Today Robert Pagliarini stops by to teach you how to become a multitasking master. Robert is a man on a mission. He is obsessed with improvement, making the most of his time and energy, and creating. He's also obsessed with inspiring others to create and empowering them to live life to the fullest by radically changing the way they invest their time and energy. Robert is the author of "The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose" and the No. 1 bestseller "Six-Day Financial Makeover: Transform Your Financial Life in Less Than a Week".

One of the benefits of workshifting is that you can get out of the office--with its many interruptions and distractions--to focus on doing your best work. Studies show that telecommuters are more productive than their desk-locked counterparts, but did you know workshifting has a dark side?

In our effort to get more done from wherever we are we can create more distractions and inefficiencies. One of the things that can destroy our productivity more than almost any other is multitasking. We've all heard the research that "proves" multitasking is counterproductive, but I disagree. There is bad multitasking and there is good multitasking. The trick is to learn how to multitask the right way.

In psychology, chunking is a strategy for making more efficient use of memory. For example, trying to remember "IMAT TRA CTE DTOF UR RYSH EEP" would take forever and you'd forget it tomorrow. But you could instantly remember "I'm attracted to furry sheep." Why? Even though the order of letters hasn't changed, grouping them differently produces a much different result. Psych people call this chunking (the grouping part, not the attraction to sheep).

For our purposes, Chunking is a strategy for making more efficient use of your time and schedule. Chunking allows you to get more done by grouping multiple tasks together.

Multitasking doesn't work because it involves two or more activities competing for the same resources. A typical multitasker may try to listen to voicemail while reading a report, talk to a friend while writing an email, read the morning newspaper while talking to their spouse, or play a board game with their kids while watching the evening news. The problem with all of these is that these tasks are competing for the same limited resources.

So, how does Chunking avoid the pitfalls of traditional multitasking? The trick is to choose two tasks that don't compete for the same resources by combining a mental task with a physical task.

1. List dead time activities. Dead time is not time when you have nothing planned, but is time spent doing a brainless activity that feels like a waste of time. No matter who you are or how productive you think you might be, we all have some dead time throughout our day. Examples include brushing your teeth, taking a shower, getting dressed, standing in line, sweeping the floor, watching commercial breaks, taking out the garbage, driving, sitting in waiting rooms, working out, washing your car, cooking, attending meetings, picking weeds, doing the laundry, jogging, vacuuming, flying, riding bus/subway/train, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, etc. 


   
   Think about an average day and list all of the areas of dead time you find. Look for pockets of dead time that are predictable and recurring. Write them down as you think of them.
   
   
2. Brainstorm the positive activities you want to do more often. Step 1 had you list dead time activities, but improving your life is all about doing the things you're not currently doing but that you want to do. If time weren't an issue, what activities would you do? Maybe you'd read every John Grisham novel or more articles in your industry's journal. Maybe you'd handwrite letters to your top clients or to family or call each of your friends once a week. If you're having trouble coming up with a good list, think of those things you enjoy and/or that will get you closer to reaching your goals. For example, if your goal is to get in better shape, some of the activities that would help you reach that goal might include stretching, jogging three days a week, lifting weights two times a week, and walking every day for 30 minutes. Each of these would be activities you would list.
   
   
3. Determine if the activities requires your head or your body? Mark the activities in step 1 and step 2 as either "head" or "body." In other words, does the activity require you to think (head) or be physical (body)? Head examples include attending church, watching TV, memorizing new vocabulary, reading, listening to an audio program, etc. Body examples include lifting weights, washing a car, cooking, driving, doing laundry, jogging, showering, flying, commuting (i.e., subway, bus), working on the lawn, walking, doing dishes, etc.
   
   
4. Make the connection. Look for opportunities to combine a head activity with a body activity. For example, you could listen to the Portuguese audio program while you stretch, memorize 10 new words by posting them in the shower and near the kitchen sink, walk while calling your friends, listen to The Grapes of Wrath while driving into work, etc.

Unless your father is your mother's cousin, most people have only one head and one body. For Chunking to work, you've got to combine just one head activity with just one body activity. For example, at my church, you can take a hike on a trail with a preacher while he gives a bible study. A friend makes all of her calls while on a Stairmaster. What about you? What can you Chunk?

Photo Credit: ryantron