Doing One Thing at a Time is the Way to Get More Done, Not Less

From Drucker’s The Effective Executive:

Concentration is necessary precisely because the executive faces so many tasks clamoring to be done. For doing one thing at a time means doing it fast. The more one can concentrate time, effort, and resources, the greater the number and diversity of tasks one can actually perform.

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September 8, 2009 | Filed Under Managing Yourself | 2 Comments 

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2 Responses to “Doing One Thing at a Time is the Way to Get More Done, Not Less”

  1. Jeffrey Moore on September 9th, 2009 11:05 am

    Hey Matt,

    I’m curious about your thoughts on something related to this post and your others on multitasking. What do you think about having several books on your reading plate at any given time vs. reading one book at a time? I usually have 2-3 books going at once and they are usually on very different topics so I don’t get confused as to who is saying what. But I’ve been wondering if I would be able to read more and read better if I only read one book at a time.

    Thoughts?

  2. Matt on September 9th, 2009 6:53 pm

    Jeffrey,

    That’s a good question. Very good to apply this to reading.

    First, I think that at 2-3 books at a time, you are actually doing pretty well. Of late, I have had 10 or more going at once. That is an ineffective approach, and I am scaling that back down to about 1-2. I have so much to read that I let this get away from me.

    My experience in this regard definitely confirms that reading less books at a time enables me to read more — and I find it more enjoyable as well.

    When it comes to having 2-3 going at once (as opposed to 10), I think that in part it depends upon the nature of the books. When reading for information, 2 books might be fine if you find a change of pace helpful. When reading literature, then I would definitely stick to just 1 literature book at a time (but I’d be willing to have 1 literature book and 1 informational book going at the same time).

    But at the end of the day, I think 1 book at a time is most effective. As I think about it, even when I have more going on at once, a point comes when I will end up picking one and drilling down until it’s done. Having 2 or more going on at once has the advantage of a change of pace, but efficiency is lost and so is some of the enjoyment.

    Great thinking to raise this question.

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