Bits from “Singletasking”
After picking up “Singletasking” by Devora Zack from a recommendation list by Oreilly publication over the holidays, I finished the book today and figured I’d write about it.
If you share the belief that single-tasking is better than multi-tasking or want to practice single-tasking, then you will enjoy the book. If not, the book will surely nudge you in the direction of single-tasking with some supporting evidence. Since single-tasking is simple to practice (but not easy), I thought the book did not provide too much information on how to practice it, which makes sense. However, it provides some interesting points that will make you want to explore single-tasking.
Here are few of the quotes and bits I liked in the book.
- The successful man is the average man, focused. — Anonymous
- You would not believe how difficult it is to be simple and clear. People are afraid that they may be seen as a simpleton. In reality, just the opposite is true. — Jack Welch
- Things which matter most must never be at the expense of things which matter least. — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
- No man is free who is not master of himself. — Epictetus
- “The only way to do anything particularly well — or, let’s raise the bar, spectacularly well — is through full task engagement.”
- “At any given time, you can do one thing well or two things poorly.”
- “Multitasking block the flow of information into short-term memory. Data that doesn’t make it into short-term memory cannot be transferred into long-term memory for recall.”
- “Multitasking is technically called task-switching — moving rapidly and ineffectively among tasks.” (The ineffective part does not apply to all tasks, e.g., bathing kids :))
- “Engaging in two noncompeting activities when at least one is automatic is generally harmless; pursuing competing tasks can exact a very high toll.”
- “Repeatedly dropping and picking up a mental thread results in greater mental fatigue and more mistakes than deep immersion in a single task.”
- “Poorly acquired information results in a weak ability to transfer and apply concepts. Learning to concentrate is a life skill.”
- The shortest way to do many things is to do one thing at a time. — Samuel Smith
- “This does not require completion of the initial task, just the end of the current session of time dedicated to it.”
- “Pouting over the past and fretting about the future are relentless time thieves, robbing us of our right to singletask.”
- “We cannot be fully productive when we are preoccupied with judging people around us. Assessing the shortcomings and flaws of others when we could be achieving our own goals is an indefensible waste of time and energy.”
- Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus. — Alexander Graham Bell
- Focus and simplicity. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean, to make it simple. It is worth it because then you can move mountains. — Steve Jobs
- “Temptation to multitask is heightened when we feel beholden to the perceived demands or presumed expectations of others, rather than to our own priorities.”
- “It is all too easy to replace inward examination with external distractions”
- People are willing to risk taking a life and ruining their own because they don’t want to be alone for a second, because it’s so hard. — Louis C. K.
- “Overloading yourself with too many competing stimuli shrinks the brain”
- “Task-switching wipes out the possibility of a flow experience.”
- “When an idea strikes that is unrelated to your current task , don’t let it distract you from what you’ve begun. Write it down and go back to what you are doing.”
- There’s never enough time to do it right, but there’s always enough time to do it over. — Jack Bergman.
- “Dedicating a mere three to five minutes at the start of each workday to organizing your to do list can transform your entire day into one that is proactive rather than reactive.”
- “If there is a pressing, daunting task you are tempted to avoid, do it as early in the day as possible. Bite the bullet” Or, as another author put it “Eat the frog (first)”.
- Every action done in company ought to be done with some sign of respect to those that are present. — George Washington
- People may doubt what you say, but they will always believe what you do. — Lewis Cass
- “If you are in a service profession (and honestly who isn’t?), put the in-person customer first.”
- To be everywhere is to be nowhere. — Seneca
- Never confuse action with activity. — Benjamin Franklin
- “A key to high-quality work is to distinguish between the trivial many and the vital few.”
- “The modern world has evolved to greatly favor doing over thinking, but we can make meaningful improvements in our lives by creating time to reflect.”
- It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about? — Henry David Thoreau
- Always do one thing less than you think you can do. — Bernard Mannes Baruch
- Conviction is worthless unless it is converted to conduct. — Carlyle
