Note from Amanda: Today’s blog post comes from the incredibly talented writing coach Rochelle Melander. While Rochelle and I have never met in person, our online lives have crossed more times than I can count… through SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), blogging, social media and even each other’s reading lists. Not only do I highly recommend Rochelle and her resouces for others, but I also partake of them myself. Whether it is through a coaching session or through reading her books, I am always finding nuggets of wisdom to mine and apply to my writing journey. This was especially true when I read her most recent book, Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity. Today Rochelle is going to give you a taste of all she has to offer in this book by walking you through one of the quests. So, roll up your sleeves and get ready to dig in!

Think back to the last time you played a game. Whether you were playing against the game or a family member, you were probably excited about scooping up power-ups, defeating the villains, and claiming your win.

In my book Level Up, I use gamification to help people overcome their most persistent problems and move forward with their writing and life. Each chapter is a quest—a challenge to help you master something you’ve been struggling with.

Today I’m sharing a quest to help all of us tackle multitasking.

What? Who does that?

As a writing coach, I teach my clients about the value of doing one thing at a time—or single tasking. But, when I’m running up against a deadline, I’m tempted to try multiple tasks at once. You know, like complete a spreadsheet while listening to a podcast. I use the word “try” because it rarely works out well. I may finish the spreadsheet, but I make mistakes. I get much more done when I practice single tasking.

And I’ll bet you will, too. Read on to learn how to play the game—and then have fun! Be sure to give yourself a great reward for finishing the quest!

The Quest: Learn to Single Task

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days. ”

— Zig Ziglar

Jugglers amaze me. They keep multiple items moving at one time, in front of a crowd of fans, and without breaking their focus.

Whether you’re a full time writer, an entrepreneur who’s writing a book, or a professional starting a blog to promote your business, you’re probably juggling more than one big project. On top of that, thanks to the recent social media explosion, most of us also blog, tweet, pin, post on Facebook, and more. Add to all of this the other stuff we do in life (exercise, eat, connect, volunteer)—well, no wonder it’s hard to focus on a single task.

Many of us turn to multitasking to get things done. We think that focusing on multiple tasks at once might double or triple our productivity. Wrong!

Let’s start by learning what multitasking really is. When we move back and forth between multiple tasks, psychologists call it “context switching.” Jordan Grafman of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says it’s not multitasking but rapid toggling. According to Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson, the authors of The Plateau Effect, “One study showed today’s office worker gets only eleven continuous minutes on a project before interruption. But much worse than that, it takes twenty-five minutes for them to return to the original project after interruption.”

And some of us never do. The authors of The Plateau Effect reported on another study that said after we get interrupted, we move to some other task 40% of the time. If you’re writing a book, that means that almost half the time, after you stop to check that incoming text or email, you’re not going back to working on your book. You’ve moved on to another task.

Though many claim to be able to effectively juggle multiple projects at once, they can’t. No one can. Research shows that people who self-define as efficient multitaskers are actually less competent at doing multiple things at once.

The solution, though, is simple: single tasking. Do one thing at a time with as few external disruptions as possible. This quest will give you the opportunity to practice single tasking.

The Quest

Step One

Divide your day into chunks and then assign a single task to each chunk of time.

Step Two

Unless your task is online social networking, during every other task—especially writing—turn off the technology that distracts you from your current work. This might be the internet, email, or your phone.

Step Three

Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and do the single thing. If it's writing, then write. When you finish, take a quick break. Give yourself a reward. Repeat the “focus, break, reward” pattern until you’ve come to the end of your time chunk. Then take a break and move on to the next task on your schedule.

Step Four

After you complete an entire day of single tasking, check in with yourself. How did that work for you? Did you get more done? Or do you feel better when you have a little more distraction for part of your day? Again, evaluate and revise your life accordingly!

Game Play Tips

You may be plagued by brain drama; random thoughts racing through your brain, tasks to complete and ideas to work on. Gently flick away those thoughts, add them to your to-do list, or write them down in an idea journal.
It takes practice to focus. Remind yourself that you have time scheduled to do all of the things you’re worrying about and then turn back to your writing. You might have to do this fifty times the first day, but it will get better.
When it’s time to reward yourself, choose power-ups that are designed to help you renew your energy and focus, like exercising, walking in nature, or doing something repetitive like folding towels.

For the Win

Any time you’ve been able to ditch multitasking, overcome monkey mind, and focus on writing for a set amount of time, you have won the game. As you work on single tasking, you’ll strengthen the muscles that help you focus and you’ll get better at doing it.

Do you struggle to:
+Find time to write and create
+Ditch distractions
+Overcome self-doubt and fear
+Believe in your strengths
+Silence the inner critic
+Stop procrastinating and write
+Focus on your work

What if you could find a simple solution to every one of these challenges?

In this book, you’ll discover YOUR perfect solutions. In our guru-obsessed culture, it’s tempting to think that if we follow the routines of successful creatives, we’ll be just as prolific as they are. But when it comes to creative productivity, a pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all guide can’t help everyone. Each person has distinct needs and deserves a unique solution.

In Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination, and Increase Productivity, you’ll tackle quests to help you discover your ideal work rhythms, design a life that supports your productivity, and overcome any obstacle you face. Instead of playing someone else’s game, you get to design the game, create your own playbook, define the rewards, and reap them all! You’ll also adopt a secret identity, recruit allies, identify villains, and celebrate your epic wins. Because you’ll be using a gameful approach to shaping your creative life, taking on these quests won’t be a chore. You’ll relish investigating your life and playing with possibilities. You can grab your copy of Level Up here.

Today’s post post was made beautiful by CANVA. You can check out my blog archive collection here.

Rochelle Melander is a speaker, professional certified coach and the author of 11 books for adults, including Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It) and Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity. Rochelle blogs at writenowcoach.com.

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