"I tried juggling five things at once. I dropped all six." says everyone, at some point "I tried juggling five things at once. I dropped all six." says everyone, at some point "I tried juggling five things at once. I dropped all six." Meet Ava: The Burnt-Out Multitasker Meet Ava: The Burnt-Out Multitasker Ava sipped her fourth coffee of the morning, glancing between a Zoom call, a Slack ping, her inbox screaming with unread emails, and—oh wait—is that her air fryer beeping? Welcome to modern productivity: glorified chaos dressed in a to-do list. Welcome to modern productivity: glorified chaos dressed in a to-do list. Welcome to modern productivity: glorified chaos dressed in a to-do list. Ava thought she was a productivity ninja. But the truth? She was a digital squirrel-busy, distracted, and exhausted. Her day ended not with satisfaction, but with the faint suspicion that she had done a lot of something and finished absolutely nothing. Enter: Single-tasking. A concept so radical, it’s practically vintage. Single-tasking. Rewind: The Ancient Art of Doing Just One Thing Rewind: The Ancient Art of Doing Just One Thing Before smartphones, we had rotary phones. Before that, pigeons. Before that? People just did one thing at a time. Writing a letter meant just writing a letter. Reading a book meant escaping into a world with no tabs open. But somewhere along the way, doing one thing started to feel lazy. As if the only way to earn your stripes was to be in five meetings while building a pitch deck, scheduling a dentist appointment, and folding laundry with your feet. Spoiler: Brains don’t work like that. Spoiler: Brains don’t work like that. The Science Behind the Magic The Science Behind the Magic Studies from Stanford, MIT, and every exhausted human with a brain agree: multitasking doesn’t work. Studies from Stanford, MIT, and every exhausted human with a brain agree: multitasking doesn’t work In fact, it can, Reduce productivity by 40%
Increase mistakes by 50%
Lower IQ temporarily more than losing a night's sleep Reduce productivity by 40% 40% Increase mistakes by 50% 50% Lower IQ temporarily more than losing a night's sleep losing a night's sleep Multitasking isn’t productivity. It’s switch-tasking. And switching? That’s expensive brain real estate. Then Ava stumbled across a video on The Radical Power of Doing One Thing at a Time, and she finally decided to try single-tasking. And then, magic happened. She wasn’t chasing her thoughts anymore. She was catching them. The Radical Power of Doing One Thing at a Time, Say Hello to Noah: The Modern Monk Say Hello to Noah: The Modern Monk Noah works in fintech. His calendar is usually a Tetris game played by caffeine-addled squirrels. But he made one change: time-boxed single-tasking. time-boxed single-tasking. He now, Turns off notifications
Schedules “deep work” sprints (with Lo-fi beats)
Sets a timer: 25 minutes. One task. No cheating.
Takes breaks (Yes, that’s legal.) Turns off notifications Schedules “deep work” sprints (with Lo-fi beats) Sets a timer: 25 minutes. One task. No cheating. Takes breaks (Yes, that’s legal.) Takes breaks His productivity didn’t just improve. His sanity returned from its extended vacation. The Reality of Our Time: Multitasking is a Lie We Bought The Reality of Our Time: Multitasking is a Lie We Bought Social media loves showing people “doing it all.” But most of it is an illusion. Behind the screens are unfinished tasks, mental burnout, and a lot of “I’ll circle back on that.” Single-tasking isn’t sexy. It doesn’t come with dopamine hits. But it builds something better: flow. Single-tasking isn’t sexy. flow flow Flow is when writers forget to eat, coders forget the time, and designers forget the world. You don’t find flow in chaos. You find it in presence. The Single-Tasking Starter Kit The Single-Tasking Starter Kit Want to join the rebellion? Start here: Pick one task. Not five. Not three. One.
Set a timer for 25 minutes. This is your fortress of focus.
Turn off notifications. Your phone can survive a short nap.
When you’re done, then switch. You’ve earned it.
Celebrate small wins. Single-tasking is a muscle; flex it gently. Pick one task. Not five. Not three. One. Pick one task. Set a timer for 25 minutes. This is your fortress of focus. Set a timer for 25 minutes. Turn off notifications. Your phone can survive a short nap. Turn off notifications. When you’re done, then switch. You’ve earned it. When you’re done, then switch. then Celebrate small wins. Single-tasking is a muscle; flex it gently. Celebrate small wins. Ava & Noah Today Ava & Noah Today Ava now finishes her tasks before dinner. She even tastes her food. Noah built a side hustle writing newsletters about productivity - with time to spare for dog walks and bad reality TV. Neither of them is “doing it all.” They’re doing what matters. One task at a time. Neither of them is “doing it all.” They’re doing what matters. One task at a time. Why This Matters in 2025 Why This Matters in 2025 The AI age promises more tools, more speed, more everything. everything But here’s the twist: in the flood of automation, human attention is the rarest resource. human attention Single-tasking isn’t resistance. It’s wisdom. It’s how we reclaim our energy, our time, and our creativity. It’s how we remind ourselves that we are not machines. We’re humans, and we were built for focus. Single-tasking isn’t resistance. It’s wisdom. You don’t need to do more. You need to do what matters-one quiet, focused task at a time. You don’t need to do more. You need to do what matters-one quiet, focused task at a time. Go ahead. Close this tab.Do one thing.Do it well.Repeat. Go ahead. Close this tab.Do one thing.Do it well.Repeat. Go ahead. Close this tab. Do one thing.Do it well.Repeat.

Meet The Women In Tech: Saaniya Chugh and Managing the Ever-changing Tech Culture

IT Service Management Is No Longer the "Boring Plumbing" of Tech Organizations

Read My Stories

Find me on Women In Tech Conference 2025

Too Long; Didn't Read

Make resilience your competitive advantage

Single-Tasking is the New Superpower (And Yes, You Can Do It Too)

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

Untitled Story

The Women Behind the Machines: Unsung Heroes of the AI Revolution

Cut Out the Fat of Your Device: Why You Should Adopt Intermittent Phone Fasting

Digital Mindfulness vs the Real Thing During the Pandemic: Digital Age’s Impact

Mindful Work: Capturing, Prioritizing and Working on Tasks Effectively

The Era of Attention Economy and Its Destructive Impact: Reasoning by Examples

The Women Behind the Machines: Unsung Heroes of the AI Revolution

Cut Out the Fat of Your Device: Why You Should Adopt Intermittent Phone Fasting

Digital Mindfulness vs the Real Thing During the Pandemic: Digital Age’s Impact

Mindful Work: Capturing, Prioritizing and Working on Tasks Effectively

The Era of Attention Economy and Its Destructive Impact: Reasoning by Examples

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps