Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

The Multitasking Illusion
Some people believe that they can engage in multitasking, going back and
forth between e-mails and important tasks. But people can focus only on
one thing at a time. What they are really doing is called “task shifting.”
They are shifting their attention back and forth, like swinging a searchlight
from one object to another.
After an Internet interruption, it takes about seventeen minutes for you to
shift your total attention back to your task and continue working. This is
precisely why so many people today are working harder and harder, shifting
from e-mail interruptions to work and back again, all day long, and getting
less and less accomplished. They also make more mistakes.
The Proven Solutions
The solutions are simple and are being adopted by the most productive
people in every industry. First, don’t check your e-mail in the morning and
immediately trigger the all-day dopamine addiction. Leave your devices off.
Second, if you must check your e-mail for any reason, get in and out
fast, and get back to work. Turn off the sound on your computer, and put
your phone on “vibrate.” Stop the stimulations that trigger the flow of
dopamine and lead to continuous interruptions.
Finally, resolve to check your e-mail only twice a day, at 11:00 a.m. and
3:00 p.m., and then turn it off again each time. Provide a telephone number
where someone can reach you in an emergency.
Whenever you are in a meeting with one or more people, follow the
same protocol. Leave electronic devices off. Never insult the persons you
are meeting with by working on your laptop or answering your phone. Pay
100 percent attention to the other people. This applies at home as well.
Double Your Productivity
Here is a simple way to double your productivity. First, plan each day in
advance, select your most important task, and then start on that task first
thing, before you do anything else. Second, work nonstop for ninety

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minutes with no diversion or distraction, and then give yourself a fifteen-
minute break. Third, start again and work another ninety minutes flat out.
Finally, after this three-hour work period, you can then reward yourself with
a shot of dopamine by checking your e-mail.
When you develop the habit of completing three hours of important
work each morning, first thing, you will both double your productivity and
break yourself of the habit of checking your e-mail all day long. You will
regain full control of your life.