Your mind CANNOT focus on a task if it subliminally fears that you are missing out on something more pressing.
When you have that fear or anxiety, it does the following:
- You multitask or leave a task incomplete (e.g., a half-written email) and jump to some other task. Ever done that? Who hasn’t?
- To escape that anxiety, you check your WhatsApp, Instagram, Slack, whatever…
- When anxious, the most intelligent part of your brain — your prefrontal cortex — is less in control. It affects your ability to focus, control temptations, and act logically. You act like your intelligence has gone down.
I am not trying to scare you — this is really what happens.
That is why we need clear priorities.
And you can start with something simple — at the start of each day, look at all your tasks and pick two or three that you want to get done.
There are many frameworks to prioritize (e.g., do an urgent vs. important rating), but I don’t want to get lost in the weeds — the important thing is that you prioritize, and pick just a few tasks.
Then drop everything else and work on the stuff you picked up. This is not theory — I have extensively practiced and tested it.
A man who can drop 19 out of 20 things, gets one thing done. The one who worries about all 20, does nothing.
– Rajan