The more bitter the medicine the better it works?
The nonsense of multitasking
I have been trying to write a lot more lately. I am trapped between a bit of anger, frustration, and a broken spirit, both professionally and personally. I have worked in quite a few spaces and one way or another, tapped into several industries. They all have similar problems.
In all my experience I have met people on both sides of the fence of savvy and those who have no idea what they’re doing. The most outspoken is the latter, employees and managers, it makes no difference, they are all rubes who sit in different chairs and make no attempt to gain knowledge beyond what they know.
The regurgitation of the statement “this is how it has always been done” — I despise that sentence — a sentence only relevant when there are no present solutions or alternatives, which is hardly ever the case.
There are people who believe that the worst tasting remedies work best, they do not trust medication, especially if the taste is not horrible. That’s debatable, but mostly archaic thinking.
I sit in meetings and listen to gibberish, even in areas where I am not an expert, I can tell no one wants to change, and if it is not fear, then it has to be complacency. Sometimes research reveals things they ignore, and I stopped believing that repeating something and expecting a different result is insanity, it’s idiotic.
My frustration is mostly this, I am often left with these people, in anything I do, I am trying to achieve specific things, get them done, my research shows they are more impactful actions to take. Yet, I am only left to observe and watch the deterioration of ideas.
I am approached with offers and ideas that I say no to, I do quick thinking and unless I see a value proposition I am not interested. While I support that not every offer is an opportunity, I give others a try based on practicality and capital...but in the end, they’re just ideas, and those involved are not capable or lack the ability to define and develop frameworks in achieving realistic, tangible results.
I have found myself becoming even more aware that being mindful of what my time is spent on is incredibly impactful on my own life. We must be wary that we do not sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others, and their goals, their visions. Carrots on a stick...
Most people will speak boldly and fill the room with excitement, but in my own experience, be wary of those who are too excited. Nothing in my experience has been achieved without money...you can conceptualize it, but eventually, sustainability becomes real, because even "free" is always funded.
You need to know how you will achieve things, how many people you need, and how to get them, and if you can’t get what you need, then you adjust the plan. Work with what you have, and only focus on that one thing, nothing else is supposed to matter, no other project should take the presidency.
You focus on one thing because if you cannot manage one thing, simple math dictates that you cannot handle two. You focus on what you can manage to ensure you have a pivot, the ability to test as you grow, and leveraging limited resources. You focus on one thing because when you perfect the model you can apply what you learn to something else, your pivot is created by having a starting point to return to should it fail. More importantly, focusing on one thing allows you to gain financial value and success before going on to anything else.
The reality will most likely be this, you have an idea, vision of what you want to do. You also have bills to pay, a life to manage, people who depend on you, and other obligations. You can manage time between the thing the gives you money and the thing that you’re most passionate about, a practical way to build. If you spend time on one thing that pays you, and time on your vision by defining time blocks for each, you multiply that by 365 days and you can achieve a lot.
I read a lovely article by Dave Trott, “...it isn’t marketing that works like funnel, it’s the human mind, and we can make that as simple or as complicated as we like." HOW TO UNBLOCK THE FUNNEL
You could say I have a campaign against multitasking, anyone who knows me, knows how much I despise the word or the idea. It is several ways to complicate and fuck simple processes, I am not a scientist, but from the information I have, the only organic thing that does multitasking is the brain, and perhaps the scientists would say there are more than one thing happening really fast, not at the same time, but who knows?
What I can say is that the mind and concentration cannot multitask, most definitely not your body. Multitasking is a word used to excuse nonsensical behaviour, instead of planning and preparing properly, ensuring you have the help you need, and so forth. We subject ourselves to unwarranted pressure proclaiming how busy and hardworking we are.
The moment you distract yourself by taking on more than one thing, or specifically, more than you can manage, ultimately stretching yourself because you perceive these other things as opportunities, you have entered the fictitious reality of multitasking. You found several ways to fuck it all, and nothing will actually get done.
The only thing I can seem to do at the moment is to write about these things. I turn them into articles, posts, and tweets...This is my rebellion and perhaps a way of telling others to be better.
