I’ve noticed that as women we, in particular, are extremely proud of our “ability to multitask.”

We pride ourselves on our ability to “focus” simultaneously on 3 different work projects, plus organizing that activity at our kid’s school, plus planning the family vacation or some other event.

We convince ourselves that we are doing each one of those things well and getting a lot more done in less time, when the truth is…

Not only do all of the projects suffer in quality, but the time it takes to finish even one of those projects is dramatically increased. (Some studies done of executives multitasking show an 8x increase in the time to completion over other executives unitasking the same set of projects.)

And that is because, multitasking is not a gift or a strength.

It’s a productivity drain.

Studies done by University of Michigan and Stanford University shows that unitasking is better than multitasking in terms of getting everything done more quickly.

Because, there is a time cost associated with switching between tasks (think about the mental momentum you need to build up to get re-focused on a project every time you put it down and pick it back up again), and that cost accumulates the more you switch back and forth among tasks.

So, the good news then is that focusing on one task at a time means completing more in less time which, naturally means reducing burnout and overwhelm. And that is what we are striving for.

So, the next time you have a pile of projects on your desk, pick one up, decide the next steps, do them, then move on to the next project.

Don’t go back and forth among multiple projects because you are tired of looking at one. Follow through, finish it, put it down, take a break. Repeat.

It will save you a lot of time and mental energy.

And, if you are looking for more productivity tips and career success advice, join me in my growing Facebook community at: www.toniapatterson.com/community . I look forward to connecting with you there.