According to a recent study published in the August 24 edition of “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” by Stanford researchers Clifford Nass, Eyal Ophir and Anthony Wagner, the answer is an unqualified “no.”

Nass said the idea for the study came about because he would see students who seemed to be amazingly skillful at multitasking and wanted to learn what their secret was.

Nass and his colleagues began their research by locating a group of 100 students composed of both “high multitaskers” and “low multitaskers.” The high mutitaskers were those who routinely used four, five or more media at one time (texting, reading email, chatting on the phone etc.). The low multitaskers used, on average, no more than two media at one time. The goal of the study was to see which elements of multitasking the high multitasking group performed better at, when compared with the low multitasking group.

“We were shocked to find out that the high multitaskers did worse than the low multitaskers in all three basic aspects of successful multitasking,” says Nass. The three aspects the study examined were:

• The ability to focus on the relevant and ignore the irrelevant. In order to multitask well, you need to be able to very quickly decide between what’s important and what you are going to pay attention to, and what’s irrelevant. “High multitaskers are suckers for irrelevancy,” says Nass. “Everything distracts them.”
• The ability to keep information well organized in the brain. If you think of the brain as a bunch of filing cabinets, the high multitaskers had messier cabinets than their lower multitasking counterparts, and had a harder time finding what they needed.
• Being able to switch from one task to another. Good multitaskers need to be able to mentally go from one activity to the next, without significant cognitive downtime. The more the high multitaskers were required to do this, the worse they were at it.

The results of the study have lead Nass and his colleagues to conclude that one of two things is true. Either multitasking is harmful to high multitaskers’ brains and is worsening their ability to focus, or people who are high multitaksers are naturally bad at these things. “Either way,” says Nass, “multitasking is a problem, and people should not be deluded into thinking that it works. It hurts productivity, and it may be hurting your thinking process,” he says.

If all of this is not enough to make you stop and do one thing at a time, consider the fact that the Stanford study is not the first of its kind to point out that multitasking makes us stupid. One report from the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London found that when workers are constantly juggling emails, phone calls and text messages, their IQ falls ten points. Another recent report by Rubinstein, Meyer and Evans found that when people switched back and forth between tasks, there was a substantial loss of efficiency and accuracy — in some cases, up to 50 percent.

Now are you convinced to put down the iPhone while you peruse the Internet? If so, to fight distraction and find your focus, here are a few hints excerpted from “Time Management In An Instant: 60 Ways to Make the Most of Your Day“:

• Create designated task times. By setting aside a selected time period to do all your phone calls, emails or errands at once, you will reduce the amount of time you spend going back and forth between them.
• Put a system in place that lets you capture all incoming to-dos in writing. Instead of feeling pressure to do the item “now” (lest you forget), your brain can relax, secure in the knowledge that you have the item identified and stored.
• Maintain a desktop inbox. Don’t just rely on your electronic mail box or filing system. By putting a physical inbox on your desk, you will be able to temporarily place items that need your attention in a location where you can easily find them.
• Turn off technology. The ding of an email coming in, the buzz of the BlackBerry etc. — all these seemingly harmless inputs can tempt you to stray from the job at hand and multitask.

Are you a high multitasker or a low multitasker? How do you think it affects your productivity?

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What Concentrate provides is different than most apps, though, in that it takes as its core philosophy reduction, rather than addition or enhancement. It’s basically like a task scheduler that works similarly to Automator actions in order to provide you with efficiency-boosting shortcuts to setup programs, block web sites, and run and kill apps, all of which lets you focus on the task at hand. 

What Do You Want to Do?

That’s the question that drives Concentrate.The idea is that you set up “Activities,” each of which is comprised of a number of individual processes or sub-actions. An Activity could be something like, say, “Work on Novel,” in which case your the sub-actions could be to kill your Twitter client, block Facebook, set your iChat status to Do Not Disturb, and open WriteRoom. You can do that for an indefinite period of time, or if you like to set aside two hours a day for novel writing, you can add a timer to the Concentrate activity that will automatically remove the restrictions on what sites you can use when your chosen amount of time expires.

In practice, Concentrate works as I expected it to, and also performs some unexpected handy tricks, like hiding all open apps not directly mentioned in any of the sub-actions associated with the activity that’s running. It also has some preset categories of web sites to block, including a social networking group that probably eliminates 75 percent of the causes of my procrastination. Unfortunately, when it kills applications, you can always just reopen them. It’d be nice if you could actually block an app from opening at all, but I’m not even sure if OS X would allow that.

It’s The Little Things

Concentrate not only provides OS X users with an extra jolt of willpower, it does so with style. Little features, like being able to play a sound to signal the start or end of an activity, or continually throughout (a ticking sound in the example activity), or the option to customize the icon for each activity, really make me feel like Concentrate is something worth paying for. You might be able to duplicate most of the app’s functionality by creating your own Automator actions, but you couldn’t do it nearly as elegantly or with as much efficiency.

You can also integrate your own Automator actions directly in Concentrate, in case there are things the program can’t do on its own. A convenient menu bar icon allows you quick access to all of your activities, without having to access the main window, and Application Groups allow you to kill multiple apps at once, the same way you can with web sites.

Concentrate is free to try for 60 hours, which should give you plenty of time to determine whether or not you enjoy taking your marching orders from a piece of software. After that initial period, it’ll cost you a $29 one-time fee for a license, which comes complete with a money back guarantee according to their site. It might be a small price to pay if you’re having a hard time blocking out distractions on your own.

Do you use software to achieve singletasking nirvana, or do you rely on willpower alone?

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It’s an anachronism, but a welcome one for a web worker looking for a true vacation. Not that I didn’t work. Because I love (some) work, so it doesn’t feel like an imposition when I bring it with me on vacation from time to time. And what better setting for getting some web work done than at a remote location surrounded by nature and devoid of any Internet access?

Honestly, I did some of my best work while completely disconnected from the world I work in. It’s true that for a lot of what I do, maintaining currency is key. I’d say about 80 percent of my work is focused on current events, and as such, I could only focus on the remaining 20 percent while disconnected. But concentrating on that generally neglected sub-category meant that I was that much more efficient and attentive when dealing with it.

Tools and Methods

Oddly, my tools of choice for getting things done in such a rustic setting were ones normally associated with the web. First, there was my recently acquired 12-inch PowerBook, perfectly suited for the task because it wouldn’t suffer much from exposure to the elements, and because its screen is so much more appropriate for outdoor work than the glare-factory that is my 13-inch MacBook Pro’s optical glass screen.

Since writing was what I wanted to get done on this trip, I also employed Google Docs. But wait, Google Docs without an Internet connection? Yes, courtesy of Gears and a Fluid site-specific browser (SSB) instance, I can use Docs wherever and whenever I want as a fully functional standalone application. Web apps without the web are a beautiful thing.

As for methods, I just planned on waking up earlier than I normally would during a vacation and using the time during which the rest of the family was fast asleep to knock out some work, free of distractions. I ended up doing that. Owing to almost continuous rain, I also used big chunks of the afternoon on work, too. The setting and the absence of a sense of urgency made it seem like I wasn’t working at all, though.

True Focus

Being unplugged, for me, was the closest I’ve come to achieving true singletasking. The reason being, there’s far less to distract you from the task at hand once you don’t have Twitter trying to steal focus every two minutes (or however often your client happens to refresh), or the omnipresent temptation of Facebook, YouTube and countless other sites, lurking just a new tab away.

At first, I was understandably edgy, since it was such an abrupt switch from being completely, utterly connected 24 hours a day to not even being able to check my email without driving 20 minutes to the nearest town. But once I got over the initial shock, the benefits were immediately apparent. I finished a 1,200-word article in only two hours, total, a process which would’ve taken me well over four under normal circumstances.

Takeaways

Perhaps the only way to cure our great Internet addiction is to go completely off-grid. But not everyone has the opportunity to escape civilization and, by extension, the long tendrils of the Internet. However, everyone can learn a lesson or two about how to simplify their work habits from my experience, both about how to work and what to work with.

For example, one of the key lessons I took away from my experience is to use the right tool for the job. If I can do something without undue inconvenience on a simple PowerBook and Fluid instance setup, then there’s absolutely no reason for me to break out three screens, a surround sound speaker set up, a Wacom tablet, etc. Work with what you have, obviously, but if you don’t need it, don’t use it.

Last but not least, I learned that the Internet, surprisingly, is not the key ingredient in successful web work. Working remotely means just that, a freedom from the traditional ties between workplace and employee. I was looking for that freedom when I chose a career that allowed me to work from home, but eventually I became so dependent on connectivity that I may as well have been going to an office every day. From now on, an occasional forced exile from the web is going to be a vital part of how I do my job.

Do you ever disconnect completely? If so, do you notice productivity gains from doing so?

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The key to a successful working holiday? Good time management and prioritization skills. Having fun and distracting things, settings and activities all around you has a way of throwing what needs doing and what can be put off into sharp relief. The result, for me at least, is a kind of highly motivated tunnel vision that has me blowing through high-priority tasks in half the time I would normally take.

Since you’re not actually always on vacation, how do you replicate the effect in order to trigger task triage? The solution is to bring back the motivation, if not the exotic locales.

Fill Your Day With Extra-Curricular Activities

When planning out your work week, add in as many fun, after-work activities as you can manage. This might mean some personal blogging, joining a book club that meets regularly, participating in regular Twitter chat groups, or playing recreational league sports (I’ve just signed up for dodgeball, which should be interesting).

Not only will crowding weekdays with fun, social or active events and activities cut down on artificial work task exaggeration (you know that it shouldn’t take you three hours to finish that weekly status report, for instance), it’ll help you stay happy and healthy, too.

Knock Off Early

Take your usual workday end-time, and subtract two hours from that. No matter what the status of your work at that time (emergency priority stuff obviously excluded), you’re forbidden from doing anything else, professionally speaking. If all goes well, the perception of being under a time crunch will result in faster, more efficient work habits, and you’ll have no choice but to leave the less important stuff for another day.

Plan Day Trips

If an imaginary time crunch alone isn’t doing it for you, try peppering your week with mini-vacations. These could be things as simple as a shopping trip, or as complicated as a late afternoon jaunt to the zoo with the kids.

My own personal favorite mini-vacation is a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum here in Toronto, where the best time to visit is early in the morning to midday on weekdays, since you get to avoid the tourist crowd. I’m only halfway through the ancient Greek pottery exhibit, so it’s sure to motivate me to stay focused on the essential in order to give myself some extra leisure time.

Welcome (and Plan for) Personal Life Interruptions

If you have a home office, this might be something that’s unavoidable anyway, but blocking off a good chunk of floating time for unscheduled interruptions from your family and friends is not only a wise work/life balance move, but could help quiet professional distractions.

By giving domestic concerns a higher priority on your to-do list, you’ll have to create room by bumping low-priority work tasks, which will hopefully result in having less to think about during those hours when you are in dedicated work mode.

Working should never feel like a chore, even when you’re not treating it like a vacation, but these tips might help stave off the inevitable creep of bad habits, procrastination, boredom and, worst of all, unmanageable multitasking, which we sometimes fall into just for the sake of feeling busy. Filling your schedule with leisure activities gives you the benefit of feeling busy without having to generate extra work for yourself. It also helps give you an excuse to ignore low-priority distractions and keep a sharp focus on the important things. Plus, who doesn’t love a working vacation?

Share your singletasking tips in the comments.

Image by flickr user m o d e

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So as part of my new program of simplification, I’m re-evaluating what kind of kit I roll with on a regular basis. My weapon of choice used to be a large, multi-pocket bag (or two) with ample room for my computer, camera, and countless other attendant knickknacks including portable hard drives, USB keys, and most recently, a small secondary screen for auxiliary tasks like monitoring Twitter or my IM client.

It’s nice to have everything at hand, but it also means that no matter what workspace I choose to occupy, I come complete with my own built-in tools for distraction and procrastination. I could, theoretically, be trying to get work done in a monk’s chamber and still have the attention span of a goldfish. So starting this week, the Big Bag is taking a much-deserved break, and the Laptop Sleeve with Handle and Shoulder Strap (or just sleeve, for short) is coming into its own.

Friends on the same path to webworking Zen recommended the approach, claiming that my back will thank me, in addition to my addled brain. And so far, I’m impressed with the effect the sleeve is having on both. All it has room for, basically, is my MacBook Pro, its power brick, an Airport Express, and my iPhone sync cable for Internet tethering. (I’m in Canada, where it’s officially supported.) I’m sure I could fit more in there if I wanted to, but I resist the urge.

Psychologically, it feels tremendously liberating to be professionally productive with such minimalist outfitting. I also have less travel restrictions and inconveniences to deal with since I’m carrying less and taking up little physical space. And I don’t have to worry so much about leaving something behind. All I have to do is make sure I stay on target when I boot up the MBP. Easier said then done.

Have you experimented with different kit arrangements when working remotely from locations away from your home office? What do you find to be your most effective on-the-go equipment configuration?

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Kukoo is a web app that’s specifically geared at helping you maintain what many would argue are healthier email practices. I found that emails were far less pressing than I thought they were when I used it to limit myself to checking, replying and generally managing my accounts only twice during the day.

Kukoo works by setting you up with a custom email address based on your existing one. Emails sent to that address are governed by rules of your choosing, and senders are notified according to these rules about when to expect a reply. As a sender, you get more piece of mind because you don’t have to wonder whether or not you’re being ignored. On the receiving end, you’re free to let things pile up a little bit without worrying about whether clients are getting impatient, and the pressure of replying will be somewhat alleviated. And if you feel like giving senders more info regarding your inbox habits, you can even include information regarding when you last checked your email.

There’s always a catch. In Kukoo’s case, it’s that anyone sending you emails has to add “.kukoo.com” to your existing email address in order to receive your auto-reply notifications. That’s a problem, because people are creatures of habit and as such, won’t change their address books. They’ll also figure out that emailing directly to your address bypasses the auto-reply function. Finally, if you’re concerned about branding, having “yourdomain.kukoo.com” as your go-to address might, er, water down your image somewhat.

If you aren’t able to stomach the idea of leaving senders hanging while you scramble to get a million more urgent things done before you reply to them, Kukoo might be the answer for you. If you haven’t been able to give singletasking a proper go, this could be the app to get you started.

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Singletasking is just what it sounds like: approaching and tackling one task at a time, sequentially, instead of trying to do a whole bunch of things at once, as has become de rigeur in our modern multitasking age. If you’re like me, the thought is probably at least a little refreshing, and maybe more than a little appealing right off the bat.

The principle is sound. Take on one task at a time, and don’t begin another until the one you’ve already started is complete. It sounds simple, but you know as well as I do that actually implementing that kind of thing in real life will take a lot more effort than you might first think. For one, it means ignoring any urge to procrastinate, and making sure that you prioritize very carefully in advance, lest you realize too late that what you thought was most urgent actually could’ve taken a back seat to something else.

But if you’ve been feeling like you’re being pulled in all directions, and wondering about how best to counter the cumulative effects of a schizophrenic workflow, you may want to give singletasking a try. Here’s how I’m approaching it:

Avoid Traditional Task Management and GTD Apps

Traditional task management and GTD apps like Remember the Milk and Things for the Mac are great for handling multiple tasks, but they aren’t so great for when you want to drill down and focus on only one at a time. Inevitably, the specter of everything else you have to get done remains present, so it’s hard to devote yourself to any one thing wholeheartedly.

Try out NowDoThis if you’re looking for a minimalist, almost Zen approach to task management. All you see is the task at hand, which it draws from a list you set to begin with. All you see is the task you’re working on, against a plain white background. It’s great for eliminating distractions.

Only Use One Tab

For many, this will be the hardest rule to stick to, especially if you’re using Firefox 3.5 RC 1, which has that very convenient “New Tab” button built right in. But this rule is probably also the simplest way to keep yourself focused.

If you try and try, and yet you’re still unable to avoid opening so many tabs that you have to scroll (this happens to me every 2-3 minutes), you can try out more drastic measures. This handy little Mozilla extension will actually disable the ability to create new tabs. It’s a last resort, but a great one if you doubt your own will power.

Finally, don’t try to work around this by using more than one window instead of more than one tab. That’s just cheating.

Only Use One Screen

I’m a firm believer in the productivity benefits that having multiple displays leads to. My current setup uses not one, but two monitors in addition to the screen built into my 20-inch iMac. It may seem excessive, but once you’ve tried it, you can’t go back.

Unless, that is, you force yourself to in order to achieve greater singularity of focus. Which is what I’ve been trying to do, and finding that its harder than giving up browser tabs. It might be harder than quitting smoking.

But if I can manage to keep my secondary displays turned off, I do find that I can better concentrate on what I’m doing. Even having to actually go to a different site just to get a screenshot and then go back to continue editing a post is strangely calming for some reason. Maybe that’s just the withdrawal symptoms talking.

This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how to shift from being a multitasker to being a singletasker. There’s still the issue of dealing with email, and Twitter, and Facebook, and every other app or service clamoring for your attention. I’ll look at some of those in later posts, but for now, just letting go of Ctrl+Tab is challenge enough.

Have you tried singletasking?

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