Various sources and my own experience tell me that doing one thing at a time can certainly create better results than multitasking. A student recently did a presentation in one of my classes demonstrating this notion as well.
For years, I’ve heard from my peers how good they are at multitasking – I’ll be honest, I thought I was good myself. Until I began my PhD program, I often thrived on having multiple things going on at once. Now, anytime I sit down to write a paper or do a presentation for my classwork, I shut off all distractions and block out 90 minutes of uninterrupted time (with breaks every half hour) to complete stages of my research and writing.
What I have found is that the more I focus on one thing at a time, the more productive I become, and the more time I have left over for recharging and relaxing.
What strategies do you use to be productive while focusing on one thing at a time? I’ll post responses from readers later in the week.
