I’m really trying not to multitask anymore.  How efficient can it really be to try and to do 2, 3 or 10 things at once – and even if it’s efficient is that really what’s important?  Surely it’s better to do something to the best of your ability, rather than just doing it efficiently.

Even when washing the dishes or cleaning the house I used to turn on the TV or put on some music, but after trying it without those distractions there’s something to be said for being alone with your thoughts.  That’s when my best ideas come anyway.

Some things I’m going to try:

• One task at a time, no matter how small or how menial.  Any spare brainpower can just go into “thinking”.
• Removal of “planned distractions” when performing simple tasks – listening to music, background TV etc.
• Read one book at a time – start to finish – rather than starting 5, getting distracted and never finishing any of them.
• One window and one tab for browsers – Not sure if this is going to be possible.  There’s 3 tabs open right now while I type this.
• Closing desktop windows after I’m finished.  Of course, this anticipates actually finishing something before moving onto the next task.