The ability to focus on one task will make you more productive

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Doing one thing at a time without being distracted by anything else is the secret to true productivity. How to get rid of a dozen browser tabs, focus on work and go into single-tasking mode? Kevan Lee, copywriter for Buffer, shares his secrets.

How many browser tabs do you have open right now? While writing this post, I had 18 tabs open. I wish I could say that all of them are needed to research the topic, but a couple of them definitely fell into a YouTube black hole. Familiar situation?

We all love to open tabs one by one, following links in articles to other materials or sites. And pretty quickly we forget why we even went online.

Browser tabs can be thought of as a test of multitasking. The more tabs you have open, the more you multitask and the further you get from real productivity. The same goes for anything else that distracts you from your main goal. Doing several different things at the same time is the recipe for inefficiency. Fortunately, there are some fun ways to experiment with single-tasking - both in your browser and outside of it.

3 seconds of distraction will entail 2x more mistakes

300 University of Michigan students on the ability to persevere on a computer test despite distractions. The interference was constantly pop-up windows in which you had to enter the code. One such window was distracting for a period of time from 2, 8 to 4, 4 seconds.

After a break of 2, 8 seconds, students made twice as many mistakes than usual. After a break of 4, 4 seconds - 4 times more.

Experiments like this and mountains of scientific research confirm that multitasking leads to decreased productivity, accuracy, and efficiency. And here are just a few examples:

• The Ohio State University researched what it is. For example, how people perceive information when reading a book while watching TV. Cognitive outcomes were low for both. But we continue to do them at the same time, simply because we experience an emotional uplift during this activity.
• A group of psychologists from Harvard, the University of North Carolina, and the Paris Graduate School of Commerce (HEC) have found that those who spend time thinking about one problem end up working on others.
• Professor David Strayer of the University of Utah says that talking on the phone while driving (one of the most common forms of multitasking) is just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. The driver's reaction and attention is reduced so much that they do not notice what they usually see: billboards and pedestrians.

And yet, despite overwhelming evidence that doing more than one thing at a time is irrational, we continue to multitask.

The statistics from this clearly demonstrate how difficult it has become for us to keep our attention.

• The average duration of a person's attention span is 8 seconds.
• The attention span of a gold aquarium fish is 9 seconds.
• 7% of people forget about their own birthday from time to time.
• An office worker checks inboxes in the mail on average 30 times per hour.

Single-tasking: one thing, no distractions

What is single-tasking is clear from the name. Single-tasking is doing one thing at a time, with the least amount of distractions and interruptions.

Becoming a single-tasker requires two important changes in your lifestyle.

First, you learn to respond appropriately to requests. You decide on your own when and what notifications are sent to your phone and browser, rather than receiving notifications in real time. You live by your rules, and you are not constantly dependent on the Internet. This makes you less distracted.

Secondly, you get rid of everything unnecessary, including things. According to the concept of minimalism, this way you put things in order not only in your things, but also in your thoughts. Minimalism is a tool that allows you to shield yourself from excess in favor of what really matters, thereby helping you find happiness, fulfillment and independence.

If you combine these approaches, the result is single-tasking.

Also single-tasking is the opposite of multitasking. You don't open a dozen browser tabs at once, you don't check your mail every 10 minutes, you don't keep a chat window open all the time on your desktop.

Single-tasking is one thing at a time, during which you are not distracted by anything.

Single tabs: one tab at a time, no more

At the beginning of this article, I already mentioned my tendency to open many tabs at the same time, so it's logical to start talking about single-tasking by asking about browser tabs.

Keep only one tab open during your browser session.

Seems unrealistic? This is likely to be a daunting task if you're going from a dozen tabs to just one. Maybe it will be easier for you to go to this goal in small steps.

James Hamblin of The Atlantic advises choosing one day a week to only use one open tab at a time. He himself prefers Thursday.

Buffer co-founder Leo Widrich also uses the one-tab rule, which also helps him work with to-do lists. The day before, Leo writes out the things he needs to do the next day, prioritizes and accordingly draws up a plan for single browser tabs that will help him cope with tasks.

If you need a little nudge - okay, let it be big - you can install a browser extension that allows you to set a limit on the number of open tabs. Extensions kind of close tabs as soon as you hit a certain threshold. For example, if you set the limit to 10 tabs, then when you open the eleventh, the very first one will automatically close. With what limit would you be comfortable right now?

9 more tips for getting to single-tasking

One tab at a time is fun, but far from the only way to try single-tasking. We offer 9 more simple recommendations.

1. Try the Pomodoro Technique. Focus on one task for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break. Although you can adjust the time intervals in accordance with your own peculiarities of work. The bottom line is that you focus your attention just as much as your brain allows, and then rest a little in silence before you get to work again.
2. Put your phone in silent mode. Or disable it. Or forget at home.
3. Close the email.
4. Keep a list of tasks.
5. Turn off notifications from apps on your phone and browser.
6. Install - a service that will block distracting websites for the period of time you specify. For example, if you can't resist the temptation to constantly check Facebook, block it for the next 25 minutes and then get down to work.
7. Write in minimalist text editors. Choose according to your taste:,,,.
8. Work with multiple monitors or desktops. Place all your entertainment and distractions on one screen, and what you need for focused work on another.
9. At the end of the day, delete all files from your desktop. Less clutter, more attention.

While these are only small steps towards single-tasking, they pay off: you get more productive, clean up your tabs, follow each task to the end before moving on to the next.