Multitasking is often glorified as the ultimate productivity "skill", but in reality it's just a low-value hack yielding slow (and often inaccurate) results. Multitasking is a deceptive trap, because the human brain isn’t wired to focus on multiple complex tasks simultaneously. Instead, what we call “multitasking” is actually rapid task-switching—and it comes at a cost. Each time you shift focus, your brain expends energy reorienting itself, leading to decreased efficiency and higher chances of mistakes or delays.

Studies show that multitasking can reduce productivity (some show it reduces it by up to 40%!) and significantly impacts the quality of your work. It also increases stress and fosters a false sense of accomplishment, as we confuse "busy-ness" with effectiveness. The antidote? *Single-tasking. Dedicate your attention to one task at a time, complete it well, and then move to the next. Not only will you finish faster, but the results will also reflect your full potential.

Put All Your Wood Behind A Single Arrow

There's a phrase I like to use for helping teams eliminate the fractured focus, and lost productivity, from multitasking: "Wood behind the Arrow". It comes from wording Steve Jobs and Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy used a lot in the 90s:

"Put all your wood behind one arrowhead."

The idea expressed here is, diffusion of effort means no single strand of activity gets fully realized: so no arrow hits its target. "Multitasking" is nothing short of a diffusion of your efforts.

Of course the phrase "the un-aimed arrow never misses" also comes to mind here, too; however, your team (or personal goals) already have an aim (hopefully): something you're trying to accomplish, your main priority or north star. "Multitasking" can ruin that! So, we must aim (prioritize) and bring intentional focus (eliminate multitasking wherever practical) to our goals.

Another variation I saw on this phrase, recently was:

"Experienced hunters bring only one arrow. They know how to aim (and they take plenty of time, when aiming), and they put all the wood behind that one arrow."

This is why we establish an intentional backlog in Agile and other project methodologies, and why your own personal productivity benefits from prioritizing: you can't do it all, and so getting good at aiming (choosing one key thing to finish at-a-time, prioritizing tasks) allows you to put each task behind a single deliverable, or "thing done" (arrow!). This ultimately increases your effictiveness and productivity, reduces your stress, and increases your sense of accomplishment.

And remember: when you're knocking things out one-at-a-time rapidly --- people on the outside only see "multitasking", anyway!

Happy (single)Tasking!!