<ol>
<li>Cutting out distractions.</li>
<li>Make a single-tasking plan you’ll actually stick to.</li>
<li>Dealing with unavoidable distractions.</li>
<li>Getting back on track when you’ve fallen off the single-tasking band wagon.</li>
</ol>

4 essential components of effective single-tasking

<ul>
<li>Procrastinate on purpose: you can limit distractions' impact on your productivity by simply adding them to your to-do list to come back to later.</li>
<li>Keep a “read later” list for the helpful articles you come across.</li>
<li>Keep a “bright ideas” repository: keep a running list of thoughts you want to come back to later (using an app or paper).</li>
<li>Set aside exploratory time. Unfocused, agenda-free thinking time is essential for creativity and professional development.</li>
</ul>

Dealing with interruptions

<ul>
<li>Trying to focus on more than one thing at a time reduces your productivity by as much as 40%. That’s the cognitive equivalent of pulling an all-nighter.</li>
<li>The average desk job employee loses 2.1 hours a day to distractions and interruptions. That adds up to over a full day of work every week.</li>
<li>On average, employees who do the majority of their work on computers are distracted every 10.5 minutes.</li>
<li>Being distracted by incoming calls or emails can lower employees’ IQ by as much 10 points.</li>
<li>44% of those work distractions are self-inflicted and another 23% come from emails.</li>
</ul>

Statistics about multi-tasking

<ul>
<li>you tend to work on the right things. Effective single-tasking requires planning. Starting your day without a plan is just asking for distraction and inefficiency.</li>
<li>you accomplish more in less time with less stress: Intentionally focusing on one task at a time has been proven the most efficient way to move through your to-do list.</li>
</ul>

When you single-task...

<ul>
<li>Take regular breaks throughout the day. Our brains simply did not evolve to focus on one thing for extended periods of time - the longer we work without the breaks, the more prone to distraction we become.</li>
<li>Forgive yourself when your day doesn’t go as planned. Ruminating on the past one of the least productive things you can do.</li>
</ul>

Getting back on track

<ul>
<li>Use apps that block online distractions.</li>
<li>Turn off notifications and see the difference in your productivity.</li>
<li>Use two computers: one for the things that are distracting and one for the focused work.</li>
<li>Only keep one tab open at time.</li>
<li>Use separate desktop spaces.</li>
<li> Work offline whenever possible.</li>
<li>Schedule your email time.</li>
</ul>

Cutting out distractions

<ul>
<li>Keep a to-do list with focused, actionable items.</li>
<li>Visualize your to-do’s one at a time, by writing them on sticky notes.</li>
<li>Schedule your daily to-do’s.</li>
<li>Create unrealistically short deadlines: it forces you to stay focused.</li>
<li>Keep a timer on your tasks.</li>
<li>Theme your days.</li>
</ul>

Making a single-tasking plan

The science is in and the results are undeniably bleak: Here are just a few of the unsettling statistics: Trying to focus on more than one thing at a time reduces your productivity by as much as 40% . That's the cognitive equivalent of pulling an all-nighter.

Getting back on track

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