Why We Should Focus On One Task At A Time

Introduction – We Should Focus on One Task at a Time 

The notion that we should focus on one task at a time may not seem very beneficial when we consider the state of things in our lives. 

This includes things like bills, social life, studies, chores, car issues, picking up the kids from school yada yada yada.  

Multi-tasking seems appealing in these situations – getting more things done in less time. 

But, how often does this actually happen?  

Do you actually get a multitude of tasks done in an hour or two because your plan is to multi-task? Or do you find yourself burning out because there’s just so much to do in such little time. 

We should focus on one task at a time because, focusing on one thing at a time will increase productivity and make you complete more in less time. More than multi-tasking will.

Positive Impacts of Why We Should Focus on One Task at a Time 

Increased Concentration 

By focusing on one task at a time, you are giving your all in completing this task.  

Most of your brain power will be used to work on that task. 

For example, as I write this blog post, if I were to check my notifications every ten minutes this would undoubtedly make me lose concentration as I would be constantly getting distracted. 

Less Mental Stress 

As mentioned before, we should focus on one task a time as it will reduce the mental load that task has on us. 

If you were to have a really big problem but tried to do it while doing other things at the same time it will first, make you not concentrate on the task.  

Secondly, it may even make you mess up and thirdly, prolong that overwhelming task so that it weighs on your mind for longer and longer. 

By setting a block of time to completely focus on that task, you can work hard on it and get it out of the way so you don’t have to think about it anymore.

Enjoying the process 

Another reason why working on one task at a time is important is because it allows you to enjoy the task. 

Having a fixation on ‘doing more in less time’ may lead you to cram in as many things as possible to the point that they give you stress.  

This hyper fixation with being productive may cause more anxiety rather than less. The enjoyment almost becomes the fact that you are able to do so many things so quickly rather than your actual achievements. 

It goes back to the whole ‘enjoy the journey as much as the destination’ idea. What’s the point of going through all that hard work (which takes longer than the actual feeling  you get from the outcome as you’re likely to want to move onto the next thing) if you’re hating every part of it? 

Betters your problem-solving skills 

Problem-solving is an essential life skill and is another reason why we should focus on one task at a time.  

You will be put in many situations where you have to problem-solve whether it be at home or at work. You can either take these situations as troublesome tasks that are ruining your life, or as an opportunity to grow. 

If you focus on a single task, you problem-solving skills will increase because when the problem arises, you will be putting your entire focus on finding a solution. 

Increasing skills 

Let’s take two completely different examples and see how focusing on one task at a time or ‘single-tasking’ will help you become more efficient in doing… basically anything. 

Tidying your messy room 

After a long, busy week of work, you may find your room looking, well let’s be honest, in a right tip. 

The laundry is on the chair, books are everywhere, cupboards are a mess and everything’s just stuffed under the bed.  

You don’t even know where to begin so you faff around for a bit and put the task off. 

Eventually, when you do get up, you tell yourself you’re going to start on this section and then work your way round. 

If you focus on tidying the room rather than stopping every 10 minutes to go on your phone or go make a snack, you may start figuring out new systems that could help you save time next time. 

For example, there may be a set of clothes that you most often wear but because you fold it every time and leave it at the bottom of your clothes, every time you’re in a rush you mess the rest of your clothes up looking for it. 

Keeping these clothes in a separate space will stop you from this chaos and thus, reduce time and mess. 

As a result, you’ve learnt new tidying skills that will increase efficiency in the future.

Learning how to paint 

Rather than stopping to watch a tutorial in the middle of your painting session, setting aside time to just focus on painting solely after watching tutorials will increase creativity. 

This gives time for your brain to process all the techniques you have learned in a practical sense and will allow you to grow as a painter. 

Helps you to set boundaries 

We should focus on one task at a time as it teaches us to set and respect boundaries. 

Once you get into the routine of setting time to focus on one single task and start seeing the results, you will also respect that time and try your best to avoid distractions. 

This will also teach you to honor your boundaries and remain disciplined. 

Achieve more in less time 

All of the points above show how focussing on one task at a time will allow you to achieve more in less time. 

By single-tasking, you will gain problem-solving skills, higher levels of concentration, creativity skills, discipline and more.  

You will figure out what habits makes your life easier and what don’t. 

Techniques & Terms – Why We Should Focus on One Task at a Time 

Now that we understand why we should focus on one task at a time, let’s look at some fancy things and simple things you can do to learn how to single-task effectively. 

Set an Implementation Intention 

James Clear covers this in his book Atomic Habits. (If you haven’t read it, make sure you do – there are many amazing, actionable steps you can take right now that will help you build better habits) 

Implementation intentions are plans that you set for yourself that include details of where, when and how you will work on this task/ behaviour, and they only work when you focus on one thing at a time. (1)

An example of an implementation intention will be: 

Next week, I will do 30 minutes of inclined walking on Monday at 6pm at my gym. 

As you can see, this intention includes the when (Monday at 6pm), the where (gym) and the how (using the treadmill). 

Research has proved that a person is 2-3 times more likely to follow up with a habit by setting an implementation intention.  

Once you get used to this new routine and have repeated it several times, you attain the behaviour of ‘automacity.’  

Automacity is a process in which you’re so used to this new behaviour that you now do it without really thinking about it, making it become a habit. 

Time Block 

Create time blocks to set allocated times in which you must do a task.  

You can do this as an implementation intention however, as an implementation intention is more for habits, if you have a one-off thing you need to do ASAP such as an assignment, set a block of time and focus on it completely. 

Remove distractions 

Limit distractions whether it be the phone, a chatty sibling/ friend, or anything else. 

If you have a tendency to start a conversation with someone that completely distracts you when doing the task, either get a change of scene or just ask them not to contact you at this specific time. 

For single-tasking to work, your sole goal in that time block should be to work on this task, and nothing else. 

I guarantee you that by doing this you will get the task done sooner than you would have  (and then you can call your friend after!) 

Work in short bursts and take breaks 

As single-tasking requires a lot of concentration, it can be quite a strenuous thing to do especially if you’re doing challenging work. 

You can use the Pomodoro technique to help you retain focus. Also take regular breaks so that you can refresh yourself and get back on the task without losing steam. 

Deep Work vs Shallow Work 

In simple terms, deep work is work that requires your complete focus and attention and shallow work includes tasks that don’t require much brain energy and can even be done in a state of distraction. 

I know the whole point of this post is to explain why we should focus on one task at a time but, I’m going to go on a slight tangent here.  

But, hear me out. 

Reserve deep-work tasks for single tasking (e.g. learning about a new software) and shallow-work tasks for multi-tasking (e.g. looking through emails or making breakfast in the morning). 

Learning about new software is obviously going to take a lot of brain work but with something like making breakfast in the morning, you could actually save time by doing a quick tidy as your kettle boils or putting your kid’s toys away. 

Let’s build on these concepts further below. 

Pair an enjoyable task with a shallow task 

For example, going to the gym and doing an incline walk. Yes, you can single-task by simply walking for 30 minutes but that can get very boring very quick when all you’re focussing on is when the time will be up. 

Why not put on an interesting podcast or documentary so that you can learn something during these 30 minutes? 

Here, multi-tasking may end up being more beneficial – you’re training your body as you train your mind. Similarly, you can just single-task and look out of the window if you find that calming. Both situations are great if they work for you. 

KEY POINTS (Why we should focus on one task at a time):

Single-tasking is essential for developing problem-solving skills, higher levels of concentration, creativity skills, discipline and more. 

Single-tasking is important when the work is deep work.  

You can single-task if the work is shallow work as well, but multi-tasking is also good for these kinds of tasks too. 

LINKS USED: 

https://jamesclear.com/master-one-thing#:~:text=However%20(and%20this%20is%20crucial,focused%20on%20a%20single%20goal.