Busyness is Not Productive

Busy! Busy! Busy! This is how many people describe their days. Papers piled up on one side of the desk, a phone ringing on the other side, a computer with both emails and files sitting in the middle, and people waiting in line to tap you on the shoulder. Then, there are the issues of things outside of work. Multitasking has been the word of the day for this scenario. Is this productive or is this just too much?

“Beware the bareness of a busy life.” Socrates said that, clearly, centuries before we had computers, cell phones, project teams, conference calls, and so forth. Still, he was onto something. Studies show that multitasking is not productive. It actually increases your risk of making mistakes. This is not any one person’s fault.

Our brains are wired to do only one thing at a time. Focusing on one thing at a time improves our focus on that one item or task. It also enables us to work both more efficiently and effectively. Essentially, completing more in the same amount of time. A study at Vanderbilt University verified a physical bottle neck in the brain. This is a physical construct of our brains that prevents the brain from doing more than one thing at a time.

One study that was done at Microsoft showed that the overwhelming majority of workers lost up to 15 minutes each time they were asked to multitask. Some of this time was spent shifting the focus from one task to a completely different. This requires getting into a new groove. The results showed that up to 15 minutes per new task was lost.

David Meyer, of the University of Michigan, verified up to 25% drop in efficiency during multitasking.

Your clients deserve better. Rather than scattering yourself, get your day into order.

Urgent Important	Not Urgent Important
Not Important Urgent	Not Urgent Not Important

I have always had the best results using the Four Square model. This model divides tasks into one of four quadrants/categories.

This may be a bit passé, but it works. The method I have employed has me tracking everything I do each day for a week.

Starting Monday morning I break out a watch and a pad of paper. I write down on this pad the time. From there I add the task. Each time I change tasks I log the time at which I change.

By Friday I have a very detailed list of every single thing I do during the day and when. This list goes home with me for analysis.

First, I break all the tasks out by Urgent and Important, Not Urgent and Not Important, Urgent and Not Important, and Not Urgent and Important. These correlate to each of the four portions of the grid above.

It is very simple now. I take the tasks as I have labeled them and list them in each category. The Non-Urgent and Non-Important tasks I just do away with. That is, I make the very conscious and deliberate decision to stop doing these things. They simply are wastes of all my time.

The other category that is a red light category is the Urgent and Important quadrant. The tasks in here are generally those that have become fires. Fires which must be put out immediately. This is where the multitasking we talked about above is being felt the most.

Of the tasks left over are those which must be dealt with before they become fires. These are the Urgent but Not Important and the Important but Not Urgent. These tasks are the ones which are the most important. You must put them into their proper time slots during each day. These are your money makers, as it were.

Some things that fall onto this list may need to be delegated or farmed out. There are plenty of excellent writers out there who can help you with some of these tasks. Writing marketing material, emails, guides, and the list goes on.