The Divided Mind

13 Jan 2010 @ 5:29 AM

“My success, part of it certainly, is that I have focused in on a few things..”
~ Bill Gates~

Contrary to what many young people and hyperactive entrepreneurs may think, multitasking is counterproductive.

To juggle twenty tasks which have barely a thread in common is the last nail in your coffin — that is, if you are still entertaining any hope of achieving remarkable success in one field.

Basic science tells us that a laser of sunlight through a magnifying glass can ignite a fire. That same sunlight, when diffused, may barely produce any lasting warmth.

A very powerful speaker, motivator and fantastically successful entrepreneur, Bob Proctor, once shared a story about his mentor (and mine), Earl Nightingale.

Bob said that whenever he could have private time with Earl, he was ecstatic. One morning Earl invited Bob to breakfast. While Earl was eating his omelet, Bob asked him about something which had been puzzling him for quite some time: “Earl, you get so much done every day and are such a high achiever. But I’m puzzled. You never seem rushed. What’s your secret for controlling time?”

Earl dropped his fork and knife in disbelief. He said: “I don’t control time. That’s an impossibility. All I do is write down the five most important matters for each day and then start on the first. I give no mind to the second or third until the first is finished. When I finish number one, I write down one more goal at the bottom of the list and then begin in earnest on the number two task that day or the next.”

Laser focus was and is the life of a master. Getting things done requires concentration.

Eben Pagen, a modern-day achiever with similar attributes to Earl, says this about multitasking: “It is the same as smoking three marijuana joints. Your concentration span is zilch. Every time you interrupt for that email or to take a call or walk the dog as a needed distraction from the task at hand will require fifteen minutes of refocus time, at best.”

Maybe some of you think that you are the exception to this rule, but you are not. The lack of concentration by multitasking will subtract years from your productive life. If you are a high achiever, that might not be so bad. Yet when you are struggling, you will undoubtedly move forward only at the expense of illness and your family life.

Watch this, and you be the judge:

Posted By: admin
Last Edit: 28 Dec 2009 @ 05:45 AM

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Tags: counterproductive, divided mind, Earl Nightingale, Eben Pagen, Going Against the Grain, multitasking
Categories: Going Against the Grain

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