This week (author of The Myth of Multitasking) Dave Crenshaw focuses on relationships, and how we should pay more attention to the people we care about.
Ouch. You’d never say something like that to a friend or colleague…right?
Yet, when you switchtask on someone, that’s exactly what you’re saying with your attention and body language.
During a recent interview with Maverick Levy on The Best of the Best Podcast show, I discuss how switchtasking damages relationships. It may not be intentional, yet that’s how you make the other person feel in that moment.
I’ve talked about the three costs of switchtasking many times: increased stress, decreased quality of work, and increased time to complete a task.
The fourth cost is damaging your relationships. You erode the foundations of trust when you give people partial attention.
Instead, get into the habit of giving people your FULL attention. If you’re not able to do so, ask them to reschedule for a time that’s better for you both. Or maybe check to see if they can wait a couple of minutes. Then, when that time comes, put your phone away and focus on that person. Everything else can wait.
How do YOU feel when someone looks at their phone while talking to you?
Keep that in mind the next time you have the urge to do the same.
The Myth of Multitasking
How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done
Productivity and effective time management end with multitasking. The false idea that multitasking is productive has become even more prevalent and damaging to our productivity and well-being since the first edition of The Myth of Multitasking was published in 2008. In this revised and updated second edition, author and productivity expert Dave Crenshaw provides a solution for the chaos of distraction that multitasking creates―and a way to combat the temptation to constantly switch between tasks.
Learn how to actually get things done. Dave Crenshaw takes the idea of multitasking as a productivity tool and smashes it to smithereens. But rather than leaving you with the burden of wading through the wreckage all by yourself, he shows you how to focus, move forward, and free up more time for what you value the most.