What is Monotasking?
Monotasking simply means concentrating one task at a specific time without disruption.
Multitasking was considered as more productive than monotasking. In fact, multitasking is often added in resumes as one of the positive skills. Many business organizations emphasize multitasking to their employees as a way of showing of an increase productivity.
However, researchers have begun to prove that monotasking is the best to complete a task and people are realizing the importance of monotasking, in fact monotasking is considered as the new multitasking.
Here are top 9 benefits why people should be monotasking.
1. Monotasking increases productivity
The American Psychological Association research proves that switching between tasks reduces productivity by 40%. This means monotasking increases your productivity.
However, completing one task with no plan is a disaster. Smart planning such as batching tasks saves you time and increases the number of tasks completed at one time because it avoids your brain from splitting its efforts to perform different tasks at once.
2. Monotasking conserves your energy
Multitasking drains your energy. Dividing your attention from one task to the other, pushes your brain to work harder as it needs to take time to process different information at a time.
Research says that it takes 20 minutes for us to get into focus after distraction. Imagine how long it takes to complete a task with so much time wasted just to be focused. This is the reason why multitasking exhausts you.
Concentrating on one task at dedicated time ensures that your full attention is given till it is done. Additionally, you are able to complete your task much faster without any interruption.
3. Monotasking produces quality work
A 2014 Journal of Experimental Psychology found that interruptions as little as 2 to 3 seconds increases the number of error participants made in an assignment task. If you give your undivided attention to one task, you will avoid mistakes as you are much more careful when producing the work assigned to you.
4. Monotasking teaches you the ability to prioritize
Yes, you will learn to prioritise when looking at the list of your tasks that you need to pick for monotasking. Because you are only suppose to do one task, you will have to pick the one which is most important or that matters to be completed.
5. Spending quality time with your family and friends
Have you noticed that family gatherings usually have some family members who are often distracted by mobile phones? You will be having conversation and suddenly the family member has the tendency to look at their mobile phone.
Realizing that many family and friends do not have proper conversation, there are some restaurants who urge patron to place the mobile phones in a box and put it away. This smart move encourages their patrons to monotask which is having conversation with each other without disruption.
6. Self-discipline is promoted with monotasking
As monotasking develops and builds your empire of success through commitment, it induces self-discipline and improved efficiency. You start working committed in that single task with increased effort and consciousness leads to disciplined business ventures. Once you start performing the single work with optimum focus and commitment, it generates discipline and increases productivity immensely.
7. Monotasking repels distractions
When people are committed to performing multiple tasks at a single period, their focus has been scattered between chores. Therefore it is very easy for them to be distracted from their task. This distraction usually limits your output and decreases your productivity within a short period.
Monotasking, on the other hand, eradicates distractions from any external forces or internal processes.
8. Strengthens focus when monotasking
Monotasking is a fantastic source for improving your mind’s attention. Full concentration is an essential feature to complete your task. It trains your mind, soul and body by working together to strengthen your focus.
9. Monotasking provides peace and happiness
Mindful monotasking allows you to create time for work and break. This means your mind and body are given needed rest between work. When you have adequate rest, you are happy and will enjoy work more which gives inner peace and reduces work stress.
Monotasking is a gift of life
Finally, monotasking not only helps you achieve in your business ventures but also allows you to excel as a positive person who can grow both spiritually and personally in multiple domains. New York Times reported, twenty-five thousand people who participated in a single task challenge realized that monotasking is the first thing that they want to carry into their lives but they also agreed that it is the hardest thing to do.
It may take time to forget multitasking and start monotasking but with time and practise it can be cultivated. Good luck!
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