Do you get bogged down or bored on certain jobs like I do? It happens from time to time. Today’s post will show you my favorite way of dealing with that issue. But first, we hear a lot about multitasking and why we shouldn’t multitask. And I agree. Mostly…

Plenty of experts agree that multi-tasking doesn’t work. Imagine eating a bowl of cereal, having a phone conversation and driving to work on a busy morning commute. Don’t laugh. I read about such a thing happening. I’m willing to bet you witnessed or heard about something similar.

In theory, multitasking should be a good thing to do from a time management perspective, except for one glaring fact. Human beings can only concentrate on one complicated task at a time to produce optimal performance. Low value activities like paper shuffling while answering phone calls doesn’t require a lot of concentration. Having the same phone call while feeding plywood through the table saw is a sure-fire way to get an ambulance ride to the local hospital.

Should we bother trying to multitask?

I think there is a right way to multitask… Wait just a second… hear me out first.

Here’s why… Occasionally, I’m slogging through a particularly boring task and I just can’t make any worthwhile progress. What to do?

I read about a technique a top copywriter used to get through this obstacle. His solution: “work on multiple assignments”. Having many projects on the go is vital to his productivity. Now he doesn’t work on them simultaneously… He works on them until his interest wanes and no longer feels like continuing. He simply switches to a different project and starts “fresh”. The change of content is enough to kickstart his interest and he is able to get more productivity out of his day.

The type of work you do doesn’t matter. Whether you pound nails or pound keys, the more projects in the queue, the better. The idea is to have many projects to work on. Adjust your schedule and work on one task until boredom, fatigue, or ADD set in… then simply switch to another task.

The duration doesn’t matter unless a deadline is imminent. Sometimes I work only fifteen minutes before I burn out. I’ll switch to another one and work a half an hour before switching back for another fifteen minute round. Before you know it your day is done and you’ve got a lot of good work done!

Instead of calling it multitasking maybe a more accurate term should be coined like “switchtasking” or “multiswitching”. Oh well, just a thought.