Multitasking and How It Affects Entrepreneurs (+ 3 Key Tips to Work More Efficiently)

As an entrepreneur, you may be familiar with the phrase, ‘time is money’. To maximize time and be ‘more productive’, you may find yourself doing several tasks at a time.

Most entrepreneurs think that multitasking makes them more productive. After all, they’re finishing multiple tasks at once. They’re meeting their deadlines, landing more clients, and finishing tasks on time.

But, does multitasking mean being productive?

How Multitasking Can Impact Entrepreneurs

Multitasking means constantly switching between different tasks. Yet sometimes, it can kill your productivity.

Studies were conducted to know how multitasking impacts the brain and productivity. A study from Clifford Nass[1] discovered that heavy multitaskers were less mentally organized. They struggled with switching from one task to another. Differentiating relevant from irrelevant details was also difficult for them.

More research showed that multitasking may not be the best way to complete as many tasks as possible in a day. Another study found that balancing several tasks at a time hinders employee performance. This translates to a total global cost of $450 million each year!

Many people believe that multitasking is focusing on more than one task at a time. This is impossible. What happens is you’re shifting your attention from one thing to the next every few seconds. But you are never fully present on one task.

According to experts, multitasking can hurt efficiency for several reasons. For one, it takes time to alternate between ‘gears’. The process of switching ‘working sets’ of information can also result in mistakes.

How to Work More Efficiently

As an entrepreneur, especially a newbie working alone, multitasking can be