Category: Skills

Multitasking works to get things done slowly and with poor quality. You may disagree. Many times during the day, you may feel overwhelmed. So you decide to kick it up by multitasking, so you feel like you’ve been productive but really have little nothing to show for it. The answer is not trying to spin more plates on sticks at one time; the answer is slowing down, narrowing focus, and completing one thing at a time.

It’s time to introduce you to the lesser-known, more successful cousin of multitasking: Monotasking.  Just work at a steady pace, keep your plate full, and keep chipping away.  The crazy thing is—you’ll probably get there just as fast, if not faster. Here are some basics to get you started.

We are taking on jobs and responsibilities while saying yes to everything, leaving you with the massive task of getting everything done. If you could see yourself as you multitask, you would be shocked at what you see: missed items, uncompleted pieces, and shoddy quality. However, what we see through our eyes as we are in the middle of things, we miss how ineffectual we are. Besides, we are not making progress, constantly switching from one activity to another without completing the first.

Studies show it can take anywhere from 11 to 23 minutes or longer to find your focus after an interruption or task switch. So what is the solution to multitasking?

The solution is simple – do the opposite, just Monotask and produce better results. How to start Monotasking with two simple steps.

First, write it down and get the tasks out of your head. The old-school paper works best.

Do a second pass and put things into categories if you want. But the only thing that matters is that it’s on the list, and nothing is in your head.

Once it’s written out, you can organize it how you like. Color-code tasks and arrange them from big to small, by category or time needed. Once you know everything is listed, you will feel calmer because the list has an end.

Instead of multitasking, do one thing—for as long as you want or until it is finished. Just work at a steady pace, keep your plate full, and keep chipping away. You’ll find that this new pace is far more sustainable and productive. 

Should you start with the easiest or the hardest? It depends on you. One: by starting with the easiest possible items, you can get a bunch done quickly and build momentum. The other is to attack the most challenging first. Once completed, you’ll feel like you can conquer anything, just like coasting downhill on a bike. Either way, you can’t go wrong by working steadily one task at a time. Slow but effective work every time.

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I struck out.

It was 2008. The biggest recession to hit Chicago in decades. Everyone in sales struck out. I had only been an industrial broker for a few years, this business takes time to build, and my wife and I were expecting our 2nd daughter. My salary was full commission and the market tanked; I mean everything went to zero. Nada.

Growing up a Cubs fan, I got used to losing, but nothing prepared me for this.

I called in Uncle Lou. I’ve been calling in Uncle Lou for business advice since I was 16. After our conversation, I made two of the most humbling decisions of my life. First, I accepted Uncle Wally’s generous loan. Yes, I paid him back. Then I returned to Lou Malnati’s delivering pizzas. The same job I had in high school, the one my neighbor and her friend (who later became my beautiful wife) secured for me.

These were lean, tough years.

Which is why when I got hired again as an industrial broker at Cushman and Wakefield, over 14 years ago, I was determined to employ a long-term strategy for success. It’s similar to how I approach baseball, a game my grandpa and dad taught me as a child, and I continued to play well into my thirties. I keep the focus on building quality relationships and delivering value regardless of if a sale is on the line. Then when sales do come in – the singles, doubles, triples, and homeruns – they are all treated with same vigor because I know this game is won over many innings, over many years.

Or even generations which is often the case for many family run manufacturing businesses.

I especially like these clients because hard work and loyalty are at the core of their ethics. Plus, I was born with the gift of gab, inherited from my dad a retired postmaster, so I enjoy building rapport within various family dynamics.  My own Italian family is like how comedian Sebastian Maniscalco describes his in that company skit, pre-wireless days, where folks are on the ready with Entenmann cakes and Sanka to welcome in visitors. Imagine that – no phone call, no notice, just a knock on the door – and my grandparents loved it. In fact, we all did. Our Sunday family dinners often had random company at the table. Food was the way my grandmother showed love, she even once dropped off a lasagna to help ensure I got a college internship at 670AM The Score. It kills me I’m such a poor excuse for an Italian. I developed too many allergies as an adult to enjoy these meals. I am even allergic to pizza, c’mon, now that’s ironic.

I take extreme pride in being an honest resource to my clients, one they can rely on to mitigate multi-million-dollar risk.

Moving a manufacturing plant is strenuous with so many considerations to factor in, it gets overwhelming fast. It’s a pleasure navigating clients through this process, step-by-step like a partner customizing a real estate plan they can trust. Frequently, this means I play the ultimate connector, making service provider recommendations and calling on team members when their expertise is needed. What I love about baseball, unlike other fast paced, individually high-scoring games, is you need all nine players to show up and work together to win. Our sales strategy at Cushman and Wakefield works the same, and we prioritize fun and family.

As a dad of three girls, it’s my absolute privilege to be at their events and active in their lives. My motto to them is to be true to yourself at work and at home. Which is why at the end of every baseball season, I chuckle thinking about my grandfather who lived 96 years as an avid Cubs fan, but not long enough to celebrate their 2016 World Series championship. Sometimes being true to yourself also means striking out. That is when quality relationships matter the most. Strive to make it count.