The art of multi-tasking 2
5. Write it down
You’ve got Gomer on line 4 and Melvin on line 5 when someone walks in the door. You smile and say, "Hi there, I’ll be with you in a moment. Please have a seat." Now back to Marvin. Or was it Melvin?
There’s only so much room up there for these kinds of details. Jot it down! This frees your short-term memory so you can fully serve in the present moment. In Getting Things Done, David Allen calls it your "psychic RAM".
Be ready for anything that comes at you. I keep a notepad handy in every room, especially near phones. A quick list goes a long way in centring you on your immediate tasks and knowing when they’re due.
6. Set a clear goal and time it
Deadlines, eh? Practise guessing how long it takes you to really finish something. For example, e-mailing Bertha about this morning’s sonar malfunction… 10 minutes, you say? Okay, prove it.
You set the kitchen timer on your desk to 10 minutes and write down "e-mail Fan" on the notepad next to it. Fire up Gmail… whoa, 21 new messages. Hey, Floyd wants to go see Brüno tonight! Yikes, check out that raunchy Evony ad. Wait, I had a goal here. Quick check. Oh right, e-mail Fannie.
Timers force us to stay on task for a brief period of time. They also help us realize how long it actually takes to do something when you factor in interruptions. Track your stats in a spreadsheet or use an evidence-based scheduling tool like FogBUGZ.
Over time, you’ll learn from your patterns and adjust accordingly. The less you bounce from task to task, the faster you’ll complete all of them. Practice every day, and soon, you too will become a time ninja.
7. Make a bull and carrot sandwich
How do you prioritize when the deadlines are all equally pressing? Make a bull and carrot sandwich.
Bull: If something’s bugging you, do it first! Usually it’s the thing you least want to do. Until you finish it, it will linger at the back of your mind while you’re trying to do other things. Grab the bull by its horns and do it first. Good riddance.
Carrot: The opposite strategy works too. Do the task you’re best at. You’ll finish it the fastest. The sense of accomplishment will get the ball rolling, and you can leap right into a harder task.
You can structure your rhythm this way like a sandwich, alternating between the hardest and easiest tasks, between bull and carrot.
8. Time out and breathe
Mind is racing? Then stop and breathe. Literally. Close your eyes now and focus on your breath. For at least a minute. If anything else enters your mind, quietly acknowledge it as "thinking" and return to your breath.
Once you connect to the inner shamanic grin (as I call it), you can step back and have a much clearer view of everything. See deeper patterns in your workflow. Envision a wiser plan. Prepare better responses ahead of time for common situations.
Then, whoosh, reenter the hustle and bustle with your new-found Zen.
