Tips for Mono Tasking

Tips for Mono Tasking •Isolate yourself Try to work without any distractions for a few hours. This means turning off your phone, closing your email and finding a quiet room in order to prevent distractions. •Make Meetings Technology Free Create a rule that there are no mobile phones or tablets in meetings. Without the constant distractions and everyone’s full attention then meetings focused, to the point and as a result shorter. •Chunk Your Time Plan your day in blocks of time. Focusing on completing one task at a time, or working on similar tasks together. Set specific times for returning calls, answering emails, doing research, attending meetings. •Turn off Email Alerts If you receive an alert when emails come in, turn it off. This will help you avoid the temptation to check your inbox as soon as you get new mail. If you are tempted to check your email when you’re supposed to be working on another task, stop, take a deep breath and resist the urge. Try to focus your attention back to the job at hand. •Keep your Desk Clear Only have on your desk what you are working on right now. This way you can’t be distracted by other tasks and be tempted to move away from what you are doing. •Take a Timeout If you have that frazzled overwhelmed feeling and you find you are multitasking, stop and take a timeout. Take a few minutes to just stop and refocus your mind. •Write a List of Tasks If you are in the habit of stopping what you are doing every time you have a new idea or a new item to action arrives in your inbox, create a list instead and write the task down. Return to your original job and work your way through the list focusing on one task at a time.