I Swapped Multitasking for “Monotasking”—and It Changed My Brain
1 min read
Summary
For years the writer multitasked which they compared to a circus performer trying to keep all balls in the air at once and felt they were achieving a lot
They realised that they weren’t actually multitasking but rapidly switching between tasks which came with costs to attention, performance and mental fatigue
They tried the opposite approach of monotasking or singletasking where they focused on one task at a time and were more productive, retained more information and felt less tired
They switched to monotasking by blocking out times in their schedule to focus entirely on one task at a time, and batching similar tasks to reduce cognitive fatigue
They also used monotasking techniques in their use of online tools and apps, such as using one app at a time for scheduling or not using inbox notifications during video meetings to focus entirely on the meeting and the participants.
