The invisible barrier you must cross to switch modes and why it fools you into thinking it would take too much effort to complete a task.







Transcript



Revisiting Multitasking and the Energy of Switching Tasks



Do you multitask? Wait, we we already covered this. In a previous episode, we talked about how energy is really the glue that holds together various multitasking tasks that when you switch between one and the other, there’s a certain amount of energy you have to expend. And the studies recently done add a lot of credence to it and that you’re really not getting more done. You’re in fact getting less done and not as well. So, anyone who’s multitaskked probably found this and and multitasking is one of those holy grails that I look for in my talk and podcast about something called do it to a fault, which is one of my fun acronyms and I love me some acronyms. I explain how people can connect two things together and get a couple things done at the same time. Now, that’s not multitasking per se because it’s really using two different brain systems. Having a conversation on the phone while you’re emptying the dishwasher is not necessarily multitasking because they’re two different modes of operation. Doing your taxes while you’re driving, well, yeah, that’s not a good idea. If you haven’t listened to that one, go listen to it. It’s it’s a good episode. Having said that, I want to talk about something related but different.



The Invisible Energy Barrier of Changing Modes



So, have you ever had something that you need to do and you realize you haven’t been doing it or you forgot about it and then when you remember it, you have a little bit of a a dread or a sigh. But if you examine how much energy it takes to do the thing, it doesn’t really take all that much energy. So, it’s almost confusing as to, well, why don’t I just do that? What you’re feeling is the invisible barrier of energy that’s preventing you from switching into that mode. And that’s kind of what we talk about in in multitasking is that there’s this energy you have to expend to switch and kind of clear your mind and say, “Okay, now I’m a chef. Okay, now I’m a mom. Okay, now I’m a corporate individual like a CFO and I have to speak a certain way and so on and so forth.” And we talked about that a bit in an episode about switching modes. So check that out as well. But getting back to this invisible energy barrier and and that’s what it is. You think about a task and you think, “Oh, well that’s not that.” And then you just kind of feel it. You feel that you don’t want to do that cuz it’s different. You’re in a different mode. And it’s not that it’s a bad thing. It’s not that you don’t even necessarily not want to do it, but our brains like to trick us and we think, “Oh, I’m only not doing that because my wife this is going to happen or this happens with my kids or I’m just so drained from this.” And and you’re not. You’re not drained from the thing because this might even be something that in a way might be rewarding, but you have to switch modes. And you can feel that energy of switching modes and it might be disorienting for you.



Why Switching Between Work and Personal Modes is Draining



If you’re at work in a corporate environment and you’re in a conference room and your boss says, “Hey Janelle, be funny.