Yesterday we talked about how single tasking is a key component of flow state.
Today I want to give you a few tips on how to practice single tasking and how to protect yourself from getting swept up in the destructive maelstrom of multitasking.
Before we talk about how to retrain your mind to concentrate on one thing at a time, understand this.
There is a physiological reason why multitasking is tiring. The fatigue you feel isn't just a mental illusion.
Even though when a person is multitasking it feels to them as if they are doing two or more tasks at once.
The truth is the human brain doesn't work like that, and actually pays attention to one thing at a time. As we saw a single given task is made up of lots of mini tasks.
The brain has no problem processing these mini events as long as they are all used to achieve a single goal that we class as a mega-task.
If we look at the flowchart below, we can see how each mega-task has lots of different components inputted into the brain for processing.
We can see how the output lines are broken, representing interrupted concentration as this person switches from one task to the other.
When you switch from one mega-task to another like this, you are stressing out your brain, the dozens of mini events become jumbled, and productivity falls.
Every time you switch focus, you are producing certain sugars that cause you to burn energy.
This is why it is possible to feel exhausted just from sitting at a desk all day, or watching a film while messing about on social media.
IT MUST BE AVOIDED AT ALL COST!
Training Your Mind To Single Task - The First 3 Steps
So we now know that a single task is made up of a group of events that we can easily concentrate on, and it is best to focus on one of these groups at a time.
The problem is we live in the 21st century, and the amount of things that not only distract us, but are designed specifically to do just that, grows exponentially each day.
Distractions are what cause you to check Facebook and/or your emails 79 times a day, or to pick up your phone at any point you feel like you're not doing anything.
Well you do have a way of fighting back, and as is often the case, your weapon comes in the form of habit made strong by way of repetition.
So it is not enough to carry out the steps below, you must consciously continue with the regime until it becomes habit.
You'll be surprised at just how quickly this happens . .
Step 1: The App Purge
Without doubt, the number one cause of distraction in the modernised world today, is the smart phone.
If you are old enough to remember a time when cell phones were simply devices to make and receive calls, and then later texts.
You will then also remember that phones remained in our pockets until we were either called, or needed to make a call.
Now however, they are mini computers we carry around with us allowing us to distract ourselves to our heart's (dis)content.
So the app purge is simple, get rid of all nonessential apps on your phone (tell yourself you'll get them again later).
If you have Facebook or any social media on your phone, getting rid of this one thing alone will improve your concentration a thousandfold.
Next, disable all notifications and synchronisations you have with the remaining essential apps.
So if you have email access on your phone, stop it from beeping or leaving you a text every time you have a message.
If you are having problems with that one.
Remember this:
Emails are never truly urgent! If something is really life and death the person will phone you!
At first you will feel weird, that's because you are used to filling any spare thinking time you have by performing meaningless tasks, like getting a higher score on Candy Crush.
However you will notice the benefits of doing this almost immediately.
If you are prone to forgetting things, or you regularly find yourself searching for the right word mid-conversation. You will notice a rapid and welcome improvement to your short term memory.
Step 2 - Sanctifying Meal & Potty Times
OK so unless you have started a new relationship with a culinary genius, who is hellbent on impressing you on a daily basis.
Then your mealtimes are pretty mundane, and there is a chance you watch TV/Youtube/Netflix or fiddle on your phone/computer while eating.
This is because without some Heston Blumenthal keeping you guessing each mealtime, eating is just a mundane task we have to do in order to thrive and survive.
It goes doubly so for when the food is coming out the other end and we are sitting on the toilet.
So again we find ourselves playing with our phones while we're sitting in the bathroom. What better time to get some valuable game time in right?
Wrong!
Whilst really concentrating on your bowel movements won't particularly (as far as I know) improve them. Concentrating on your eating has been shown to be beneficial to your digestive system and mental health in general.
Apart from that, you are training your mind to focus on one thing at a time, no matter how banal.
In essence you are saying to yourself;
I'm OK with doing one thing at a time, no matter how mundane.
Step 3 - Compartmentalise!
This one has an exclamation mark because I'm shouting this at you.
Seriously, if you ignore everything else I have said in this article, and the Incredible You! Flow State series, and just do this one thing, you will be doing your mind an incredible favour.
Let's use your fantastic imagination again; this time imagine you're a student (should be easy if you already are).
Now imagine yourself sitting at a large round table in a library and you're about to start studying.
You have four major exams, in four different subjects coming up in the next few months.
What do you think would be better?
To fill that table with as many books and notes on all four of the subjects you are taking?
Or to have only the books and notes you need to study for the; Vaguries Of Advanced Martian Mechanics exam you're about to take?
If you said the first one and were being serious, you need help; and here it is.
Phone - The first thing that needs organising is your smart phone. If you have done your purge from before, you won't have any nonessential apps on there anyway. However you still need to organise what you do have left.
This can be done by adding folders, and adding or removing pages.
So just like our imaginary CEO yesterday, who put relevant departments on the same floor of the building in order to have productive meetings.
So too will you put all relevant apps together in folders. For instance you may have apps that help you when you're travelling, like a map app, a train app, and/or a bus app.
Put these in a folder called Travel, put your flashlight and settings icon in a Utilities folder.
Keep doing this until there are only folders showing on your top level screens.
Then decide what folders need to be on the home page, the ones you will see most often, should be the ones you will use the most.
So the International Travel folder should only be on your homepage if you are constantly travelling. If you go abroad once or twice a year do not have that folder on your homepage.
The goal is to have as few pages and as few folders as possible.
. .
The ultimate goal is for 90% of your phone use to be reserved for making calls.
When you do this young Padewon, you will reverse what is true at this point in time . .
You will no longer be a slave, instead you will become the master of your phone.
Now go forth and single task!
Don't forget to look out tomorrow for the next part of your single task training:
Incredible You! Single Task Training The Final Test -Becoming A Flow Jedi
The Incredible You! Flow State Series:
Incredible You! - Flow Your Way To Success With The Power Of Single Tasking
Incredible You! - Feeling The Flow With The Power Of Touch
Incredible You! - Connect To The Moment And Enhance Your Power With Sound
Incredible You! - Move Like An Animal With Ido Portal
Incredible You! - Finding Your Flow State Superpower
WHAT ABOUT YOU GUYS; DO YOU STRUGGLE TO STAY FOCUSED? HAVE YOU FOUND ANY OF YOUR OWN LITTLE TRICKS AND TIPS TO HELP CONCENTRATION? WERE YOU EVEN AWARE OF THE POWER OF SINGLE TASKING? AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!