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Abstract

"000c">When I focused on more things again for a while, the great spontaneous ideas disappeared. What I took to bed with me were stress and worry.<h1 id="c226">3. You overestimate your time</h1>Let’s say you have 4 projects going on at the same time.Ideally, you could divide your time between all four — 25% of your available time per project.In reality, this is impossible. First, something always comes up. If you plan to the minute, you plan for disappointment — Guaranteed.Even if you manage to invest, e.g., exactly 1 hour per day in each project, in reality, you are not that efficient. The reason for that is the time fixed costs you have everywhere. Let me explain it.Fixed costs are those that you have regardless of the input. Here’s an example.Imagine you’re writing a book every day and then edit videos. These are the two projects you pursue at the same time.To write your book, you have to do four things beforehand:Make a coffee, boot up your laptop, open the manuscript and read in. Only when you have done that can you write a single word. All the efforts before that have not brought you closer to your goal. It is a fixed cost in time.The same is true for editing your videos.The ideal would be to focus on just one thing. Instead of writing and editing for 1 hour, write for 2 hours. This is the only way to minimize the ratio of dead time to productive time.If you want to use your time as effectively as possible, focus on just one thing.<h1 id="160e">4. You will notice the details</h1>If you have a fixed schedule for everything, it stifles your freedom.The freedom to try and discover — to go into something at length, without being limited.Having no limitations will promote your flow state. Your performance can hardly be planned. Sometimes we have a bad day, and sometimes we really turn it on in the evening or night.If you focus on several things, you have already done several things by the evening — always your brain has to change, the timer until you are in your highest form is reset.I’m just focusing on writing right now. Away from the things I have to do, it’s my only priority.For writing, I can use my time how I want. If I’m stuck somewhere, I don’t have to rush because I don’t have any time conflicts.Many people think it’s an excellent strategy to schedule all tasks. While this may feel like it increases your efficiency, many miracles happen outside of your planning.You don’t necessarily get better with a clock in your head — you get faster. This can come at the cost of good ideas through long, detailed pondering and getting stuck.Our creativity and performance cannot be predicted. And even if we could — living according to a plan is no fun.Focus on just one thing — then you can devote all your time to it.<h1 id="69fc">5. Keep in mind your mental health</h1>If you try to focus on several things at once, you are bo

Options

und to fail. To manage multiple tasks in a day, you need a schedule.Even if you somehow manage to complete your tasks, you will most likely violate your schedule. That is frustrating.Even if you stick to your schedule, you will notice that your results are not as desired.It’s like being cursed.It not your fault. Nevertheless, such failure will hurt your mood, motivation, and self-esteem — possibly damaging your psyche in the long run.Doing several things at the same time that we consider important is stressful.While you can manage your time, your brain makes its own schedule. Your subconsciousness is busy with the things you have exposed it to. Your brain holds many doors open for you, but it’s exhausting.It can happen all the time that someone comes through one of these doors to tell you something. Your focus is interrupted again. The smallest impulses can already provide new ideas — usually when you are busy with something completely different.If you focus only on one thing, your subconscious is only in one place.Remember that your mental capacities are limited — don’t just overload yourself with stimuli.<h1 id="fdd6">Actionable advise</h1>Focusing on just one thing sounds so easy. There is only one big question:<h2 id="5e58">What is the “one thing” I should focus on?</h2>We ask ourselves which is the better decision. Start the new project this weekend, or repaint the apartment instead?There may be good reasons for both actions. You can compare these reasons and then make a supposedly rational decision. But experience shows time and again that we can’t make truly rational decisions. Our judgment and foresight are limited.Overly rational planning often undermines itself. Overthinking prevents us from getting to the implementation stage.<h2 id="88a1">You need to become more disagreeable.</h2>Often we get sucked into new things because we have the wrong idea about them.As a web developer, I often have this experience — everything seems possible; we have to invest our time and effort. Friends, colleagues, and others have suggestions for super great projects. Opportunities and possibilities everywhere.This quickly leads to being overwhelmed — we can’t get involved with all the possibilities. At least not at the same time. On the other hand, we don’t want to upset anyone — so we talk ourselves out of it or get involved with others' ideas and plans.Most of the time, this leads to chaos. Particularly half-hearted commitment or bad excuses only cause conflict in the long run. You have to learn to say no. Even if it hurts — a no to someone else is often a yes to yourself.<h2 id="d264">Create a to-do list.</h2>It sounds and is so simple. If you have a list of ideas, plans, and goals, it is extremely relieving. Your ideas are stored in one place; you don’t have to worry about losing them.You can calmly focus on one thing at a time. Most opportunities don’t run away.</article></body>

PRODUCTIVITY / SELF

Focusing on Just One Thing Helps Me Getting Done More

Here are 5 reasons why you should do the same.

One thing at a time, as the saying goes.

Nevertheless, we often focus on several things at the same time.

We read several books at the same time.
We pursue several projects.
We have multiple health goals.
We learn several things at the same time.

Most of the time, it fails — that’s what I experience over and over again.

Here’s why focusing on more than one thing is so problematic. And here’s how to focus on just one thing.

1. You demotivate yourself

I have a huge weakness: my over-enthusiasm.

I continuously start something new — even though I haven’t finished many others yet. I then pursue the new project very intensively until I have a new idea.

A very demotivating process caused by the fact that I believe I have found a better idea. I behave impulsively — most people do.

Whether something is a good idea or not is not easy to say. Our hasty conclusions cause us to abandon something — and thus, all the effort was utterly wasted.

It is still better to have implemented a bad idea at the end of the day than not to have implemented a potentially good one. The feeling of having accomplished something is essential for our self-confidence.

If you start focusing on several things at once, one thing will take over. Your focus will be redistributed, and you will leave other projects to the left.

2. You overestimate your abilities

Multitasking is not easy, they say. Yet we do so many things at once — often without realizing it. The reason is that the tasks seem too easy.

We think in linear terms. It’s easy to plan your time according to this model. Twice as much success comes from twice as much time spent on it. According to this idea, we can switch back and forth between tasks at will.

That is a naive calculation. In reality, no progress is linear. Problems in particular often bring us to a standstill for hours — that’s quite normal. Many tasks push us to our cognitive limits.

If you want to work effectively on a problem, take the time to do it. Even subconscious time.

Writing is what I do after I get up. I do it until I go to bed.

Besides what I usually do for surviving, writing is the one thing I chose.

Subconsciously, my brain is almost all at this activity. My head is still working on problems when I’m not actively doing it anymore. This is a massive advantage for me. I have a notebook next to the bed for all the spontaneous ideas.

When I focused on more things again for a while, the great spontaneous ideas disappeared. What I took to bed with me were stress and worry.

3. You overestimate your time

Let’s say you have 4 projects going on at the same time.

Ideally, you could divide your time between all four — 25% of your available time per project.

In reality, this is impossible. First, something always comes up. If you plan to the minute, you plan for disappointment — Guaranteed.

Even if you manage to invest, e.g., exactly 1 hour per day in each project, in reality, you are not that efficient. The reason for that is the time fixed costs you have everywhere. Let me explain it.

Fixed costs are those that you have regardless of the input. Here’s an example.

Imagine you’re writing a book every day and then edit videos. These are the two projects you pursue at the same time.

To write your book, you have to do four things beforehand:

Make a coffee, boot up your laptop, open the manuscript and read in. Only when you have done that can you write a single word. All the efforts before that have not brought you closer to your goal. It is a fixed cost in time.

The same is true for editing your videos.

The ideal would be to focus on just one thing. Instead of writing and editing for 1 hour, write for 2 hours. This is the only way to minimize the ratio of dead time to productive time.

If you want to use your time as effectively as possible, focus on just one thing.

4. You will notice the details

If you have a fixed schedule for everything, it stifles your freedom.

The freedom to try and discover — to go into something at length, without being limited.

Having no limitations will promote your flow state. Your performance can hardly be planned. Sometimes we have a bad day, and sometimes we really turn it on in the evening or night.

If you focus on several things, you have already done several things by the evening — always your brain has to change, the timer until you are in your highest form is reset.

I’m just focusing on writing right now. Away from the things I have to do, it’s my only priority.

For writing, I can use my time how I want. If I’m stuck somewhere, I don’t have to rush because I don’t have any time conflicts.

Many people think it’s an excellent strategy to schedule all tasks. While this may feel like it increases your efficiency, many miracles happen outside of your planning.

You don’t necessarily get better with a clock in your head — you get faster. This can come at the cost of good ideas through long, detailed pondering and getting stuck.

Our creativity and performance cannot be predicted. And even if we could — living according to a plan is no fun.

Focus on just one thing — then you can devote all your time to it.

5. Keep in mind your mental health

If you try to focus on several things at once, you are bound to fail. To manage multiple tasks in a day, you need a schedule.

Even if you somehow manage to complete your tasks, you will most likely violate your schedule. That is frustrating.

Even if you stick to your schedule, you will notice that your results are not as desired.

It’s like being cursed.

It not your fault. Nevertheless, such failure will hurt your mood, motivation, and self-esteem — possibly damaging your psyche in the long run.

Doing several things at the same time that we consider important is stressful.

While you can manage your time, your brain makes its own schedule. Your subconsciousness is busy with the things you have exposed it to. Your brain holds many doors open for you, but it’s exhausting.

It can happen all the time that someone comes through one of these doors to tell you something. Your focus is interrupted again. The smallest impulses can already provide new ideas — usually when you are busy with something completely different.

If you focus only on one thing, your subconscious is only in one place.

Remember that your mental capacities are limited — don’t just overload yourself with stimuli.

Actionable advise

Focusing on just one thing sounds so easy. There is only one big question:

What is the “one thing” I should focus on?

We ask ourselves which is the better decision. Start the new project this weekend, or repaint the apartment instead?

There may be good reasons for both actions. You can compare these reasons and then make a supposedly rational decision. But experience shows time and again that we can’t make truly rational decisions. Our judgment and foresight are limited.

Overly rational planning often undermines itself. Overthinking prevents us from getting to the implementation stage.

You need to become more disagreeable.

Often we get sucked into new things because we have the wrong idea about them.

As a web developer, I often have this experience — everything seems possible; we have to invest our time and effort. Friends, colleagues, and others have suggestions for super great projects. Opportunities and possibilities everywhere.

This quickly leads to being overwhelmed — we can’t get involved with all the possibilities. At least not at the same time. On the other hand, we don’t want to upset anyone — so we talk ourselves out of it or get involved with others' ideas and plans.

Most of the time, this leads to chaos. Particularly half-hearted commitment or bad excuses only cause conflict in the long run. You have to learn to say no. Even if it hurts — a no to someone else is often a yes to yourself.

Create a to-do list.

It sounds and is so simple. If you have a list of ideas, plans, and goals, it is extremely relieving. Your ideas are stored in one place; you don’t have to worry about losing them.

You can calmly focus on one thing at a time. Most opportunities don’t run away.