The Secret to Overcoming Overwhelm Is SO Simple. Unfortunately, It’s Not So Easy Unless…
You accept that multi-tasking never works. In fact, it slows everything down. People who are really successful master the art of doing just ONE THING – at a time.
About five years ago, when I was strolling the halls at a NAMS workshop, I came across a woman who was planted on a couch by herself sobbing. Everyone else was in one of the 4 classrooms.
Distressed? You bet! I was petrified. Oh… and she was too.
She had chosen the wrong “track” at the workshop. The 4 tracks were:
- NAMS100 – beginning business people
- NAMS200 – still beginning, but at least they have a blog or niche
- NAMS300 – they’re making some money in their niche – enough to supplement the family income (but working way too hard)
- NAMS400 – full-time marketers making really good money, but looking for ways to create a sustainable business that works without them
Although she was clearly a NAMS100 person, (no website, no sales, no niche), she decided to attend the 400 track because she’d been studying online marketing a long time – and she knew things.
Big mistake. But it’s a common mistake.
She discovered that day that there’s a BIG, BIG difference between reading a book or taking a course, and actually implementing the programs or processes.
And of course, she discovered that she was completely lost in the higher track. She was mortified.
When I asked her why she was crying, she said, “I’m just so overwhelmed with everything I have do.”
There it is: Overwhelm
Overwhelm is the number one killer of all progress.
And our response is usually to do the exact wrong thing… More about that in a minute.
A couple of weeks ago, my daughter Jennifer (who is also the Director of Sales and Operations at NAMS) called me in a tearful panic. “I just don’t know how I’m going to get all this done,” she said. “I’m completely overwhelmed.”
It turns out I’m really good at helping people get through overwhelm. For a long time, I thought I just caused it. I’ll reveal the simple solution later and how it helped Jennifer become even more productive and less stressed, but right now, let’s just say that…
I’m a huge believer in the “One Thing” concept.
The coaching students that frustrate me the most are the ones who flit from project to project because they lose heart, or get distracted, or give up too quickly, or don’t follow through.
People mistakenly think that being busy is the same thing as being productive. Not true. Not even close.
There are two huge issues that we’re going to focus on today:
The first is a failure. And the second is a myth.
Failure. That seems a little harsh, right?
Not really.
The failure is a failure to prioritize.
Let’s talk about Miss Perfection. She’s going to do every task correctly. Always. It must be perfect.
The most organized person I know, her day starts with a long lists of things she’ll do that day. And her night ends with a long list of tasks with lines through them, on one sheet of paper and another list of what she’ll do tomorrow on a second sheet.
She knocks off each item on the list, often in the order on the list.
Miss Perfect gets a ton done today. And yesterday. And tomorrow.
And perfectly. That’s the way she works.
But occasionally, she questions why she’s not getting closer to her goal which always seems just out of reach.
Her list keeps getting longer and her progress shorter.
Her days are gone in a whirlwind of activity, with little to show for it.
Miss Perfect is a failure.
Daily priorities don’t exist. She doesn’t understand the concept of “One Thing.”
All of her tasks have the same weight. No task is the one task that MUST get done today to MOVE her toward her goals.
Then, there’s Mr. DuMoore!
He’s bought into the myth of multi-tasking hook, line and sinker.
He thinks he should be able to write a book while working on a project plan while taking the dog to the vet while cooking dinner for the kids.
And nothing gets done correctly. Everything is late. If it gets done at all.
And no one feels like they ever get his full attention.
This is the myth we’ve all been fed today because we’re never far from our phone, ipad or computer. We’re on information overload. We work all the time.
We get a text.
Some one wants us to do something as soon as possible. It takes us away from our task at hand. And bang, we never get back to it.
We’re on an electronic leash that yanks us back into the yard like a dog chained to a stake in the ground just as we beginning to run with the pack.
Multi-tasking inherently slows you down, yet we all think we need to be doing more to get more done… WRONG!
In fact, the opposite is true. Do LESS to get MORE done.
When you focus on the “ONE THING” you are in extreme execution mode.
Then, you get to prioritize. Here are the basic questions:
- What’s the one thing that gets me to my five year goal?
- What’s the one thing that has to be accomplished this year to make that happen?
- What’s the one thing that I need to make sure gets done this month to keep me on track?
- What’s the one things that must get done this week to make sure I moving in the right direction?
- And what’s the one thing that I must accomplish today that ensures my one thing for the week makes sure that the one thing for the month that is essential for the one thing of the year that crushes it for the one thing I want to get accomplished for my 5-year goal?
That’s what I have to do today – ONE THING!
Of course, you have to fight off distractions.
I’m going to prove to you that multi-tasking actually slows you down.
Click the video below to watch a 2 minute demonstration of a game you can play to show you exactly why multi-tasking is bad.
Don’t be Miss Perfect or Mr. DuMoore.
Be like the One Thing lady. You already know who she is.
She’s uber successful and always smiling.
She gets more done than anyone you know and seems to have more free time than you and all your friends put together.
She has lots of friends, lots of time for family, and always seems to be taking another trip to the beach.
And guess what? When she goes to the beach, she’s doing one thing: being at the beach.
Great post. And yes we all think we can multi-task which i know is ineffective. But a great reminder
Good post I need to print it and post it on my wall, thanks!
Absolutely right – it will become a poster, when it’s whats left to focus on . . .
Just what I needed today. Thanks.
It took me almost twice as long to do the Multi-Tasking version vs the Single Focus way! It is a shame to multi-task if it wastes almost half of your allotted time! Great Post.
Thanks!!
Yes I believe that multitasking is a myth even to those that think they are faster then others that do one task at a time. I would have to admit that I have done more things in a day then I should and for nowhere at all.