Focus, filter, forget

We all do it. Or at least we all try to do it. We think we are good at it and some believe that women are better at it than men. What am I talking about? Multitasking.

In my consultancy work, I commonly come across it: senior managers or business people believing that multitasking is crucial or something they must excel in and that by doing several things at the same time they can get much more done. I am here referring to people reading and replying to emails during important company meetings or writing and reading an important business document with one’s attention shared with a constant flow of emails and or phone calls interrupting one’s train of thought.

I would actually argue that multitasking is the process of interrupting one task with another and as a consequence not doing anything well. Fact: our brains are designed to focus on one task at a time. When we switch between tasks, especially complex ones, research shows that we take up to 30 per cent longer to complete the tasks and tend to make twice as many errors.

My advice to managers and businesspeople is to not aim to be busy but rather to aim to be effective. Allow me to quote Stephen Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People “There was a woodsman who had a new axe. The first day he used it, he was able to chop down 20 trees. However, with each passing day, he worked longer and harder, while chopping down fewer trees. A friend wandering by suggested, “Why don’t you sharpen your axe?” The woodsman replied, “I’m too busy. I’ve got to chop down more trees!” That is the difference between “busy” and “effective”.

Allow me to go off on a tangent, momentarily: When I read my MBA, at the very outset of the MBA course, we were made to attend a “time management” course which we were strongly advised was essential given that the intensity and pressure of the course; to the extent that if not handled well, the pressure, they advised us, could lead to some students abandoning the course, high stress levels and or poor health.

I found this MBA survival-kit of time-management to be life changing and one of the many things I learnt which I’d like to share with you is the following: Start every week by listing all the things you have to do. Prioritise the list of items by order of importance and not urgency (crucial you make the distinction between “urgent” and “important”). Work through the list from top to bottom and revise it at the start of the following day. It is not easy, especially until you get accustomed to the new modus operandi and especially since it requires a lot of self-discipline, but trust me it really does work.

Time is a very precious and scarce resource. So watch out for anything that eats up or erodes your precious time, since if not, “multitasking” will always seem attractive. I am here referring to travelling, reading and replying to (unimportant) emails or text messages, telephone interruptions, and (unprepared) meetings (my pet hate). Business Research shows that knowledge workers tend to switch tasks every three minutes (imagine how disruptive that can be).

In addition, Intel conducted a study (interviewing 2,300 employees) which revealed that one in three emails received are “unnecessary” and that employees tend to spend on average two hours a day processing emails (estimated to be circa 350 messages a week and this figure goes up for executives to an astonishing 300 a day). On top of all this, research by Microsoft shows us that when a worker is interrupted by an e-mail notification it takes, on average, 24 minutes (yes, 24 minutes) to re-focus and return to the suspended task.

So if multitasking isn’t the answer, and given the information overload we are all exposed to and the fact that time is such a scarce and limited resource, what is the solution? According to research conducted by McKinsey, the answer lies in the art of “focusing, filtering and forgetting”. The argument goes something like this: First, you need to focus, that is, concentrate all your attention on the task in hand and deal with everything in sequence (opposite of multitasking).

Second, filter out those things which your subordinates can (should) handle (you need to know how to delegate obviously), so that you only invest your limited time into that which is important. Third, learn to forget. Your brain needs to be able to switch-off once a day (exercise is my preferred method).

It is not easy. I know. In fact, my consultancy firm is engaged by a lot of senior executives and/or business people simple because such people do not have the luxury of uninterrupted time to synthesise information, digest and reflect calmly, apply judgement, make trade-offs and execute the best decision. I commonly refer to this as “Quality of Focus” and it is so important when executives or business people are taking important decisions about their company. Remember, time is a very democratic resource in that we all get allocated the same amount (24 hours a day).

So if you want to be an effective manager, executive or businessman: Try to always focus on that which is important rather than urgent, tackle tasks in sequence (opposite of multitasking), be disciplined (even ruthless) with your working time, plan and organise your week almost in military fashion, learn to delegate and master the art of “switching-off” (your brain) at least once a day. Lastly, and in the words of Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”.

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Mr Fenech is managing director, FENCI Consulting Ltd.