How to Make Multitasking Easy
Multitasking is a part of life. But is there a way to make it easier? Get-It-Done Guy has a surprising tip to help you.Â
Â
Want to make it easier to flow from task to task throughout your day? Work standing up. Yes, you heard me right: stand at your desk. Being a knowledge worker, I never really noticed I had a body, until one day it stopped working. My lower back began to spasm to the point where I could lay down or stand, but bending at the waist was, shall we say, unpleasant (that means, “Ooouuuuccchh!!!!”). Out of sheer necessity, I piled boxes on my desk, put my keyboard on the boxes, and worked standing up.
Much to my surprise, when I work standing, I’m able to move more easily from task to task. If someone comes into my office, I simply step to one side, welcome them in, and only sit down if it seems a natural way to help them feel welcome.
When it’s time to change tasks, from computer to reading, to calling, it’s a simple step in one direction or another to get to the new task. Without the need to get up out of your chair or sit down, it’s not just your mind that’s poised for action, but your body as well.
As a bonus, working standing up can make you thinner and healthier. Just ask Get-Fit Guy.
Standing businessman photo from Shutterstock
About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.Â
