How to stop multitasking and get something done

Don’t multitask! It’s a pointless, time-robbing illusion. If you want to get stuff done, do one thing at a time.

Your grandparents already knew that. Current research is starting to rediscover it, as reported at the Harvard Business Review blog, The Conversation: You Can’t Multitask, So Stop Trying. Key point:

… multitaskers do less and miss information. It takes time (an average of 15 minutes) to re-orient to a primary task after a distraction such as an email. Efficiency can drop by as much as 40%. Long-term memory suffers and creativity … is reduced.

From the same article, some hints for non-multitasking productivity:

• Make an effort to do tasks one at a time.
  
• Know when to close your door. (To keep others from interrupting.)
  
• Admit that not all information is useful. (At some point, one more Google search does not help.)