Today I want to set the record straight on an often controversial and misunderstood aspect of productivity; multi-tasking!

As a society, we get a lot of mixed messages on multi-tasking. The American #hustle culture projects a narrative that your productivity is measured by the number of tasks you can check off your to do list in a day, and that busy is the ultimate sign of success. 

Everyday I see images on television and social media that glorify doing multiple tasks at one time, apparently a sign that you are using your time efficiently? 

I see posts on Instagram about how you can sleep when you’re dead and how humorous it is that career professionals in their 20s and 30s have no time for their social lives.

Blowing off your friends and family to sleep because you’re burnt out from work is a right of passage.

Having to drink a bottle of wine or take prescription sleep aids in order to get rest at night is the accepted norm.

But despite all the social signals that working non stop and doubling or tripling up on tasks is the way to go if you want to look like a successful human, productivity research is very clear that when you try to do more than one thing at a time, you are going to do both of those things poorly. In fact, studies show multi-tasking decreases productivity up to 40%. 

Now, if the tasks you are working on are not very important and don’t require any skill or level of precision, then by all means, multi-task away.

I’m all for listening to your favorite podcast episodes while you fold the laundry or do the dishes. 

I very often listen to a book on tape or catch up on YouTube videos when I’m in the bath.

There are some things you can do adequately at the same time.

For instance, I use essential oils and listen to a guided meditation when I’m trying to fall asleep at night. It’s a wonderful way to stack healthy sleep habits to ensure a restful night’s slumber.

But when it comes to tasks that do matter. Tasks for work or business, attending meetings or calls, and even relaxing or spending time with loved ones, you really should focus on the task at hand if you want to see and feel results.

I’ve learned from much trial and error that I can’t listen to a non-fiction book while I’m working or else I won’t do much work or I won’t remember what I’ve learned from the book. I can’t have it both ways, I can only focus on one important thing at a time if I want to do it right.

I can’t attend a Zoom meeting and try to do anything more than take notes if I actually want to absorb the information from the call. And even in this case, while I’m taking notes I often miss new information that is being mentioned.

Multi-tasking just doesn’t work on the important things because humans need to focus in order to learn or create. 

Sure, you can work on multiple tasks a day, but you can’t work on multiple tasks at one time.

So, I advocate for focus. For doing one thing at a time, giving it your full attention, and doing the thing very well.

When you do this, focus on one thing at a time, at first you might experience a bit of fear because all your attention and pressure are on one task. 

Some of you I’d bet have been multi-tasking not simply to get more done in a day, but to actually keep you from going all in on certain work. 

Multi-tasking relieves the pressure of perfectionism for some people because you know deep down inside that you just want to rush through certain tasks and get them over with. Multi-tasking can be a type of distraction for us, and a boundary that keeps us from doing our best work at the same time.

Done is better than perfect, right?

Well, it depends on the context.

You can do two things at once, check the box on them and move on to the next thing without even stopping to evaluate if the work was necessary or impactful.

So many of us check the box on tasks with the expectation that it is going to move the needle on an objective or goal, but we give up because we don’t see the fruits of our labor. Perhaps, if we had focused on one thing at a time and did our best with each, we would have seen the impact we were expecting.

This brings to mind the example of working out alone versus working out with a trainer. Working out alone of course benefits our health, but it’s been shown that working out with a trainer gives greater results because the trainer is there to ensure you are holding proper form and putting in a full effort for your time. When we work out alone, sure, some of us may be disciplined enough to remain in proper form or push ourselves to the limit each workout, but truthfully, most of us are just trying to get thru the experience rather than doing it right. We have a belief that just finishing is enough, and when we don’t see the results we expected after weeks of effort, we give up. 

What if we just put in the full effort and gave the task our full focus to begin with? 

Well, then we would start seeing results that would likely blow us away.

Wouldn’t that be a nice feeling for once?

So, from now on, let’s hold ourselves accountable for doing one thing at a time when it comes to tasks that are important or are tied to our goals and objectives. 

It’s fine to multi-task in small ways on mindless tasks that don’t have a significant effect on our lives, but when you do, take note of whether you got all you expected from your experience, and if you feel unfulfilled you know not to multi-task on that item again in the future. 

If you enjoyed this post and are looking for your own productivity personal trainer of sorts to ensure you are remaining accountable to your tasks and goals, I invite you to join me in the Productivity and Planning Mastermind Membership Group. Consider it your on demand productivity and planning Netflix subscription! As a member of the mastermind, you’ll get access to live monthly master classes and Q+A calls, weekly accountability check-ins, extra daily content from me on a variety of personal development topics and some great digital tools intended to help you learn to live your best life. Click here to learn more about the membership and enroll today for instant access to thousands of dollars in productivity tools and resources!

xoxo,

Hello My Charmed Ones!

Today, I want to share 5 Productive Work From Home Lunch Break Ideas with you all.

We are about to commemorate one year in our global pandemic lockdown, and at this point, most of us have become much more skilled at working from home. If you were one of the many employees who shifted to a work from home life-style for the first time, I know the last year for you hasn’t been easy. I can only imagine the adjustment you had to go through and I know many of you still don’t feel as productive as usual working from home.

As someone who has worked from home for years running my own business, I know I certainly went through a transition like this myself. The biggest challenge I struggled with, that I think many of you can relate to, was taking breaks. When you work in an office, it’s a little easier to convince yourself to take a break I think because you feel like you are in a work environment and so taking 30 minutes to an hour in the middle of the day for your lunch break to relax and perhaps take care of your own personal work seems more acceptable. But when you work from home, at least for me, you can feel like you don’t need to take a break because you are already home. But then of course, lack of clear break time exhausts us mentally, and makes it even easier for us to work overtime.

Something that has helped me establish more Work Life Balance since working for myself is the idea of taking a productive lunch break.

Yes, being at home steps away from my kitchen means I have easy access to food and snacks, so maybe I’m not always hungry during my lunch break, so I have found other productive things to do during my lunch break that make me feel like I am using it wisely, while also using it to decompress and take a true break from work.

Here are my 5 Productive Work From Home Lunch Break Ideas!

1. Listen to a 15-30 minute guided meditation

Nothing helps me reset my productivity quite like a guided meditation. For those who are new to the practice of meditating, using a guided track makes it easier to relax and focus because you are paying attention to the directions you are being given. If you struggle to meditate on your own, try a guided track and see if you enjoy that. Not only does meditating have a wonderful ability to re-energize our minds but truthfully, a guided meditation track is also something you can do while you are eating your lunch or doing other productive activities during your break. Don’t think you always have to be sitting down quietly with your eyes closed to be meditating, because there are many different ways to put our minds in a meditative state. Maybe you just don’t want to be driving or doing anything too complicated or dangerous while listening to the track, however!

2. Read or listen to a book on tape

Members of my community often ask me how they can fit in new habits they are interested in like reading, and I think using your break time as a dedicated time for something like reading is a great idea. Reading or listening to a book on tape is a great way to relax and rest your mind, shifting your focus away from work. So, if you want to start reading more regularly, try doing so as part of your work from home lunch break!

3. Watch an inspirational or entertaining YouTube Video

I have spoken before about how I enjoy using incentives like watching a YouTube video as a reward for being productive at work and avoid procrastination. You could certainly use this as a lunch break strategy where you get a mid-day break to do something fun you enjoy like watching a Video. Now, I do think it’s best for these videos to either be inspirational or entertaining because if you can get a jolt of motivation or some laughter in your day, that is going to be a boost to your productivity!

4. Add some new inspiration to your vision board

For me, my vision board isn’t just something I create at the start of the year and stick to, it’s a living breathing work of inspiration that I like to currently update. So, spending some time searching for images online or quotes you can print out and add to your vision board is a great, relaxing and inspiring way to spend a lunch break.

5. Write out affirmations

If you have some affirmations you are trying to use to reprogram your mind, spending a little time during your lunch break writing them each out several times is a easy bit of mindset work you can do to be productive. I like to write my affirmations out 3 x 3, so three affirmations written out three times. Do whatever works for you, but make sure while you are writing out the affirmations, that you feel the feelings of that affirmation being your truth. That is the best way to get those affirmations plugged into our brain quickly!

So, I hope you enjoyed these 5 Productive Work From Home Lunch Break Ideas. I would love to hear which idea you are going to start implementing so please leave me a comment and tell me about it!

Best productivity wishes!

xoxo,