The Twelve Monotasks Book Review

Mono is better than Stereo (this time)

The below photo is a window into a lot of working parents lives.

Video calls on with cameras on & mute on, child somewhere in background (foreground for this one), neglected animal requesting food (sometimes other child/spouse/other), recent delivery from online order you forgot about and clutter and debris surrounding you.

How many browser tabs do you have open right now?
I have 9 as I write this. Most are for previous things I was doing with work I didn't finish, I was multitasking.

Even after reading the 12 Monotasks, a great insight into focus and productivity by Thatcher Wine, I still fall prey to thinking doing many things at once will result in achieving more.

The truth is that it takes twice as long (or longer depending on how many you have on the go at once)

If I was to apply the techniques across the 12 tasks, which I'll cover below, it's practice of doing one thing at a time claims to:

  • Become more productive

  • Produce higher quality work

  • Reduce stress

  • And increase happiness.

Sounds awfully like Deep Work yet is more accessible in it's approach of not trying to take a phone call while your walking or squeeze in a meeting while your trying to cook dinner. It asks you to take one monotasks at a time of the 12 and apply it to your life, rather than trying to do all at once which is a nice entry level.

Lets go through the 12:

  1. Reading 📚

Sounds obvious but a solitary focus on reading is really important.

Getting lost in a book or making a regular practice to read has lifetime compounding effect.

  1. Listening 👂

Are you actively listening? Or are you doing something else while a person is talking to you?

I can talk to my wife and she won't acknowledge I've said anything for a good 30 seconds, as can I to her.

This has some massive benefits if you can train yourself to focus on what is being said.

  1. Walking 🏃‍♂️

I used to walk an play Pokémon Go. A lot.

Now thankfully that distraction has been kicked and now a simple lap around the block can be enough to reset and refocus.

Not eating or texting or phone calls, just nature and noticing things.

I love seeing the frost covering the ground on the cool mornings.

  1. Sleeping 😴

Sounds silly right? You can't do anything else but sleep while you sleep.

But what about your ability to fall sleep?

How much blue light are you exposed to before trying to go to bed?

When was your last meal and/or caffeinated/sugary/alcoholic drink?

Because those play a big factor in how you'll show up the next day.

  1. Eating 🥗

Eat and scroll. Eat and work. Eat and talk. Eat and <insert other thing here>

I'm guilty of not sitting down and actually paying attention to the meal or trying to do something else at the same time.

I've missed many a good meal because I've not been paying attention to what's in front of me or eaten it to fast because something else was distracting me.

  1. Getting There 🚗

Radio/Music, texting (hopefully not), phone calls (hopefully hands free), asking smart phone for directions, eating (see above) or anything else you can think of can distract you from getting from A to B, whether that's plane, train or automobile.

A good practice this one, especially combined with seeing things around you (not too much if your driving!)

  1. Learning 🤯

What do you mean I can't learn 3 things at once?

I carve out blocks of time to learn and focus on solitary tasks of learning. Pairs nicely with deep work.

  1. Teaching 👩‍🏫

This could your own progeny or a coworker, don't let other things distract from imparting knowledge as a single focused activity. I

  1. Playing 🎈

Play is so important. It counterbalances us. We need time for it, if it's Pokémon Go (I thought I got rid o you) or whatever thing makes you happy, it just needs to have only your attention (and not hurt you or anyone else)

  1. Seeing ✨

When in nature, be in nature. Be present, don't be on your phone or thinking about the next thing, just be.

  1. Creating 🚀

Guilty of trying to be creative and working at the same time? My hand goes up.

It doesn't work. I can't multitask left and right brain activities, not even two creative activities at the same time.

When being creative, just do that thing. Don't think about that upcoming chapter or the next thing , just where you are.

  1. Thinking🤔

And finally the one I try and ignore or think it can be paired with another activity.

Pairs very well with learning though shouldn't be combined (see title of book)

Carving out time to think is vital to recalibrating where you are and where you may want to get too.

One thinking session I'm excited about is the Odyssey Plan

There you have it, the 12 monotasks.

Time to book some time to review my own actions and get more mono with my approach.

Cheers,

Alex.