Have you ever reached the end of the day and felt like you achieved nothing? If you answered “yes”, you are probably multitasking. Multitaskers can be classified into 3 categories: chronic; habitual and occasional. When you feel like the speedometer is moving into the chronic zone, it may be a good idea to review your work habits.

On a daily basis, we are interrupted by meetings, questions and other “things” that come up. By the time we take care of all these matters, we looked at our own personal to-do list and found that nothing we intended to do was accomplished. Some days this is unavoidable, but when each day starts to look like this, it’s time to act.

Today, everyone is busy and no one catches up. That is generally a good thing. We all want to be busy because that means business is doing well. Because we are all busy, the temptation to multitask has never been greater. However, what happens is that we start one task, we switch to another, we go back to the first one, and then we are interrupted again. Starting and stopping a task is more than an interruption. When you return to an undone task, you must reorient yourself to where you left off, and this in itself takes time. Sometimes you even forget what you were working on and start working on a completely new task.

Multitasking has many benefits. You gain efficiency, productivity and flexibility. No one can afford not to be flexible in the type of environment we find ourselves in. Some of the negatives are low quality, constant distraction, and lack of prioritization.

The key to all of this is to avoid doing two things at once in the literal sense. Brains lack the ability to successfully perform two tasks at the same time. It has even been said that multitasking damages your brain. Research conducted at Stanford University found that multitasking is less productive than performing one task at a time. You may think you can handle it, but research shows otherwise. A group of Stanford researchers found that “people who are regularly bombarded with various streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory, or switch from job to job, as do those who prefer to complete one task at a time.”

Social scientists have long assumed that it is impossible to process more than one chain of information at a time. The brain just can’t do it.

What can help? Every morning, write a to-do list. Highlight the items that are “must-haves today.” Please list your second priority items below. As you run, check off the finished items. Not only will this give you an immediate sense of accomplishment, but you will follow your daily plan and keep priorities.

We usually put off tasks that require a lot of thought or just don’t like doing. Try to get them out of the way first. As the day progresses, your brain gets tired, so more complicated tasks are best done in the morning.

Email is a huge time consumer. Although you want to be on top of everything, if you are constantly checking email, you will be distracted several times during the day. Unless your job title is “Email Monitor,” you’ll want to avoid it. If you get a lot of emails, check them first thing in the morning, before or after lunch, and before the end of the day. Three times. That’s. If there is something very urgent, you will probably receive a phone call instead of an email.

Productivity is especially important when you have a lot of tasks to complete during peak hours. To manage tasks properly, follow the formula “one task at a time”. Avoid straying and try to control your time when it can be controlled by you. For example, if you host a meeting, set a specific start and end time and stick with it.

Another point to consider is learning to accurately estimate how long it will take you to complete a task or project. If your project is large, you may want to consider breaking it down into multiple sessions if your deadline allows. Start projects early so you have time to complete them on time. Delegate when appropriate so that you are not absorbing tasks that someone else can complete. Schedule appointments to talk instead of having ad-hoc conversations.

Generally, they multitask when they have a lot to do. It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed and disorganized when juggling multiple deadlines and responsibilities. Results are much better when your day is run in an organized manner. Once you follow the formula, you will do much more and your brain will thank you.