Brewing Success with Andrea Gebhardt

The Surprising Truth About Multitasking

• Andrea Gebhardt • Season 1 • Episode 56

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Prepare to have your belief in the power of multitasking shattered as we unravel why juggling tasks hampers your productivity rather than enhancing it. Experience a eureka moment as we distinguish between the draining effects of multitasking and the efficiency of habit stacking, which skillfully combines complementary activities.

Transform your daily grind into a more focused and productive ritual with anecdotes and strategies straight from my personal journey toward creative liberation. I'll share how a simple change in scenery—from bedroom to a sunlit office—revolutionized my writing routine, proving that the right environment can be a game changer. Laugh along with tales of my canine companions' havoc-wreaking, and discover how I turned those pesky interruptions into a catalyst for skyrocketing my work efficiency. Then, let's take a moment to talk about the all-important need for rest, and how respecting our brain's natural rhythms can prime us for conquering even the most demanding of projects.

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Speaker 1:

Hi, my friends, and welcome to Brewing Success, where growth is the mission, change is the reward and progress is the goal. I am your host, andrea Gibhart. I'm a former educator turned passionate entrepreneur, whose desire to create impact has never wavered. I have spent the last decade teaching, mentoring and coaching people on how to create success in their lives and businesses, with proven strategies and systems that not only bring about change but big results. When it comes down to it, teaching is my specialty, leadership is my jam, and inspiring you to live a bigger, fuller life is what I'm all about. This podcast will give you the knowledge and tools you need to brew success in almost any area of your life. You're going to walk away each week feeling inspired, motivated and ready to step outside your comfort zone and into the next level of who you're meant to be.

Speaker 1:

Now let's get into today's episode. You know, I'm not quite sure where we learned it or why we run around bragging about it. At some point in most of our lives, we have touted this as some heroic badge of honor, creating it like some kind of superpower, a strength and ability that makes us more qualified than others, when the truth is it's not. I know, I have done it. I know you have done it and I know we have friends who praise their ability to do it, but we should probably stop doing it. Multitasking is not a badge of honor. It is a sign of a lack of attention. Multitasking is not a superpower. It's actually the villain to productivity and it doesn't make you more qualified. It actually makes your qualifications questionable. Now, before you start feeling a little attacked by this, hear me out. I'm not here to make you feel bad. I'm here to relieve the pressure. Relieve the societal pressure that in order to be successful, you have to be good at multitasking. To take the pressure off, the expectation that if you're not doing a million things all at once, you are doing nothing at all. I want to normalize single task mindsets, focused efforts and intentional brain power. I want to retrain the expectations you carry for yourself and share the truth about multitasking, why it's not effective and how you can end your multitasking ways for good. Before we get into this, I want to make something very clear.

Speaker 1:

Multitasking is different than habit stacking. Stacking, for example, is listening to a podcast while going for a walk, combining two things to get more done. This works because your brain doesn't have to contribute a whole lot to walking, because it's an autopilot action, and listening, aka consuming information requires minimal and non-competing brain powers, so therefore, we are able to do both of those things at the same time. Nothing is lost, however. Your comprehension of the content may not be the best, but you'll be able to maintain the gist of whatever it is that you're listening to if you're doing it while you're walking. Multitasking would be like listening to a podcast while trying to read or write emails, because both of those tasks require the same parts of the brain and processing systems. It would be incredibly difficult to do both. In fact, your brain would have to switch back and forth between the two, trying to contribute energy to it. You hear something interesting on the podcast, stop writing the email, then forget what you were writing, reread it, then start writing again and, more than likely, completely forget what you just heard on the podcast. So, essentially, you didn't capture any of the learning and you probably didn't get through all the emails because you were multitasking.

Speaker 1:

People often think that multitasking makes you more efficient. I believe that lie, I was sold that lie and I believed that lie, and I lived. I lived that lie. Let me just tell you. However, a recent study out of Stanford proved that multitasking results in a 40% drop in productivity. This alone that turns out that all those Maya喝 whole day in the morning is just jarring and reason enough to stop multitasking. You're 40% less productive when you multitask Like your half is productive. I don't know about you, but I don't have time for that. I don't have time to be less productive. I've got to be as productive as possible. This just validates it. Trying to do more results and getting less done. Not only does it hinder productivity, but multitasking increases stress and overwhelm and decreases focus and it dilutes attention.

Speaker 1:

If you've ever felt like you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off, then you're probably multitasking your way through life, and I can go into all the reason why that statement resonates Like I don't know. If you know this, okay, hold on, let me just tell you. But sometimes I don't know for personal experience because I've never done this but if you cut a chicken's head off, sometimes its body will still like move around, flap around, but you'll notice that the movements are very sporadic and chaotic and just like all over the place, like a fish out of water would kind of flop. Right, I know it's really gross to think about, but when you're multitasking and you feel like you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off, you know what that means. That means you don't lack intention or direction or anything. All these things are just happening like all chaotic around you. So now you know where that expression came from.

Speaker 1:

The truth of the matter is that the brain can only handle so much, only has so much capacity. So we have to learn to use our brains wisely. The brain wasn't listen. This is real science. By the way, your brain isn't wired to multitask. The brain is wired to switch from one task to another. It's like it's like trying to work in two windows at the same time. On a computer you can't do it. If you want information from one window, right, you're gonna like copy and paste something. If you want information from one window, you have to minimize the one you're in to retrieve it. Then minimize that one, then open the other one, then apply the information there. If you've ever had a copy and paste something, you know what I mean. The brain can have many tabs open, so to speak, but it does its best work in one window, aka one task at a time.

Speaker 1:

Multitasking quickly drains your brain power because of the mental energy it takes to switch back and forth between the tasks, which can take a negative toll on your overall mental acuity. When you focus on one task or project or activity at a time, you actually enable the brain to devote undivided energy, elicit creativity and engage in critical thinking, helping you to produce better quality work. After all, they say the key to success is working smarter, not harder. And if you are multitasking, let me just tell you your brain is having to work harder because it's spending its energy switching back and forth instead of helping you create your best work. So we gotta like reevaluate our relationship with multitasking, realizing that it isn't a badge of honor, it is a one-way ticket to burnout. So here are four reasons why multitasking has to go and listen.

Speaker 1:

The reason why we're having this conversation is because I know that you are hearing this thinking oops, oops. I thought I thought multitasking was helping me be a better mom, be a better leader, be a better business owner, be a better entrepreneur. I thought multitasking was, you know, like the fastest lane to success. It's not. And I'm like here, grabbing on both of your shoulders, looking straight in the face with, like all the love in my heart, to say, listen, this has got to stop, you're going to get nowhere fast. This has stopped, got to stop, you're going to burn yourself out. I am here, your friend, to say, hey, listen, we got to fix this, we got to change this, otherwise you never get where you're. You're never going to get where you're trying to go. So four reasons why multitasking has to go Right. I want you to end your relationship with this habit.

Speaker 1:

It causes number one it causes way too much stress. When we're trying to do too many things at once, our brains become overlaid and we become irritable. I've been there, and I know you've been there, and it feels like you're trying to do. If it feels like you're trying to do too much, you probably are. So you got to look what can I take off my plate? What doesn't need to be happening right now and I think this is really common when, okay, like for all the moms out there, when your kids are at the kitchen counter working on homework, the TV is either on or off. Maybe somebody has tech in the background, on or off your cooking dinner. Oh, and you also have, like, your cell phone out because you're trying to like check in with friends, you're testing your multitasking. You're trying to like get homework done, cook dinner, do the things, build your side business, whatever the case may be and uh-oh, like dinner starting to over boil and uh-oh, somebody has a meltdown at the counter. And then, whoops, you just sent the wrong text message to the wrong group chat. Oh boy, and you are like short circuiting, right. You become irritable, you become stressed. A kid comes to you to ask a question about their homework and you flip out on them. And it's not that you really have a case of flip out, it's because your brain is like blah, stop, oh my gosh, this is too much. If it feels like too much, it's probably too much. So we got to fix that.

Speaker 1:

Number two it doesn't lead to progress. Multitasking does not lead to progress. Let me say it again Multitasking does not lead to progress. That is a lie. Multitasking gets a lot of things started but not so many things completed. This gap in results is self-defeating and actually decreases momentum and confidence. Reason number three we got to get rid of it. It creates crappy results.

Speaker 1:

When you're multitasking, you're dividing your attention and energy, which means you are giving it only the percentage of effort as the number of tasks you are engaged in. So if you're doing two things at once, you're only giving it 50% of what you're fully capable of. If you're doing more, you're actually giving less to each thing and you can't get to 100% complete or awesome if you're only able to put in half the effort. The fourth reason why we got to get rid of multitasking it delutes your attention. Multitasking does not allow you to give your full, undivided attention. It keeps you from seeing the big picture. It distracts you from the essence of whatever it is you're working on. It takes away from your ability to pay attention to what you're truly doing, leaving a lot up to chance and very little to choice. So if you are a recovering multitasker like me so many of you guys nodding your heads right now yes, it feels so good to be in common company. Grab your pen, because you're going to want to take notes on how to put an end to this for good.

Speaker 1:

So the first step to recovery is honoring the brain and what we know about how it works, its capacity, how it's wired and what it's designed to do. Honoring the brain gives you perspective on how to best leverage its abilities to your benefit and what we understand. Oh, my brain isn't hardwired for multitasking. My brain doesn't really have the capacity for multitasking. When we honor that information, it's a lot easier to stop doing it, because now we know that it's truly not so great for our brains and our brains really are not so great at it.

Speaker 1:

The second step is to get organized. Listen, the reason you're probably trying to multitask to begin with is because you lack a clear picture of the exact things you actually should be doing to make the progress you're wanting to make. You haven't identified your action plan because if you did, you would understand the time, energy and focus it required to get done. You wouldn't underestimate its importance by undercutting it with the distraction of another task. When you get organized, you weren't worried about getting a ton of stuff done. You're focused on getting the right things done.

Speaker 1:

The third step to recovery is setting up systems. Systems and I have always said this and I will always say this systems are what sustain success. I have said this, yes, for many years and always followed it. It carries a lot of truth. Creating systems that tell your brain it's time to focus are essential. For example, when I sit down to write, I put on music. When I sit at my computer and have my writing playlist in the background, my brain immediately releases all the other things, all the other noise, and it knows that it's time to bust out all the thoughts and creativity. Maybe one of your systems will be silencing your phone and notifications so you can focus on the task at hand. Maybe it's cleaning and clearing your desk before doing your work, so you are not tempted by the piles of other things. Maybe it's handling that nagging laundry in the dryer before you sit down to do your thing, so your mind is clear and you're ready to go. Maybe it's limiting your daily to-do list with three essential items instead of 10, so you give the right tasks the right amount of time and attention. These systems are so important. They are so incredibly important, and you've got to know what you need to do systematically to set yourself up for success.

Speaker 1:

How can you train your brain? This is the time when you sit down to focus is the time when you sit down to work. This is what I'm gonna do when I sit down to write. I don't write in my bedroom anymore. I used to. When I first started this podcast two and a half years ago. I wrote a majority of my episodes out and did my research and did all that stuff in my bedroom and what's really interesting is over, like when the kids went back to school, I started doing it in the office and I really liked having the natural light and I really liked having being able to look out the window and I really liked the clarity that came from that. You know what happens to my brain, what my brain is trained to do. When I go in my room, my brain is trained to like get ready for bed, shut it down and go to sleep. So when I try to go right in my room, my brain is so confused and it's really crazy. I have like the most insane amount of writers block, like I struggle to like get to complete thoughts, like my brain is sputtering. But the minute I go, sit down in my office and sit in that same chair and get that playlist going, man, the ideas just flow. The creativity is there. I don't even have to try, it just comes flowing out of me, right? So systems are so important to help you get to that place.

Speaker 1:

The fourth step is to decrease distractions. Listen to me when I say this every time you're distracted. Every time a ping of the phone, a hunger ping the buzzer, the dishwasher, the dogs that phone call, that person stopping by your classroom or your office, every time you are disrupted and distracted from your work listen to this. It takes about 25 minutes to get back to that state of flow or that level of productivity that you were in. So three distractions, three distractions is over an hour of wasted time. That's time you had to take to get back on track. Like that's insane to me. Three pings, three notifications, three emails, three interruptions. It take like wow, you know it's bananas, especially when we're constantly saying things like I don't have time or there's not enough time in the day. The time is not the issue, your carelessness with it is. So we wanna make sure that we are managing those, those distractions, as a disruption. So I wanna tell you guys a funny story.

Speaker 1:

So there was this period of time it was actually like last year in the spring and I was super behind in all the things. I literally felt like I was running a catch up. Multitasking was definitely something I was leaning on to try to like manage it all, which was failing, obviously, and I really couldn't figure out why I was falling so behind and why I was falling so short on things. I typically, you know, sit at my computer every day, hyper focused, from about 1130 to three, like every day. 1130 to three, it is clockwork, it is non-negotiable. Nothing interferes or interrupts that time period. I am like hyper focused on sitting down and getting some work done, and so this is when my dogs actually take their daily nap in their crates. I legit put them to bed like a baby and I get a bulk of my work done in this window. Why? Because one time I tracked it, I tracked the level of distraction that my dogs were. I love Rocket and I love Phoebe, I love Moxie. You guys all know I love my dogs like almost at nauseam, but they were a huge distraction.

Speaker 1:

One day I actually charted with telemarks on the back of the back door window in a moment of sheer frustration. I mean literally, it was a sinner trying to write. We have this little doorbell dingy thingy like dingy thingy like next to the back door and they'll slap it with their paws and it ding, dongs. It sounds like a convenience store and I have to get up and let them out right. So it was like one day, sheer frustration. I was like, oh my gosh, like how many times? And then it got me wondering how many times do I even do this? How many times do I get up and down? And so I started to track it with like a whiteboard marker on the glass window, right, and you like, you would not even believe it, you would not even believe this was me just tracking from like 1130 until three. How many times my dogs freaking distracted me. Well, I don't know how many times it was, you're never gonna believe it. In this three hour block of time, 41, 41 times I was getting up to let someone in or out of that back. 40, 41,. Like I couldn't even believe when I counted. If you do the math, that is literally an interruption every four minutes. I was getting nothing done. No, freaking wonder, no wonder I was so behind, no wonder I was falling short, no wonder I was feeling frustrated, no wonder I was like it was just, it was no wonder. If you look at the statistic I just gave you like 25 minutes for every distraction, like what is even happening? I was getting nothing done. It was just absolutely crazy. So now I work, they nap, and my level of productivity and efficiency has skyrocketed. No joke 1130. Let's go, guys. Time for bed. Grab open the pantry door. They're totally like Pavlov train. It squeaks, they walk back toward their crates, they go to bed, put them down so I can get down to business in my office.

Speaker 1:

The fifth step to recovery is to develop an awareness and understanding that rest is required. This means you gotta make sure that you are getting the sleep you need each night so your brain can show up full capacity each day. Then you wanna think about the time and energy that is required for the tasks at hand. When you have a big project that is gonna require a lot of time and mental energy, then you won't schedule yourself for much else. Why? Because we're honoring our brain and understanding what it has the capacity for. If you're blind to this information, then you're gonna lack focus. If you know it won't require much time or mental energy, you know you can maybe stack it with something else or add a little bit more to your plate that day.

Speaker 1:

On the days I have to create big, gigantic, fat content like my content, loads are big. That's my primary focus and the place I give my attention when I know that I am working on developing podcast episodes because it involves so, so much. That is what I work on. I don't have other tasks that I'm switching back and forth between. It is literally that's my primary focus. That's where I give my attention, because I need all the brain cells and systems on deck to produce high quality work that is consistent with my ability. So you gotta understand that, okay, if I want to be productive and I wanna be successful, I want to produce higher quality work. I gotta get proper sleep at night, which means having a nighttime routine, going to bed every night at the same time, getting to bed, getting good sleep, so that you can wake up rested and ready for your day. It's understanding and knowing ahead of time the level of like mental energy and time that this task is gonna take, so that you don't schedule too much, so that you're making decisions based on what you can actually do versus what you think you can do, therefore helping you actually get a whole lot more done.

Speaker 1:

So my goal here with you today is to give you permission to hang up the multitasking cape. I want you to be productive and focused, not stressed and overwhelmed. I want you to generate momentum for yourself, constantly increasing your level of confidence and self-efficacy because you are getting the things done and making the progress each day. I want you to always produce your best work. I want you to be able to sharpen your attention span attention to the big picture, attention to the overarching goal, attention to the details, attention to the quality of the work. When people ask you how you are, I want you to be able to say focused, productive and successful, rather than tired, busy and overwhelmed. I want you to start celebrating, honoring yourself for a job well done not many jobs done halfway. When it comes to success, much like other things in our lives, you guys, quality trumps quantity. So let's strive to become really good at a few things and not try to be good at everything. Let's strive to enhance our focus, broaden our attention and concentrate our efforts into the things and places that have the greatest return. Let's hang up those multitasking capes and trade them in for a more focused, productive life.

Speaker 1:

If this episode spoke to you, let me know. If you know someone who needs to hear this, share the link with them and if you want to go the extra mile for the show, write a review. I would love that. I read these weekly and always appreciate the comments, questions and learning all the ways this podcast is serving you. Be sure you are signed up for my weekly Live Inspired email following the Brewing Success IG page for updates, additional motivation and to connect with growth daily. And, of course, if you want more, head on over to Amazon and grab the ABCs of Leadership Mentoring Journal. Can't wait to get back here with you on the show where growth is the mission, change is the reward and progress is the goal.