Welcome to One Book, One Concept! Every week I will dissect and share with you one concept, from a book that I have read or am currently reading, that has impacted my life and how I live it.
This weeks One Book, One Concept comes from "The ONE Thing" by Gary Keller. The main premise of Keller's book is to focus attention, maximize productivity and to clarify purpose by answering the following question: "What's the ONE thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"
However, the one concept that struck a chord with me was Keller's chapter on Multi-tasking.
I personally believe that multi-tasking may be the most overrated skill in the history of man. Based on his chapter analyzing the concept I would say that Keller probably agrees with me.
Here are a few excerpts from "The ONE Thing" regarding multi-tasking:
The reason that multi-tasking is inefficient and ineffective is that at any one time our brain capacity has a limit. It is capped. It does not get "doubled" when we start a second task. Your best work is done when you channel your attention to one thing and one thing only.
Some of the possible negative consequences that multi-taskers face compared to non-multi-taskers are:
Keller ends his chapter with a powerful quote that proves that multi-tasking can lead not only to poor work-related performance, but also to struggles in relationships:
"The people we live with and work with on a daily basis deserve our full attention. When we give people segmented attention, piecemeal time, switching back and forth, the switching cost is higher than just the time involved. We end up damaging relationships."
To learn more about the negative effects of multi-tasking or to discover what your ONE Thing is and how it can simplify your life, pick up a copy of "The ONE Thing" by Gary Keller.
This weeks One Book, One Concept comes from "The ONE Thing" by Gary Keller. The main premise of Keller's book is to focus attention, maximize productivity and to clarify purpose by answering the following question: "What's the ONE thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"
However, the one concept that struck a chord with me was Keller's chapter on Multi-tasking.
I personally believe that multi-tasking may be the most overrated skill in the history of man. Based on his chapter analyzing the concept I would say that Keller probably agrees with me.
Here are a few excerpts from "The ONE Thing" regarding multi-tasking:
- "To do two things at once is to do neither." – Publilius Syrus
- "Multi-tasking is a lie."
The reason that multi-tasking is inefficient and ineffective is that at any one time our brain capacity has a limit. It is capped. It does not get "doubled" when we start a second task. Your best work is done when you channel your attention to one thing and one thing only.
Some of the possible negative consequences that multi-taskers face compared to non-multi-taskers are:
- They make more mistakes.
- They are subject to more stress.
- They develop a distorted sense of how long projects take to complete.
Keller ends his chapter with a powerful quote that proves that multi-tasking can lead not only to poor work-related performance, but also to struggles in relationships:
"The people we live with and work with on a daily basis deserve our full attention. When we give people segmented attention, piecemeal time, switching back and forth, the switching cost is higher than just the time involved. We end up damaging relationships."
To learn more about the negative effects of multi-tasking or to discover what your ONE Thing is and how it can simplify your life, pick up a copy of "The ONE Thing" by Gary Keller.