3 Ways to Maximize Your Time

We all know the feeling of having too much to do and too little time to do it all. Struggling to keep up with our demanding schedules, we often try to do everythingall at once. This isn’t a terrible concept if you’re only goal is to finish everything as quickly as possible. However, if you need to finish everything well and actually do a good job, this strategy will leave you with mediocre results and countless mistakes at the end.

The concept of channel capacity explains why so many of us foolishly fail in our attempt to multi-task. Channel capacity is a cognitive psychology concept that refers to the amount of information our brain can process and store at once. Its definition unfortunately reveals that the brain has its limitations when it comes to multi-tasking. The more tasks we try to do simultaneously, the more we sacrifice the quality of the results. So, in order to accomplish tasks successfully, follow these three key tips:

1. Designate a specific time frame for each task. Know how much time you will need to finish something and then schedule it in your calendar. For example, if you need to write a 500-word blog, allow yourself 30 minutes to accomplish this task and then add this to your calendar for “blog writing session.”

2. Get rid of distractions and procrastination. This means no television in the background, no music playing on your phone, no emails in between paragraphs. All of these things create more work for your brain and diminish its ability to finish the task at hand.

3. Focus on that one task and do NOTHING else.This is the most important tip of all and what channel capacity is desperately trying to tell us. Our brain must focus on thing to do it well. Take that designated time for the task and do absolutely nothing else until that task is 100% complete.