Monthly Archives: June 2010

Look again at that person who seems to multitask with ease and you will find someone who is absolutely disciplined about recognizing switching costs, about getting to completion, about not starting too many things, about saying “no” to things that … Continue reading →

I am loving the Rule of 3. It’s a fundamental recognition of the fact that, averaged out for time, it is not possible to plan for and achieve more than 3 meaningful outcomes in a single day. The idea is, … Continue reading →

Remember setup costs. If it takes one hour to set up a new computer–install all the software, set up the email client, update the antivirus software–how long does it take to set up 5 computers? Should take 5 hours, plus … Continue reading →

The 80/20 rule as it applies to task completion: 80% of the work takes 20% of the time. If you have a project that seems, to you, to be “nearly done,” you aren’t actually even halfway finished. That remaining “20%” … Continue reading →

You can work on one thing at a time. The more knowledge-intensive the task, the higher the switching costs. Plan to clean your living room. Get out the dustcloth and the vacuum and the polish and the glass cleaner, then … Continue reading →

My thinking is this: we start too much and finish too little. Fact: you can only really work on one thing at a time. Multitasking is a myth. Literally. “But my computer does multitasking,” you say. Elaborate ruse. Your computer … Continue reading →