Multitasking – Are You Doing It Right?

As homemakers, we can easily get overwhelmed by the amount of work we need to get done on a daily basis. Does that make multitasking part of our routine?And does multitasking make it easier for us to get things done (and done well)?

Whenever you find yourself with a few tasks at once and feel like you don’t have enough hours in the day to finish it all by night, what do you do?

A. Leave some stuff for tomorrow (and wake up to dirty dishes in the sink)

B. Freak out and leave all of it for tomorrow (and wake up to dirty dishes in the sink + clean laundry on the sofa + banana stains under the high chair + groceries on the counter waiting to be put in place)

C. Try to multitask (but find out doing a few things at once is even harder. You forget to take the buns out of the oven while being busy with the laundry!)

D. You multitask and finish everything on time (phew, all done!)

If your answer is A, B or C then this is the perfect guide for you!

Before we dive into the How-To, let’s first take a look and understand what multitasking actually is.

“The secret to multitasking is that it isn’t actually multitasking. It’s just extreme focus and organization.”

Joss Whedon

Understanding Multitasking

According to Wikipedia, multitasking is “the ability to perform more than one task or activity at the same time”. Well, sorry, Wiki, but technically that’s not exactly true. We simply CAN’T do two mentally complex tasks at the same time, so what we actually do is we switch from one task to the other, back and forth, in order to use our time in a more efficient way.

Now, using our time efficiently is exactly what we are trying to do, but is multitasking the way to go?

Is Multitasking A Good Option?

Not always. First of all, it’s a complete no no when it comes to tasks that require focus and undivided attention. But since we are talking about household tasks and chores, most of the daily tasks are not mentally complex, so multitasking is almost always a good option that will save you a A LOT of time.

The Downsides Of Multitasking

Yes, there are downsides to multitasking when you are doing it wrong. If you choose the wrong tasks or don’t work in the correct way, you might end up failing to complete your chores, making errors along the way and overall wasting a lot of time.

Let’s say you put buns in the oven and in the meantime go to hang the clean laundry to dry. Halfway through hanging the clothes you get a phone call so you talk while continuing with the laundry. A few minutes later you smell something burnt. This something is the buns that you completely forgot about, guess you’ll have to find another idea for dinner.

The problem with multitasking is that it affects our focus, we just can’t concentrate on two things at the same time so we keep on switching from one thing to the other. Whenever we switch back to a task it takes us time to get back into it.

How To Do It Right?

The good news are – it’s definitely not difficult to multitask and you can easily do it too! All you need in order to be a pro is right here:

Choose Your Tasks Wisely

Some tasks will never work together and even if you really try the results will be poor. Scientifically, you can’t focus on two tasks if they belong to the same area in the brain. For example, two verbal tasks will be impossible to perform at the same time (like reading the news while talking on the phone).

The best is to choose completely different tasks (jogging while listening to music for example is no problem at all, right?) And two get the best results from multitasking – choose a task that you can do quite automatically and don’t need to think about so much.

Set Timers

Since our brain can’t focus on two things at once, it’s a good idea to take some of the tasks off you. By using a timer you free some space in your brain – you no longer have to remember to get back to a task, the timer will remind you at the right moment. Believe me, that alone makes a huge difference in your productivity.

If we go back to the burnt buns from above, a simple timer would have prevent the buns from burning and us from having to start over and make dinner again. Timers are essential. Always use a timer when multitasking.

Make A To-Do List

If the timer is your bestie, the To-Do list is your BFF. You don’t want to start multitasking without a To-Do list. Why? Because it keeps you organized and focused, you don’t waste time thinking, calculating and wondering what to do now and what next, To-Do lists are a must in home management and especially when multitasking. By taking a few minutes to write down your tasks and organize them in the right order (keep reading to learn how) you are saving so many more minutes later.

Start With A Background Task

A Background task is what I call a task that is being done in the background, without you having to do anything and without interfering you. For example, when you have to wash the clothes, you ACTIVELY work for a few minutes while loading the machine, after that the washing machine is working without interrupting you for an hour or so. That means doing laundry is mostly a background task and by doing it first, we can have it being done while we focus on other chores.

Spending 30 minutes cleaning and then load the washing machine and let it wash the clothes for one hour = you finish two tasks in 1.5 hours.

Loading the machine and then cleaning for 30 minutes while the clothes are being washed = you finish two tasks in 1 hour.

In this example, you save 30 minutes just by starting with the correct task. Order matters.

Work In The Right Order

Now that you understand the concept of background tasks, you can apply the same logic to all of your tasks. That will help you decide on the best order, the order that will save you the most time. Example? Here:

Let’s say you have 3 simple tasks – bake cookies, wash the floor, do laundry and make a phone call. To get them in the right order, first write them all down together with the time it takes to complete each task and the time things are happening in the background. Something like this:

• 🍪 Bake cookies – 10 minutes work + 10 minutes in the oven
• 🧹 Wash the floor – 15 minutes
• 🧺 Do laundry – 5 minutes to load + 60 minutes to wash
• ☎️ Make a phone call – 20 minutes

If you do them one by one, in this order, it will take 2 hours to finish. However, it’s easy to notice that laundry has a lot of background work going on, that will be the first task we do. After loading the machine (5 minutes) we can make the call and mix the ingredients for the cookies at the same time (10 minutes), next we put the cookies in the oven, set a timer for 10 minutes and go on to wash the floor. Once we finish the phone call and the timer calls us to take the cookies out of the oven we made 66%of the cleaning and 5 minutes later everything is done.

The time it takes to complete all 4 tasks in the right order is 30 minutes only. (It will take another 30 minutes for the washing machine to finish but that doesn’t concern us, it’s just happening in the background).

Are you multitasking or do you prefer to focus on one task at a time? Do you have any more tips on multitasking and care to share? Feel free to comment below. 👇🏻