The Price of MultiTasking

Seems a Stanford
University psychology professor noticed a lot of people
multi-tasking, something that he understood to be impossible because of
how our brains function. And yet, here were people all around him,
talking on cell-phones while surfing the web and
carrying on a conversation across the table and….

You get the picture. You've probably done it yourself. More than once.

So the professor and his pals got curious. How could this be happening? Were our brains being re-wired by technology? Was this another step in our development as human beings?

To find some answers, he and his students created a series of simple tests. What they discovered was fascinating and went completely
opposite to what you may have expected.

It seems that people
who are HMM (heavy media multitasker in research jargon do not pay
attention, cannot control their memory and cannot switch easily from one
job to another as adeptly as people who concentrate on one job
at a time.

Basically we're assaulting our brain with so much information that it becomes overloaded and can't cope. We lose the ability to filter out the unimportant and irrelevant.

Can you spell s-t-r-e-s-s?

"High multitaskers can't keep things separate in their minds."

Is it any wonder we feel  'information overload'? The remedy?

"Try
to do less," Professor Ophir said, which is something that he does in his own
life. "You can check your e-mail,
but make sure you have periods of focus. Cut to your calendar later."

We think we're being more productive when in reality, we're not.

As my own little experiment, I tried single tasking this week. It's a skill I have to re-learn so there were a lot of false starts and stops. First, I made a list of things I needed to accomplish and then went through the list ONE THING AT A TIME. What I found was this -
I got more accomplished and I FELT that accomplishment. I lost the uneasy feeling that I was dropping the ball somewhere.

I challenge you to give it a try this week.

If you want to read more about the study click here. It's fascinating! (You might want to send the link to your boss, too. )

 

7 Tips to A More Productive Day

Here's really helpful video on how to create your day in the most
productive manner possible. In 7 simply, easy steps you can make real progress towards your goals. The advice will help you from getting distracted by all the bright, shiny objects that come across your path each day.

Mynders Glover recorded a 6 minute video on this topic with some
ideas he gained from his recent trip to the
Stompernet conference. The topic is timely as we all look for ways to focus our efforts in this tight economy.

Here's the link.

http://budurl.com/IvyLee7

 

Vacations: Seven Tips to Help You De-Stress

"You deserve a break today." – R. McDonald

All clowning aside, when was the last time you gave yourself a time out?

If you had to stop and think about your answer or simply rolled your eyes then you really need to hear this – it's VITAL to your success (and sanity) to disengage and relax on a regular basis. Vacations not only improve the quality of our lives, they also improve
the quality of the service we offer as business people or at our
workplace.

Did you know that 35% of North Americans don't take all their vacation time? They believe that 'someday' they'll relax. However, that road leads to higher stress, poor health and reduced productivity, things you can't afford as a small businessperson. 'Someday' may be too late.

The trick lies in taking real time off in our modern culture. We're too easily accessible through our Blackberries, smartphones and laptops. It's hard to unplug but here's what you need to understand – you can't be in
two places at one time; you
are either on vacation or you're at work.

So here are seven tips on how to take a successful vacation that will let you come back refreshed and ready to work again.

1. Start planning well ahead.

I'm not talking about hotel reservations but rather business plans. Look ahead to what needs to be in place when you return and do what you can before you leave. Knowing that you're ready to roll on your return will help you relax while you're away.

2. Remove the temptation.

Leave your technological masters at home in a drawer. I know that sounds extreme but what did you do before cell phones and email?

Exactly.

There's nothing sadder than seeing kids trying to get their parents to play while Mom or Dad has a cell phone held to their ear. On my recent trip I committed to an on-line meeting while I was away. The added stress impacted not only the quality of my time off but that of my family. I won't make that mistake again. 

3. Get the support you need.

If the idea of 700 emails waiting for your return makes you cringe, arrange
for someone to monitor and respond for you. If unbroken contact is "mission critical" for your business, it may be worth hiring someone to cover messages for you. Forward your emails and calls to this support person if you don't want to give them direct access.

If a crisis
should come up leave your support person a number where they can
reach you. (Contact information with a third party should already be
standard operating procedure when you travel.)

Then trust them to follow through on your behalf.

4. Manage the expectations.

Let your clients and vendors know you will be away. If you don't have someone monitoring your inbox and voice mail then leave a message explaining when to expect a response and who to contact in urgent situations. 

5. Lose the guilt.

Have as much respect for your personal life as you do for your professional life.
Enjoy your family, friends, or solitude. 

5. Re-enter.

Give yourself time to get caught up and acclimated. Build in a day at home on your return, especially if your time away had a retreat aspect to it. Be gentle with yourself.

6. Tell everyone what a great time you had.

By sharing with others you remind yourself of the good times and hold on to that sense of well-being just a little longer. Just don't overdo it (as in, "Come over Saturday and see my 1001 slides of …"). But there's nothing wrong in using your favorite picture as the background on your computer or creating a slideshow as your screen saver.

7. Start planning your next vacation.