For optimal productivity, it is important to frequently check your calendar and email. For your mental health, it is refreshing to check in with friends and your favorite websites occasionally. However, this connectedness may be more distracting at work than you realize.   

According to neuroscientists Earl Miller and Daniel Weissman, you are not as effective at multitasking as you think you are. Breaking your attention frequently by multitasking is counterproductive. Weissman says that “even simple tasks can overwhelm the brain when we try to do several at once.”    

Fifteen-Minute Bursts
Instead of multitasking, concentrate for fifteen-minute bursts, focusing on only one task. Does that sound like not enough time? If you’re not continually breaking your concentration by accessing non-work related information through your computer or mobile device, you will surprise yourself at how much more efficient you can be. The key is to be ultrafocused on the project at hand and then take a break for a few minutes.   

Now that I have completed this article, I’m off to refresh my coffee and scan the latest national headlines for a few minutes before I begin a new project…    

Tips for Success: Here are a few strategies to optimize your performance at work:
1. Avoid being on demand. Turn off the volume on your computer and mobile devices so you can’t hear chat jingles or email notifications. Only check your email once an hour and in between fifteen-minute work sessions. Answer the phone only if necessary.

2. Keep your digital workspace visually organized. Keep browsers, tabs, and programs opened in a sequence that works best for you. Minimize web pages you frequent for entertainment so you can focus. (On my screen, Firefox’s menu bar is transparent, and it’s distracting when instant messages and other notifications appear in the window behind it. Minimizing eliminates this issue.)

3. Don’t get up. Have a healthy snack on your desk and something yummy to drink like tea or coffee available. Keep it in a thermos so it stays warm or cold for a long time. This will help keep you focusedand will prevent you from having to get up as often.

4. Move or stretch often. After your fifteen minute work burst is over, reposition. Your body has to be comfortable and healthy for your mind to work optimally. Amble to the water cooler, get a tea refill, or walk around your cubicle and stretch. Just a minute or two will help get your blood flowing again.

5. Communicate. Having good work relationships and interactions is part of a happy and productive work environment, but be cognizant of how conversations and meetings carve into time for your projects. Communicate availability to family, coworkers and supervisors as necessary. Develop a realistic plan that builds in flexibility and allows you to fulfill unexpected family and work obligations.   

Bibliography
Hamilton, John. “Think You’re Multitasking? Think Again.” National Public Radio. Published October 2, 2008. Accessed July 30, 2011,
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794