How to Get Things Done F.A.S.T. in 3 Steps
By Terre Short
Do you juggle many competing demands? Does a laser focus on any one task allude you? You are not alone. This age of technology has created an overwhelming information load that competes for the sixteen plus waking hours we have each day. And here’s the really bad news: only three percent of the human population can multitask successfully. Single-tasking is the new holy grail – the ability to do one thing well, to completion, in a set amount of time.
My multitasking bubble was burst by the science offered in a recent Neuromindfulness Program I completed. I understand that while I may juggle many things in a day, my ability to complete any one of them hinges on a dedicated focus on that task/challenge alone. Prioritizing one task requires shining a laser beam that illuminates it fully. In this manner, I may discover that there are enough parts to the challenge that it can be broken into smaller subtasks.
Occasionally, my to-do list reminds me of super-human behavior I have seen or read about. The person who lifts a car off someone, my eight-year-old breaking a board in Taekwondo, a colleague getting a challenging multifaceted project done on time, all required a level of focus that is borne of inner centering. Imagine a teeter-totter with various size boulders scattered along its length. Typically, we see the fulcrum centered below the board. What if we had the power to move the fulcrum, the center point, to where it is needed. You can do this. You can center yourself consciously enough to position your attention directly upon, and in support of, the boulder or challenge that needs your attention.
From a neuroscience perspective multitasking is not possible because our prefrontal cortex has two sides that work together when we single-task and independently when multitasking, causing excess time and energy switching back and forth. Dr. Sarah McKay, a neuroscientist who wrote a great laymen’s article called, The Myth of Multitasking, explains this astonishingly through studies of distracted driving. (McKay)
The authors of the book, Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life, indicate through their studies that “multitasking increases the chances of making mistakes and missing important information and cues.” Multitaskers are also less likely to retain information in working memory, which can hinder problem solving and creativity. (Moore) The bottom line is that when we multitask, we are forcing reactivity, like a pinball. Our centering practices can bring us back into alignment with one priority.
Here is how to accomplish a single task F.A.S.T. in 3 steps:
- Focus
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- Decide the time, place, and goal of what you will accomplish. Create a calendar invite to block this sacred time.
- Block out all distractions; TV, email, any phone alert, social media…etc.
- Create incremental steps, milestones of success that you can celebrate.
- Align
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- Set an intention for the project or challenge you will tackle. Clearly articulate your desired outcome.
- Center yourself with a practice of breathwork, mindfulness, meditation…any way in which you connect to your inner wisdom, your guidance system for aligning with your intention.
- Single-Task
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- Enter the time and place you carved out for this task/project with a clear and determined mind. Consider this sacred time.
- Commit to your desired outcome and do only that which will lead you to it.
Proactively calendaring your to-do list is a foundational practice to accomplishing things in 3 F.A.S.T. steps. Your ability to single-task increases when you focus and align, creating space for creativity and intuitive intelligence. All great jugglers center themselves first and maintain alignment regardless of the number of balls they launch in the air.
Harnessing your attention to a single task or project, coupled with setting a clear intention for how you will execute the effort (including setting sacred time), is the key to getting things done. Proactive leads to productive and neither is allusive nor requires super-human skills. You are a hero when you intentionally focus.
Resources
- Dr. Sarah McKay, neuroscientist who studied and wrote about the effects of multitasking – https://drsarahmckay.com/the-myth-of-multi-tasking/
- Dr. Paul Hammerness and Margaret Moore, authors of the book: Organize Your Mind, Organize Your Life
