Focusing on single tasks showed me how broken our work culture is

I used to believe bouncing between tasks was the key to being efficient, I mean, everyone does it. But after a month of forcing myself to finish one thing before starting another, I saw how wrong I was. Idk, maybe it's just me, but my to-do list actually shrank for the first time ever. I started with small stuff, like only checking email twice a day and ignoring alerts. The results were crazy, I finished a big report in three days instead of dragging it out for a week. In my view, multitasking is just a way to look busy without getting real work done. Seeing coworkers stuck in that cycle makes me want to shake them. Give it a shot, you might find your stress levels drop too.

4 comments

4 Comments

ross.lily2mo ago

My office tried a "no internal meetings before noon" rule last quarter. The quiet hours let me actually finish design mockups instead of just starting five. @joelburns is right, the panic is worse than the reality. What's the longest you've let a "urgent" request sit before replying, and what actually happened? I had a manager's email wait four hours while I finished a client draft, and his follow-up was just "thanks for the update.

terry8353mo ago

How do you handle the guilt of not responding to emails right away? I forced myself to do the same thing, and it turns out most things can wait until you're done with your main task. Now I just laugh when I see people frantically switching tabs to look busy.

joelburns3mo ago

Watched my friend panic about unanswered emails during a crucial deadline. He let them sit for a few hours and the world didn't end. Now he checks messages in batches and feels less rushed all day.

ivan7743mo ago

Batching emails saved my sanity lol. I set specific times to check messages and found most stuff isn't urgent. Now I get more done without feeling rushed all day.