I can review the list and evaluate the items that really need to be done.
This reminds me of the phrase I use with myself to get something done, stay focused etc: “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” And damned if it doesn’t work every time I’m feeling myself rushed or overwhelmed by my to do list. I just slow the F down. And BAM. The magic happens.
I love how simple, profound, and effective this really is in terms of ACTUALLY getting things done, rather than juggling multiple tasks and half baking all of them.
It's also something I personally need to remind myself to do and cutting out distractions is a big part for me.
This is a such an important concept for us to get out heads around. Especially as creatives who have no shortage of ideas and can interupt ourselves on the regular :)). Discovering time blocking in my 20's was also a game changer for me - until then I'd been a proud multi-tasker, but I now know (for me at least), jumping between different tasks or doing multiple things concurrently carries a cognitive load that is not only inefficient but exhausting.
This is a great strategy for tasks that have to be completed by a deadline. But I have trouble identifying that one thing from lists of non-vital tasks, so I keep putting them off.
Maybe it's ADHD, maybe the way I'm wired, but I get so overwhelmed by my lists – both personal and business – that I end up avoiding them all (until something becomes urgent). I think "I can't do x until I've done y"... and "I can't do y until I've done z"... ad nauseam. So I get overwhelmed.
But thanks to Noah Kagan in Million Dollar Weekend, I've adopted his strategy "NOW, not how". Brilliant. Whenever a task occurs to me, I do it. Right away. No analysis. No figuring out if it's in the right order. And it's working!
And don't forget that when you task switch, you're costing yourself about 25 minutes every time for getting back into the original task. This is why it is critical to give yourself the time and the distraction free zone to do something like this.
Twenty-five minutes?? Yikes, that's huge.
Indeed, and you can imagine if you are interrupted four to five times in a day how far behind that sets you.
Look at it in the lost opportunity costs. Figure out how much you make as a default, then how many interruptions you get. Multiply that and THEN multiply that number by 3.
This is the actual potential costs you can expect to lose over the lifetime of that project.
Let's say I make $30/hr and I get interrupted 5 times today.
5x25 minutes is 125 minutes
That's roughly $60 lost for interruptions alone.
But it is $180 lost to this opportunity at scale.
Is that interruption worth losing $180?
If not, then you need to make sure you keep those interruptions at bay.
Oh, I absolutely can imagine. In fact, I don't have to. I have six kids, and for many years I was self-employed and worked from home. The kids used to come in and ask me stuff all day long.
Once I wrote down the time in a scratch pad every time they came in and discovered that they were coming in to talk to me *every three minutes* all day long. I was working in three minutes blocks.
Now I have a small office space nearby (and the kids are mostly grown anyway). The amount of work I can get done there in a comparitively short amount of time still staggers me.
This is a such an important concept for us to get out heads around. Especially as creatives who have no shortage of ideas and can interupt ourselves on the regular :)). Discovering time blocking in my 20's was also a game changer for me - until then I'd been a proud multi-tasker, but I now know (for me at least), jumping between different tasks or doing multiple things concurrently carries a cognitive load that is not only inefficient but exhausting.
There’s a wonderful book by Paul Loomans called Time Surfing that discusses this idea. Much recommended.
This is spot on. The amount of satisfaction I feel after getting one thing done in this way seems to inevitably set me up for getting a bunch more things done soon after (especially if I've been procrastinating). I've lately found that turning on do not disturb and leaving my phone in another room really helps when in this mode - anything to remove potential sources of distraction.
This is 100% me. I’ve sometimes thought I had ADD or ADHD because I cannot stay focused on ONE thing. This really helps put things into perspective.
Thank you for this!
For more than fifty years, I’ve used a “trick” that helps me. I write down two or three (when I was younger, it was often as many as six) things I want to do, and as I’m working on the first one, the tasks that threaten to derail me on the bottom of the list. I play a game with myself to make me do the tasks in order. That way things get done, and I get lots of variety, and I don’t have to prioritize.
My tasks are usually the kind that can be completed in less than five minutes, and I make “a little progress” on lots of things. If I actually find myself focusing on a mental job, I let myself stick with it until it’s actually done or I need a break. This works well on housework!
Agreed! It IS simple but hard. I recently learned a mindset from Ikebana practice - have 3 parts to every task: Prepare-Do-Clean Up. This has actually helped me a lot, and created a mental "container" - with a clear beginning-middle-end for each task (VERY satisfying for my ADHD brain!).
I struggled with this yesterday. I worked for hours to complete my portfolio. And then I finished a short story. And shopped for some shelves. And did a load of laundry. But I didn’t finish my portfolio.
Congratulations on getting things done yesterday. I think you either had a mental block and/or anxiety about the portfolio and your subconscious asked for a much needed break to regroup as well as some wins (yay clean clothes!). May sound counterintuitive but maybe a long luxurious scenic drive might help? When I’m in my element, my aha moment is that everything is connected. So, doing something that appears to have nothing to do with your portfolio is actually still organizing things in your head that have everything to do with your portfolio.
You are spot on about the anxiety! And your observation that everything is connected feels very comforting and useful to me. If I can combine that with the hard deadlines I need to meet, I’ll feel very satisfied.
Rest assured we are all rooting for you.
So so true and yet so hard to do. Despite practicing meditation daily and working super hard on my concentration right now I seem to be in a distracted season. I will try this tomorrow though 🙏🏻
I tried reading this article but got distracted.
I feel like it's a little mean of you to call me out like this, as if you saw me reading the email notification about this post in the middle of a totally doable but also definitely multi-step work task that's been dragging on for days and days... ;-)
Great advice. It is SO DIFFICULT to avoid the derailers. To avoid getting sucked down the rabbit hole when "something else comes to mind."
I find it is extraordinarily difficult to resist that and keep "on task."
One practice that helps me stay focused on one thing, when I do it, is to write down the “need to do destruction” in a to remember note pad I’ve placed near-by. This gives me a little peace that those important things will not be forgotten. When I finish the one thing I can review the list and evaluate the items that really need to be done.
This reminds me of the phrase I use with myself to get something done, stay focused etc: “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” And damned if it doesn’t work every time I’m feeling myself rushed or overwhelmed by my to do list. I just slow the F down. And BAM. The magic happens.
I love how simple, profound, and effective this really is in terms of ACTUALLY getting things done, rather than juggling multiple tasks and half baking all of them.
It's also something I personally need to remind myself to do and cutting out distractions is a big part for me.
Thank you!
This is a such an important concept for us to get out heads around. Especially as creatives who have no shortage of ideas and can interupt ourselves on the regular :)). Discovering time blocking in my 20's was also a game changer for me - until then I'd been a proud multi-tasker, but I now know (for me at least), jumping between different tasks or doing multiple things concurrently carries a cognitive load that is not only inefficient but exhausting.
This is a great strategy for tasks that have to be completed by a deadline. But I have trouble identifying that one thing from lists of non-vital tasks, so I keep putting them off.
Maybe it's ADHD, maybe the way I'm wired, but I get so overwhelmed by my lists – both personal and business – that I end up avoiding them all (until something becomes urgent). I think "I can't do x until I've done y"... and "I can't do y until I've done z"... ad nauseam. So I get overwhelmed.
But thanks to Noah Kagan in Million Dollar Weekend, I've adopted his strategy "NOW, not how". Brilliant. Whenever a task occurs to me, I do it. Right away. No analysis. No figuring out if it's in the right order. And it's working!