One of the most persistent paradoxes of workplace life is that the busiest people aren’t always the most productive. Walk through any office and you’re likely to spot at least a few people who act perpetually slammed, yet have little to show for their frenzy. Think of a performer who is spinning plates, but the plates keep crashing.
During a recent training session, a group of middle managers described their days to me in almost identical terms. They were constantly bouncing from task to task, and struggling to meet deadlines was their norm.
What we’re talking about here is the need to find effective time management techniques. The problem is that effective time management methods are often different for each person. In other words, what works brilliantly for one person may be completely useless for someone else.
A Skill That Backfires
Every once in a while, a skill will get touted as a “must have” ability. One such skill, called “multitasking,” was born out of the computing industry. It referred to a computer processor’s ability to perform multiple tasks concurrently.
In human application, multitasking is the ability to bounce back and forth between differing tasks to get more done in less time. A few decades ago, this word was expected to be seen in resumes and job descriptions, and even in performance reviews. The problem? Despite the idea that multitasking was a productivity superpower, the concept has actually been debunked.
Researchers at the American Psychological Association found that switching back and forth between tasks can reduce a person’s productivity by up to 40%. Why? Because the human brain needs time to reorient itself to the requirements of whatever task one is doing.
Consider a study out of the University of California, Irvine, which found that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to fully regain focus after a single interruption. Apply that across a typical workday and it becomes clear why so many people feel exhausted and yet unproductive.
Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index adds even more context: the typical employee is now interrupted every two minutes during core work hours, amounting to roughly 275 disruptions per workday.
I first became aware of multitasking’s downside during a conversation with Robert Croker, the former chair of the human resource training and development department at Idaho State University. Croker, who is certified in brain-based learning, says the brain simply isn’t wired for multitasking.
“It’s a common misconception that a brain is like a computer,” Croker says. “A computer is designed to multitask. The human brain is not designed to function optimally in a multitask environment.”
More recent neuroscience backs him up. Researchers at Wake Forest University, using fMRI and EEG monitoring, confirmed that what most people call multitasking is actually just rapid, sequential task-switching, and that every switch carries a measurable cognitive cost. Those costs add up when one considers that the average worker now switches tasks more than 300 times per day.
If you want personal evidence that the quality of completed tasks drops sharply when people attempt two things simultaneously, just notice how quickly your driving decisions deteriorate the moment you pick up your phone.
An Old-Fashioned Fix
Do any time-management techniques actually work well for most people? The answer is yes, but no, it’s not using a time management app. It’s the old-fashioned habit of better planning.
The simple act of thinking through your tasks and prioritizing what needs to be done allows your brain to pre-map the work ahead. In reality, when you plan, your brain’s amygdala is doing what it does best – preparing your brain to notice the things that matter most. Think of it as laying the groundwork for efficiency.
The second universally helpful tip may shock you. It comes from workplace-organizer Julie Morgenstern, and it’s simply this: don’t check your email first thing in the morning.
You heard that right. Once you get to work, you should not be checking email right away. Morgenstern says the best way to improve productivity is by building a task list first. She says it’s even better if you create the day’s task list the evening before. Then, when you arrive at work, you can immediately tackle your highest-priority, revenue-generating work when you arrive.
Why You Might Feel Overwhelmed
A 2025 survey found that 58% of professionals check their email before they even get out of bed. Additionally, workers now spend up to 28% of their entire workweek just managing their inboxes. For most people, that isn’t productivity; it’s a well-disguised time sink.
If your job genuinely requires an early inbox check, experts suggest setting the timer on your phone to three minutes. After beginning the time, scan your inbox for anything truly urgent, and then close your email when the timer goes off.
When I first raised this idea with some of my clients, every one of them insisted it was “not possible.” Then, coincidentally, the Monday following that training session, their company’s email server went down and stayed down the entire day.
The next time I met with the group, their leader admitted, almost sheepishly, “We got a phenomenal amount of work accomplished that Monday. I honestly think we should make every Monday a no-email day.” Their accidental experiment proved Morgenstern’s point better than anything else could have.
One workplace I know actually established a policy that employees should check email only three times a day: at 11 a.m. to handle written correspondence before lunch; at 1 p.m. to address follow-up responses; and again at 4 p.m. to adjust the next day’s schedule. To stave off potential problems, the company informs clients and vendors of this policy so everyone knows what to expect.
The bottom line? Multitasking has been shown to make us less effective, not more. And although email remains one of the most powerful communication tools ever developed, it becomes a liability the moment it becomes the center of everything we do.
Daniel Bobinski has a doctorate in theology and is a best-selling author and a popular speaker at conferences and retreats. For more than 30 years he’s been working with teams and individuals (1:1 coaching) to help them achieve excellence. He was also teaching Emotional Intelligence since before it was a thing. Reach him by email at DanielBobinski@protonmail.com or 208-649-6400.
