New Year's Resolutions worth keeping – practice focus

Over 2011, we wrote several times about the myth of multi-tasking. While it seems that every job description will specify strong multi-tasking amongst the list of essential qualities for that job, research shows that we do not perform at our best while performing multiple tasks.

In fact, experiments on how multi-tasking effects our IQ shows that we drop 10 IQ points when forced to handle multiple tasks at once – which is the same level as if we had missed an entire nights sleep and is higher than the loss associated with smoking marijuana.

So, if you've taken this on board and made the decision that this year you're going to practice focus, we got some advice for how to go about it.

One of the specialist techniques available for free is Pomodoro which states that you choose a task to be accomplished, set your timer for 25 minutes, work on that task until the timer rings and then take a short (5 minute) break. At the end of every four Pomodoro units take a longer break.

Keeping with our earlier article on how to keep New Year's resolutions – there's little point deciding to switch your entire work day over to Pomodoro blocks tomorrow. Instead we recommend starting small and starting to train yourself and those around you (because it can be more difficult to train those around you than it is yourself!) to respect one (or two) focus sessions.

Another important process change that you can implement to improve your focus is the way you handle email. If you are in a job that allows for a hour or so to respond, we recommend turning off your notification sounds (and even your whole mail package) except for the three (say) times per day that you will be processing email. By not having your email on for the main part of the day, you can remove these seemingly small, yet in actuality time-consuming, interruptions and regain focus on the actual task in hand.

The final area you can implement if focus is your thing this year – put your phone down when talking to people or listening to them, and yes, this includes meetings. Make sure you catch the full message of the people you're talking to and, by modelling the behaviour you value, maybe (just maybe) they'll start listening to you without interruption too.

As with all the resolutions you plan to work on this year, it's best to have a goal in mind. A general - “I'm going to focus more” is unlikely to get a result, whereas “I'm going to practise one Pomodoro session per day and check my email no more than five times per day” may.