Multitasking doesn't work. Smart-tasking does.

How to become a super-tasker, a strategic-tasker, a smart-tasker. 

Welcome to the overworked, over stressed, nonstop digital age, where the to-do list is never complete and another distraction is only moments away.

If there was only a way to get everything thing done... to do multiple tasks at the same time...  ahhh, the luring siren song of "multitasking."   Time to find a new strategy.

In you're longing for a way to accomplish every task in front of you, as quickly as possible, you may be tempted to try this multi-tasking... well, stop right now!

Multitasking does not work as nicely as it sounds.  It just doesn't live up to its promise.

Multitasking is a losing strategy.

Evidence shows that a mere 2% of the population have any hope of being able to truly multitask anyway.  So where does that leave the other 98% of us?; the heavy majority of those seeking wisdom from their inner sage?

You stop trying to do many things at the same time, and instead create a sequenced plan that turns you into a super-tasker.

A super-tasker, a strategic-tasker, a smart-tasker.  By mapping out your tasks and performing them in the most effective sequential order... not only doing one task at a time, but doing them in the order that will achieve the fastest results, you will steadily blow past those attempting to do everything at once.

To explain further through example,

A to-do list is generally sorted in one of two ways:

1. by rank, eg: the most important thing goes first... the least important task goes last.
   
   or
2. by date, eg: pay rent on the 1st of each month... go grocery shopping on Sunday, etc.

If you use at least one of these two methods, you are off to a good start because having tasks, goals, and objectives written down somewhere you can reference them quickly and easily is the first step in achieving success.  After all, a to-do list is one of the basic forms of a plan, and having one is better than no plan at all.  Contrary to popular belief, life is not what happens when you are making other plans...  life happens because you set a course and followed it.

But how does a simple to-do list turn me into a Smart-tasker?

Take your to-do list and give it some strategic thought as to how/when/where you can re-order the tasks to get them done in less time.

What other factors are playing a role in getting the tasks done?  Do you have to drive all around town to perform the task?  Do you have to connect with others either by phone or email first?  Can you break down larger tasks in to smaller ones so that you can separate them better?

For instance, if you find there are three people you need to call this week, but only one needs to be done today and the others can wait a few days, why wait?  You'll maximize your overall time spent by leveraging the fact you are already on the phone.  The phone is in your hand, you're in "phone mode," and you've got other materials like pen and paper already handy.  Grouping all the phone-call-related tasks will streamline efforts and save you time in the long run.

In another example, you gather a list of weekend shopping errands, and tackle them from least-desired to most-enjoyable.  Cut the grass- check; do laundry- check; post office- check, food shopping- check; hair salon- check; clothes-shopping- check; and dinner with the spouse, check!

However, if you considered where these tasks are located and find that two of the stores are on the East side of town and the other three are on the West, it would make more sense to categorize those tasks together and save time in driving back and forth.  Thus, you may find that the clothing store and the hair salon are next to each other... and the grocery store and post office are across the street from each other.  In these situations, you can agree it would be faster to take care of tasks so physically close to each other, rather than just the most important one nor the most fun one.

Some tasks won't be as obvious to categorize, but with a little bit of critical thinking... with a deep-dive on your own commitments and daily tasks... you'll discover better, more efficient ways of getting them all done, in the fastest way possible.

By smart-tasking, you can gain real time back in your life.

From now on, be smart about how you plan your day and how you choose to organize tasks.  The priority should not be in determining how important one task is over another, but rather how can you accomplish the most in the least amount of time.

Happy smart-tasking!