How to single-task
Try these surprising “3 things first thing” for 30 days to build your single-tasking habit. Of course, it all starts with doing one thing at a time (yes, really).
I was just speaking with one of my facilitator heroes the other day. We talked about how important it is to single-task when running a workshop. Single-task during a workshop when you’re the facilitator? Aren’t you supposed to be watching the clock, helping people know where to post their post-its, creating a safe space for co-creation, inspiring creativity and guiding everyone to a final output, outcome or path forward? Well, yes … And isn’t all of that more or less simultaneous? Well, yes …
But you really can do one thing at a time, and research shows it’s much better for you and just about anything you’re trying to accomplish. So … how do you learn to single-task?
Do these 3 things first thing
Start every day like this
Here’s a “3 things first thing” routine to start each day — but only use it if you want to learn how to single task, focus more and/or get more out of your day (/life). Hang in there with me — you may resist this, but hear me out. This is borne of experience and research. Ultimately you get to decide. The “3 things first thing” starts with:
1.🚶Go outside for at least 10 minutes. Yep, go outside first thing in the morning, right after you get up. Sit or walk in the sunshine for (at least) 10 minutes. If you have the time and want to go for longer, please do.
Do nothing else. Sit or walk in silence. No phone, no podcasts, no music, no people.
You live in the Arctic Circle? Stay in, stay warm. Turn on all of the lights instead. Sit quietly. When the sun rises, get outside — and move, if you can, for at least 10 minutes.
You have young children at home? You can’t leave them alone? No problem. Stay in, stay warm. Turn on all of the lights instead. Sit quietly. 10 minutes.
You live in an apartment in a booming city? People would think you’re crazy going outside? So make it a ritual to walk around the block or go get a coffee or a newspaper (What? People still read physical newspapers??).
But, but, you say. What about my phone? My partner? Making the coffee?
Hard to not engage with, I know. But try it.
Go outside. 10 minutes. First thing in the morning. Why would you want to do this? See this from the Huberman Lab.
Okay, what next?
2. 🚿 Take a (cold) shower. Do nothing but take a shower. No doom scrolling or planning, no music or podcasts. No people. Enjoy this time. It’s quiet. You have water, clean water. You are alone. There is nowhere you need to be except here. Breathe. Isn’t this glorious? (If it’s a cold shower and winter where you are, you may be cursing me — so warm up the shower now. Better?) Are you starting to think about your day? Okay. Good. Move to Step 3 (once you’re dry and dressed).
3. 🔦 Pick and schedule your highlight. Think about the thing that’s going to make your day if you do it — be it something that’s pressing (something you really need to do), will bring you tremendous satisfaction or will bring you great joy. It should take 60–90 minutes to complete. Got it? Great! Pick up your diary or phone and schedule when you will do it in your day.
The key to doing these 3 things first thing
Do not pick up or check your phone before you’ve completed the 3 things. Do not check email, texts or social media. The first 15–30 minutes of your morning, phone free.
I know it sounds like an impossible challenge in 2023.
What about meditation?
What about meditation, you ask? Meditation is indeed wonderful — if anything has helped me slow down and single task, it is meditation above all else. But I’m a realist. It’s not because I meditate that I think you will enjoy meditation. Many people don’t. But if you enjoy meditating or have already made a habit of it, go ahead and meditate while you’re getting your sunshine outside, and maybe after scheduling your highlight, do a seated, silent or guided meditation. Your single-tasking will get an extra boost. I promise you this.
And a cold shower, really?
I’ll be honest: takinga cold shower in the winter is crazy. I can’t do it — for long. But it will focus your mind faster than nearly anything in the world. The cold shock also releases the stress hormones norepinephrine, cortisol, and adrenaline. Talk about a kicker. Better than coffee (almost) any day.
The highlight?
Where does this come from? Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky’s Make Time, if you don’t know it. The highlight is about focussing on one thing for just 60–90 minutes. I’ve lived by this tactic for years, and this one habit alone has made single-tasking a no-brainer. There is something about selecting a single focus point — and then doing whatever I’ve committed to doing during that focus point — that carries over into how I go about the rest of my day.
Combining a walk (or sitting) in silence and solitude outside for 10 minutes, with a cold shower, with scheduling a highlight first thing in the morning, is a game-changer.
You will be forced to slow down. For just a few minutes, you’ll be intentional, and you will experience clarity around how you want to be in the world (for one day). You will create space in your world from the moment you wake up— and from waking, for just a few minutes, you will have done one thing at a time.
I think you’ll see this practice does more for your single-tasking than setting Pomodoros or creating a distraction-free environment.
But don’t take my word for it. Try it.
Practice doing these 3 things every morning for 30 days.
- 🚶 Walk (or sit) outside for 10 minutes in the sunshine as soon as you wake up (or sit in a well-lit room for 10 minutes and get outside as soon as the sun is up, for at least 10 minutes).
- 🚿 Take a (cold) shower.
- 🔦 Choose and schedule your highlight.
Remember, no phone, no people, no doom. Just you. 15–30 minutes each morning. 30 days. That’s it.
Let me know how it goes?
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