Multitasking is a Myth

Think multitasking is making you more productive? Think again.

In this eye-opening episode of Managing Difficult People, Adam Holbrook breaks down the truth most people don’t want to hear: multitasking is a myth and it’s costing you more than you realize.

If you’ve ever found yourself juggling emails, meetings, and life all at once only to feel exhausted and still behind. This episode will hit home. Adam reveals how constant task-switching drains your energy, wastes hours of your day, and leads to lower-quality work (even when you think you’re “handling it all”).

But here’s the shift: real productivity doesn’t come from doing more, it comes from doing one thing well. You’ll learn how to use simple time-blocking strategies, eliminate distractions, and create focused work sessions that actually move your life forward.

This isn’t just about getting more done—it’s about taking back control of your time, your energy, and your results.

Stronger leadership starts with better communication.

Learn how to manage conflict, set boundaries, and lead with confidence.
Listen now: https://managingdifficultpeoplepodcast.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

If you deal with someone who talks over everyone, claims credit for everything, and still gets invited to the leadership retreat, then this podcast is for you. So here's your host, Adam Holbrook of Managing Difficult People Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Hello everyone, welcome to the Managing Difficult People Podcast. I am your host and excited to be with you, Adam Holbrook. Today we're going to be talking about multitasking because difficult people are always interrupting us, and we're attempting to do many things at the same time, but many times we're exhausted from doing everything and being everywhere at the same time. Have you ever been on a meeting, half paying attention while writing an email, while replaying you and your wife's fight from the other day? That's when you know you're anywhere but the present moment. And in that moment, you put a mask on that says, I got this, I can do it all. But the results say different with disconnected relationships, work done, but not good, or incomplete work and sitting on the sidelines. When you finally get a chance to breathe, you reach for a drink, binge watch TV, or scroll, not because you're weak, but because you're exhausted from being everywhere at the same time. Still, presence isn't about numbing. Presence isn't about escaping your current reality, it's about entering it fully. We have been introduced to this phrase that the most successful people in life are the greatest at multitasking. But I'm here to tell you, that's a lie. Multitasking is a myth. You can't possibly do two things at the same time that require your attention effectively at the same time. What we're really talking about is task switching, where you go from one task to another task, back and forth. And in that back and forth, you lose time and energy and a little bit of your soul. We try doing everything, but nothing gets done good. In fact, more than two hours are lost per person, per day, through this task switching. Now I'm gonna print this concept to you. This is a drill that I do in some of my workshops that I provide on multitasking. Get a piece of paper and you're gonna write the phrase along the top, multitasking is a myth. And then when I say go, we're gonna rewrite that phrase. Again, multitasking is a myth, but this is the catch. Every time you write a letter in the phrase multitasking is a myth, you must immediately jump down and write the number that goes with it. For example, you're first gonna write the M in multitasking, go down below and write number one. Come back up, write the U in multitasking, come back down, write two. Come back up, write L in multitasking, come back down and write number three. And you're gonna complete this until the entire phrase multitasking is a myth is written. And numbers one through 19 are written as well. And then we're gonna time ourselves. And once the time is up, we're gonna keep that time to the side, and then we're gonna do this a second time. And the second time you do it, you're gonna do the exact same thing, but this time there's no task switching at all. You're gonna first go write the entire phrase, multitasking is a myth, and then jump down and write numbers one through 19. And the results will be clear. The second time you do the exercise without the task switching, you're twice as fast as the first time. Multitasking isn't a strategy, it's interference. You might be saying to me, Adam, this is all great and everything, but my difficult boss is always interrupting me. I can't just ignore him, he'll fire me. Or my wife, she's always interrupting me. I can't just ignore her, she'll divorce me. I'm not suggesting to not be available. I'm suggesting working in time blocks. Time blocks are dedicated, uninterrupted space where we can work on one task at a time. This is how I've written all three of my books. I would dedicate time every single day to writing the book. Sometimes it was for 15 minutes, other times I would have an hour, and I would silence my cell phone, email notifications off, and I'd let my key people know that I wouldn't be available until after the time was up. Immediately after the time was up, I would reward myself. I like to reward myself with a cup of coffee, I'd walk the dog for a couple minutes, five, ten minutes, I would call my wife back, call the client back. Multitasking is a myth. But when you dedicate time and time blocks, silence those distractions and work on one task at hand, you don't just go through the motions of life, you own your life. My question for you is where do you need to take back time in your life? Do you know how much time you'll save by working in time blocks? Silencing your cell phone, silencing your work notifications, and working on one task at a time. Let your key people know that, hey, look, I'll be available after this time block, but I need to dedicate this time to move this project forward. And it's gonna be amazing how much further you're gonna get doing this. This is all about multitasking because let's face the facts, multitasking is a myth. Task switching, we're gonna lose hours every single day. But when we can work on one task at a time, we take back our life. We're gonna get more time to work on things that we want to work on, and we're gonna actually be able to move forward in life. So ask yourself, how can I work in time blocks and reward ourselves? Because you can't work at eight hours straight on one project. It's just impossible. Maybe dedicate an hour, take a break, and reward yourself with something small, cup of coffee, walk the dock. I don't know, call a friend. But when we work in these time blocks and silence those distractions, we're not just going through life. We're taking back ownership of our life. So make a list of some projects that you need to complete for today. Write them all down. Write them all down. And after you write them all down, I want you to ask yourself, like, what's something that I could do today, right now? And then I'm gonna let my key people know, hey, I'm gonna be busy for the next hour. I have to work on this project, silence my cell phone, silence my email distractions. You're gonna be tempted to look at your email and you're gonna be tempted to look at your distractions. Put it aside. Work on that task, dedicate time directly to it. You're gonna be amazed how much further you can go. With that, I want to thank you all for being here today. Multitasking is a myth. Work in time blocks, dedicate specific time for those time blocks. And until next time, this is the Managing Difficult People Podcast. I am your host, Adam Holbrook.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

So that's it for today's episode of the Managing Difficult People Podcast. Head on over to Apple Podcasts or iTunes wherever you listen and subscribe to the show. One lucky listener every single week that posts a review on Apple Podcasts or iTunes will win a chance the grand prize drawing to win a $10,000 private VIP day with Adam Holbrook himself. Be sure to head on over to Managing Difficult People Podcast.com and pick up a free copy of Adam's gift. And join us on the next episode.