Are you more productive when doing a single task or multi-tasking?

Rucha Joshi
10 replies

Replies

James Paden
Always one thing. I wrote a custom task management system that displays my current tasks on the screen at all times. When I complete that task, it goes straight to the next task. Since I built this, there have been several similar services created such as Centered. I highly recommend these kinds of tools.
Rucha Joshi
@jamespaden That sounds awesome. What's your service called?
James Paden
@rucha_joshi8 Doesn't have a name, it's just for personal use. My company's working on big-picture project management system that I might switch too though. It has a lot of Important vs Urgent vs Chore concepts built-in that I expect to find useful for personal task management as well. It's in my Product Hunt profile under Upcoming Products, if that sounds interesting. We're also publicly blogging the development of the tool.
Ruben Lozano
Hello @rucha_joshi8 Definitely single tasks. Books like think fast think slow and deep focus explains very well why multi-tasking doesn't help. Cheers,
Definitely single tasks at hand, especially if I set up a super-focused mode (turn off social media, notifications, phone face down, lo-fi music) But only works for a relatively short time, and I only have a very limited energy to do this (usually not more than 3-4 hours/day, or even less) What I'm trying now is to schedule tasks accordingly: do the energy-draining important ones in those focused periods, and the rest can happen spread out during the day, even in a multitasking manner.
Rucha Joshi
@johnnyfekete thanks for sharing. This is also how I can operate. but if I have to get things done which don't need intense focus, I can get more done when I multi-task. It feels like a game and I am somehow more motivated to check everything off the list!