How do you value and manage your time?

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Nothing is more valuable than time, and the pace of modern life is faster than ever in history and will continue to increase. Therefore, we demand more and more time and have to take care of more and more things. Moreover, we must be able to do many of these things simultaneously.

Multitasking is the norm, and we are all expected to do it. But is multitasking the most effective way to manage time?

Can you focus on several tasks and give them your full attention?

Ultimately, can you get more done and do it better by doing more than one thing at a time?

Let's look at some simple examples.

Can I read and watch TV simultaneously and concentrate on both?

If what you are reading and watching is easy enough, what if it is complex?

Many of us were convinced of this when we were kids and may have even convinced our parents that we could do homework or study while we played radio or TV. But is this the case?

What if we were to eat an apple while driving and concentrate on a conversation on the radio? Eating an apple doesn't require concentration, and driving is natural and requires limited engagement. It would be different if you were trying to find your way through dense traffic in an unfamiliar area or driving in pouring rain or snow.

What if we were driving and using a cell phone? The same applies as above, and hand-held cell phones are now banned in many countries because they can cause accidents. I'm sure I'm one of many people who have ever taken a wrong turn or gotten lost by being too engrossed in a conversation, even with a hands-free.

Female readers may be surprised that women are much better at multitasking than men. I'm sure it's true, primarily because of the skills and instincts we've learned and adapted over thousands of years, ever since our homes were caves. Women had to be able to raise children, cook, sew clothes, cultivate the fields, and much more. They may not have been doing everything at the same time, but whatever they were doing, they also had to keep an eye on their children and family to ensure they were not in danger and that there were no intruders or wild animals nearby. The men's main task was to hunt dinosaurs and find food for the family without being eaten alive.

But if you are working on more than one task at a time, are you giving your full attention to one of them and using your time as efficiently as possible?

Suppose you complete a task with continuous interruption and repetition; it will take longer than expected. It is because you can rarely pick up immediately where you left off. Instead, you usually have to go back over the topic, i.e., reread the material and redo work already done.

Most of us know that during a workday, we constantly face interruptions from the phone, emails, coworkers, etc. We are already distracted from our work, and our productivity decreases. Isn't it worse when we try to do too many things at once?

If you work on a single task without interruptions or distractions until you finish, you can complete it much more quickly and efficiently.

If you are working on a large project, this may only sometimes be possible, and working for hours on the same thing without interruption can be counterproductive. In these cases, it can be helpful to break the work into manageable sections and work on each team until completion, then take a break or move on to another task.

If you try to multitask, it is unlikely that you will be able to complete any of them effectively or quickly. Instead, you will be much more efficient and productive if you improve your ability to focus on a task and your ability to concentrate.