This article was first published on my blog on HIVE.

Hello friends, how many times do we find ourselves engulfed in long to-do lists and try to complete them all at once? We are bombarded from all sides with false images and representations of the productive person. We see people daily on social media capable of carrying out hundreds of actions at the same time, but that fiction is far from reality. And taking multitasking lightly can lead us to make big mistakes in our work. How many times have you responded to something by mistake, or written in the wrong place in a document? If your job is in an office, you have surely gone through this several times. Today I want to address and give my point of view on this topic.

Effectively Dangerous

Multitasking always seems to be the most valuable and productive option, and in part, it can be, but to a large extent, it can be harmful. When we have our minds occupied with several things at once, our attention is divided, and the quality of our work can suffer the consequences. Several studies have already shown that multitasking can reduce people’s efficiency and increase the likelihood of errors, in addition to ending up wasting more time trying to correct them. Additionally, we can add greater stress and exhaustion that can harm our emotional and physical health.

Multitasking, but Done Right

Although if you consider that you need to multitask and weigh the dangers of it, there are several things you can do to ensure its effectiveness and carry it out effectively:

1. Prioritize your tasks, identifying the most important and urgent ones, group them by the level of attention they require, and tackle those that need the most concentration and attention independently.
2. The time-blocking technique can be effective if you know how to apply it correctly. For example: 30 minutes dedicated to answering all the day’s emails, followed by an hour to work on your projects.
3. Avoid distractions or at least minimize them. These can be notifications from your phone or social media. Don’t waste time checking your notifications as they come in; dedicate a 15-minute block every 4 hours for this.
4. Take time to rest. If you are one of those who use and benefit from the Pomodoro technique, you already know how important these breaks are and how they can influence our productivity.
5. Use tools that help you improve your time and task distribution. These tools, for the most part, can help you improve your organization and delegate automatic activities and reminders, as well as plan your day and schedules. Sometimes it is more productive to spend 30 minutes of your initial time for proper configuration than to leave this to chance and opportunities.
6. Organize yourself: Several studies have shown the importance of working in an organized space, as it helps reduce distractions and external stimuli.
7. Develop mindfulness. You can find a lot of information on the web about this and how to achieve it. Learn to control your impulses with breathing and motivation techniques.
8. Learn to delegate tasks. Many times we want to do everything ourselves, but delegating tasks can significantly reduce our to-do list and allow us to focus on more important matters.
9. Honestly evaluate your progress, strengths, and weaknesses. Don’t be afraid of feedback and follow the advice of your colleagues, especially those in your field with years of experience.

Don’t Even Think About It

There are many tasks that we should avoid doing simultaneously and never combine with others. These include tasks that involve your safety, such as driving, operating risky or medical equipment, and heavy machinery. Tasks that involve solving complex problems that involve other people, as well as situations of vulnerability, should always be handled separately. And of course, and no less important, if you are dedicated to creative areas such as writing or designing, you will need to maintain a continuous flow of ideas solely for these activities.

This You Can

And of course, you can always combine automatic tasks without problems, such as listening to music and podcasts while doing repetitive things. And the best and healthiest, walking while thinking of new ideas or planning something.

Although multitasking may seem like the solution to all our problems, it is a skill that requires awareness of its dangers, planning, and effective execution, with a careful strategy and without risking the quality of our work.

I sincerely want to thank you for taking the time to read this article. Your support means a lot to me and motivates me to continue sharing content that can be useful and interesting for you. If you found this article useful or enjoyed reading it, I would greatly appreciate your comments. Success.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
I apologize if there are any grammatical errors, English is not my native language, I have tried to be as careful as possible.
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