Context switching costs time and impact: Focus is important
To use our limited time well, we must avoid wasting it.
Everyone has a sense that task switching has a cost, but what about jobs that require a lot of it?
Two keys.
Avoid being highly fragmented as a long-term job.
To maximize career success, focus on one or two things you are good at and give them all your energy. If you cannot do this for your whole job, then try to do it on given days (Tuesday is X, Wednesday and Thursday are Y) or even just for a few hours.
On a daily basis, do anything you can to shut out other thoughts and distractions while you get one thing off your plate.
Humans are poor multi-taskers.
Hide in a conference room (or at home, in your bedroom, or even in your car). Close other tabs/windows (social media, email, etc,).
Get something off your list so that you can stop thinking about it.
Variety can be a lot of fun and being flexible is also a career asset. But be aware of how much mental energy it drains to switch contexts between every email or meeting.
Focus is a miracle tool. Use it.
Audience Insights
I have consolidated additional ideas worth considering from my LinkedIn audience, including:
There is a difference between focus and banging your head into a brick wall. If you are stumped, you could either spend all afternoon fighting through that issue or you can move to the next task and revisit the original 2 days later.
Ruthlessly manage your calendar. Schedule email time blocks and question “Can that 30 minute meeting be an email instead?” Remember, “catching up on email” while on a conference call is multitasking, neither is getting your full brain power.
Learn to manage up effectively
Part of enhanced productivity is the ability to manage up successfully. I created an on-demand course that provides the context and practical tools you need to build strong relationships with leaders at any stage of your career.
The class also addresses deeper challenges, like maintaining trust while disagreeing with a boss, or how to build relationships with skip level leaders and distant peers.
Below is the course introduction video to see what you get.
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Level Up is a free newsletter from retired Amazon Vice President Ethan Evans that breaks down how he succeeded and how you can get to the next level.