The Science of Balance: At Last, The Truth Uncovered

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh balance!

The big struggle in life isn’t it?

I’ve gotta balance my wife and kids while balancing school, activities, work, this, that and that and bills and, well, I guess you could fill in the blank 🙂

The big question that you are probably thinking is “How the heck do I balance all of this stuff and get a life?”

Because you don’t want to hurt your kids’ feelings nor let anyone down in any capacity.

Well, I’ll tell ya, if ya thinkin’ that, you are asking the correct question.

After all, who the heck doesn’t want to live life and have FUN?!

FUN is AWESOME!

However, there comes a time where it can go aside for the time being.

And by that, I mean a LONG while!

It is because if you’re asking that question to yourself, the truth is that there is no time for fun.

It is time for work.

And only work.

Why?

Well, according to the Science of Balance, it starts with the elephant in the room:

Focus.

And I mean, HYPER-FOCUS.​

If you are not focused, your mind will go crazy and you will lose track of what you’re doing.

The trick is that you must focus on one thing and one thing only:

Tacking your biggest problem or desire.

You have to go full attack on the biggest problem and knock it out like a raging MADMAN with unfathomable intensity and internal RAGE!

That way, you’ll maximize what you are doing, not diversify.

You’ll actually focus on getting that one thing done and not have to say “Ok, let me get back to this later so I can do such and such (Even though kids are important, however, duty calls islander soldier).”

You won’t be delaying your progress (Cuz who loves delays, right?!)

You’ll actually jump ahead of everybody else and actually solve all of your problems extremely quickly.

You might just make it into a routine.

Let me ask you, what happens when you take a break from what you are doing to go do something else?

Do you lose your train of thought?

Do you say “Ugh, I forgot, I have to, ugh, do, ugh, this again.”

Well, the proof is in the pudding.

The Proof in the Pudding!

According to a study from Microsoft, computer users who constantly switch between tasks, while seemingly productive, actually had significant delays in completing their so called “primary” tasks that consisted of programming and administrative work, depending in their job.

In the study, users were tested on how they responded to “alerts,” meaning email and instant messaging, and how responding to these “alerts” affected their focus on performing their “primary” task (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007).

There were 4 phases that took place during the study that related each phase of performing the “primary task” to each other.

These phases are:

1. Pre-interruption = Focused attention on the primary task

2. Preparation Phase = The alert arrives and the user prepares the primary task to be in a “stable” state before moving on to the other task that the alert sent; some users did this and some users went right into the other task (Iqbal and Horwitz, 2007, p. 3).

3. Diversion Phase = Time spent on the alert.

4. Resumption Phase = Time in which the user stopped the diversion phase and restarted their pre- interruption phase

In the pre-interruption phase, the workers’ switch rate on average, meaning the rate in which the users switch between windows in search of a suspended task, was 0.41 switches per minute (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 6).

Pretty focused they were, but HYPER focused remains to be seen!

In the preparation phase, the workers were aware of the alerts, so they increased the speed of their work to make sure that they had their primary task in some sort of “stable” state before coming back to it (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 5).

What this means is that when you see another task to complete, chances are you might be playing a trick in your mind to believe that when you see another task, you want to “cram” to get it sort of done so you can take care of something else.

That is the essence of being extremely incorrect about the situation.

Unless it’s a medical emergency or your life is in legitimate danger, that is a reckless strategy ready to kick you right in the chin which is what we don’t want.

Going on to the diversion phase of things, when the workers moved onto the diversion phase of not being laser focused in on their primary task, they spent on average 9 minutes and 33 seconds on email and 8 minutes on instant messaging (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 5).

I don’t know about you, but 8 minutes and 9 minutes and 33 seconds is a heck of a lot of time to spend on something outside of your primary task when you have to get your primary task done.

As far as switch rates go for the workers in the study, the average switch rate went up to 1.76 switches per minute during the diversion phase (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 6).

That’s more than a quadruple jump from the pre-interruption phase.

Talk about a BIG OL’ lack of focus!

See when these users got onto outlook, they not only got caught up at looking at that mail or instant message, but they also spent all of that time on other non-significant tasks that contribute to stirring their focus away from their main task.

This is BORROWING time at its finest! Borrowing from the future and reducing the amount of time that you have to maximize your situation and yourself!

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Let me ask, have you done that?

Have you moved onto another task that wasn’t your main task and you realized that you made a mistake and borrowed time?

If so, leave a comment about that experience below, send me an email at evan@jointheisland.com about that experience or if you want to keep it private, that’s cool to.

Just know that to solve the problem, you have to go seek help. And you need to seek help from someone and something.

And the show is getting even better!

When we move onto the resumption phase, if you thought that the workers in the diversion phase experienced chaos, wait till you see this!

In the resumption phase, the users had a mission to get back to their laser focus on the primary task.

The only problem though, was that as a result of their diversion from the main task, they had a BIG swamp of a mess of windows that they had to sort out to get back to the suspended task (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 7)!

Ya wanna know the averages for the amount of time spent in this “resumption” phase, or should I say, “Treasure Hunting on the Mainland’s Pit?!”

For email and a self-inflicted suspension, the average time in resumption was 16 minutes and 33 seconds (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 7).

For email and an immediate suspension, the average time in resumption was 15 minutes and 50 seconds (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 7).

For instant messaging and a self-inflicted suspension, the average time in resumption was 12 minutes and 2 seconds (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 7).

And for instant messaging and an immediate suspension, the average time in resumption was 10 minutes and 58 seconds (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 7).

So for the sum of the average times in diversion PLUS resumption, they went as follows:

Email and Self-Inflicted Suspension=26 minutes and 6 seconds

Email and Immediate Suspension=25 minutes and 23 seconds

Instant Messaging and Self-Inflicted Suspension=20 minutes and 2 seconds

Instant Messaging and Immediate Suspension=18 minutes and 58 seconds.

That’s a WHOLE LOT of time so far!

And here’s the amazing part:

For 27% of this population, they spent not 1, but over 2 HOURS in the resumption phase before going back to the primary task (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 9)!

So essentially, based off this data, you have a 1 in 3.7037 chance of spending more than 2 hours trying to get back to work!

In other words, 1 in 4 times you will spend more than 2 hours in this “resumption” phase that will cost you thousands of dollars in lost time, lost sales, and a winning effort with this multitasking idea.

Is that you? Because ya don’t want it to be if you wanna get to the Island?!

And why?

Well, because if you do keep it like that, you are going to get stuck in more traffic!

And that means more days honking and screaming and saying “Get the heck out of my way old man! Can’t you see that I’m trying to get to work and earn my dough?!”

You: Honk, honk, honk!!!

And

And more days means the one who doesn’t multitask will say “Pay me my money!!! Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!!!”

The ghost of Billy Mays steps in and says: “But wait, there’s more!”

There is a big fat cost of all of this diversion, resumption, and multitasking bahooee.

You probably know the answer:

Your focus.

And your,

HYPER-FOCUS!

In fact, if you remove yourself from your primary task, get ready to spend at least 30 minutes trying to get it back, if you’re lucky ([“The

Multitasking Myth: The Science Behind “One Thing at a Time” Holds True”], n.d.).

According to the exit interviews, engaging with these separate tasks that isn’t the primary task, especially the instant messaging one, led the workers to not just not focus, but to COMPLETELY FORGET their main task (Horvitz and Iqbal, 2007, p. 8)!

And if you forgot something, you knows all of that time that you have to make up to retrieve your memory and your focus back!

Now tell me, after all of this research and self-reflection, do you ever want to multitask ever again?

Heck no!

Case closed!

Now, you might be asking “I know the research as to NOT to multitask, but what about feedback on focusing on one thing at a time?”

To that I say, “You’re gonna get that right now!”

And now to those who testify on doing one thing at a time and immensely succeeding with it!

Our first testimonial comes from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!

I bet you know who he is!

Here’s what he had to say about focusing on one thing at a time:

“The shortest way to do many things is to do one thing at a time” (Sarv, n.d.).

The next testimonial comes from Swami Vivekananda, one of legendary monks of 19th century India and who introduced Hinduism to the Western world:

“Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else” ([“Do One thing at a time”], n.d.).

And our third testimonial comes from Kevin Systrom, the founder of Instagram who says the following about doing one thing at a time:
“Focusing on one thing and doing it really, really well can get you very far” ([“Focusing on one thing”], n.d.).

I bet right now you can say bye bye to those who say that you must multitask to just get in the game!

Ha, they’re the ones that need to get into the game!

Action Steps for Today; don’t delay or oops!

Here’s what you can do today to focus on one thing at a time:

1. Commit to the concept. And you better stick with it. Or else …

2. Pick that one thing. And commit to it fully.

3. Drink water. Studies like “Mild Dehydration Affects Mood in Healthy Young Women” and “Mild Dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men” by Lawrence Armstrong of the University of Connecticut show that drinking water does help you focus and declutters your mind (Armstrong, 2011). If at any point you feel unfocused, drink water.

4. Don’t stop.

Always keep moving.

You know that you’ve got this.

Believe it.

Know it.

Live it.

I know that I do and will for every day of my life.

Are you going to do the same?

Have a nice day.

This is Chief Islander Evan signing off.

References:
Armstrong, Lawrence, Ganio MS, Casa DJ, Lee EC, McDermott BP, Klau JF, …, Lieberman HR. (2011). Mild
dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. The Journal of Nutrition.

Armstrong, Lawrence, Ganio MS, Casa DJ, Lee EC, McDermott BP, Klau JF, …, Lieberman HR. (2011). Mild
dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men. The British Journal of Nutrition.

[“Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else”].
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://quotefancy.com/quote/113346/Swami-Vivekananda-Do-one-thing-
at-a-time-and-while-doing-it-put-your-whole-soul-into-it

[“Focusing on one thing and doing it really, really well can get you very far”]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://startupquotes.startupvitamins.com/post/42830817799/instagram-cofounder-kevin-
systrom-says-focusing

Horvitz, Eric., and Iqbal, Shamsi. (2007). Disruption and Recovery of Computing Tasks: Field Study,
Analysis, and Directions

Sarv, Egon. (n.d.). Focus on One Thing at a Time – 34 Inspirational Quotes for Bloggers. Retrieved from
https://egonsarvreviews.com/focus-one-thing-time-quotes-inspirational-quotes

The Multitasking Myth: The Science Behind “One Thing at a Time” Holds True. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.the1thing.com/the-one-thing/the-multitasking-myth-the-science-behind-one-thing-
at-a-time-holds-true/