The ability to Multitask is considered a positive trait in a person and usually a mandatory job requirement, however research has now proven that not only does it affect work quality, but may also affect your brain and IQ.

1. Human Brain is Not Built to Multitask.

As Devora Zack point out in her article, “Multitasking is a myth; it simply doesn’t exist.” MIT’s Dr. Earl Miller explains that human brain cannot simultaneously process separate streams of information from multiple tasks because there’s interference between the two tasks. What we have branded as multi-tasking is simply task-switching at a very rapid pace.

2. It Affects Your Memory

Simone Smith writes in her article that “In 2011, the University of California, San Francisco published a research study showing how quickly shifting from one task to another impacts short term memory.” This can have serious damages to your memory as you grow older.

3. It Makes You Less Productive

We all have been assuming that multitasking makes us more productive. Well, that us not true. In reality “multitasking creates mental blocks that can result in as much as a 40 percent loss in production time.” It is better to prioritize your workday and identify your important tasks and get them done one by one.

4. It Lowers Work Quality

Larry Kim mentions in his article that “Multitasking makes it more difficult to organize thoughts and filter out irrelevant information, and it reduces the efficiency and quality of our work.” His argument is backed by a study at the University Of London showing that subjects who multi-tasked while performing cognitive tasks experienced significant IQ drops, which were similar to that of individuals who either skipped a night of sleep or smoked marijuana.

5. It Affects Your Creativity

According to a research done at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Multitasking requires a lo t of what’s known as “working memory,” or temporary brain storage. It can thus affect our ability to think creatively. The researcher concluded that with so much is going on in multitaskers brains, that they often find it hard to daydream and generate spontaneous “a ha moments” as compared to people who do not multitask.

Working from may home may seem easy, but once you start you get to know how difficult it is to get into the working mode wile you are still in your PJs. Here are some useful tips to make your work from home routine more productive:

1. Set Your Working Hours

Melissa Stanger suggests that “If you commit yourself to specific hours like you do at the office, you’re more likely to get work done during those hours.”

Analyze your day and identify which hours work best for you, it could be any part of the day but once you decide you need to follow your schedule religiously.

2. Choose a Dedicated Work Space

As Eric Devent quotes in his article, “Have a place you go specifically to work. It could be a certain table, chair, local coffee shop — some place that’s consistently your ‘ work space.’ It helps you get into the right frame of mind.” A dedicated work space not only allows you to get into the work mode but also lets other people know this so that they do not disturb you in that time.

3. Take Breaks

Kelsey Libert writes in her article that “It may seem counter-intuitive to take breaks in order to be more productive, but research has shown that the most productive workers focus for 52 minutes, then disengage for 17 minutes. These rest periods help the mind come back refreshed and better prepared to see new angles on challenges. So rather than working non-stop and bringing down your productivity, you should take small breaks in between to freshen up and start with a re-energized focus.

4. Get Dressed for Work

As Melanie Pinola rightly outs it, “getting to work in your PJs is one of the big benefits to working on your own, but it doesn’t help you get into a work frame of mind.” She suggests that one should change into working clothes, not necessariry anything too formal but at least wear pants or a skirt to have that feeling of being at work. Later on you can change into your non-work clothes which will help you create a mental framework for working and then getting off from work as well.

5. Know When to Stop Working

Working from home does not mean that you work all the time or whenever you come up with an idea. As suggested by ZenHabits.com, “Set defined times when you’re going to work, and then when it passes, stop. You can have a bit of leeway here, but make sure that you don’t end up letting work run your life.”

The technological advancements of the modern era has given birth to the idea of having a group of people geographically dispersed working as a team. Although this phenomenon brings in a lot of advantages but also has some problems. One of them might be conducting virtual meetings effectively. Since most of us are used to having face-to-face meetings therefore conducting a virtual meeting that yields the anticipated results might become difficult. Here are some tips to overcome the usual problems and run successful virtual meetings:

1. Set Clear Meeting Agenda

As Jaleh Bisharet suggests, “Before every meeting, ask yourself: What should we leave with that we didn’t have before we started?” Asking this question will help you identify a set of goals that you want to reach at the end of the meeting and enable you to set an agenda. Once you have set an agenda you will be able to asses who the meeting  participants should be what you expect from each of them. Setting the meeting agenda and circulating it among the participants beforehand will help ensure to keep meeting on track, and achieve what you planned on.

2. Encourage Participation

As Esther Schindler mentioned, “Common pet peeves among frequent online meeting participants reflect the tendency for people to become distracted from the matter at hand.” In a virtual meeting there are high chances of participants trying to get other things done simultaneously, however multitasking will not lead to achieving the desired meeting goals. A good way to avoid this is to encourage participation and engage the participants so that they pay attention to matters at hand rather than checking emails or trying to multitask.

3. Turn the Video On

Keith Ferrazi believes that it is important to turn on the video in a virtual meeting. “Since everyone on the call is separated by distance, the best thing you can do to make everyone at least feel like they’re in the same room is to use video.” In a video meeting everyone can see each other’s facial expressions, which matters alot. It will also help in minimizing chances of people getting distracted. With the video turned on everyone will feel connected just like in a normal meeting.

4. Take Notes

Brad Volin suggests that “Meeting minutes play a critical role in helping team members remember what was said and what’s next.” He suggests that Minutes-On-The-Go method offered by Arvind Malhotra, Ann Majchrzak, and Benson Rosen. One person is assigned for taking minutes during the meeting. At the end you can view these minutes and summarize action items and due dates for these easily.

5. Meeting Equipment

In order to run a successful virtual meeting, it is important to choose the correct tools and technologies. Depending on your meeting requirements, you can start with just an internet connection, audio (from computer speakers, microphone etc.), and a webcam. For larger groups you may use some more sophisticated video conferencing equipment, if required.

“The most effective web conferences are those that only use the technology that is needed. KIS—keep it simple— is the best way to have people focus on your message and not the technology”. Make sure to check the video conferencing system before you start the meeting to avoid any delays and technical glitches during the meeting.

Everyone is aware of the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

However a lot of people struggle with rising up early due to a lot of reasons and habits. But as Leo Babauta writes “Waking early can give you an hour or three of extra time for focus and creativity.” Waking up early has a lot advantages and if you look at the life of successful and productive entrepreneurs, you will see one common habit, they are all early risers.

Here are a few tips to help you in becoming a morning person:

1. Have a Strong Reason to Wake Up Early

Unless you have a purpose to wake up early, you will not be able to convince yourself to become an early riser. As Celestine Chua puts it, “Almost all attempts to wake up early fail because there isn’t a strong enough reason driving this habit change”. So before you try to change your routine make sure you have a strong reason that you are convinced on 100%.

2. Make Gradual Lifestyle Changes

In order to be able to train your body to go to bed early and rise early too, it is important that you make gradual changes to your routine rather than trying to wake up at 5AM or 6AM after sleeping at 2AM or 3AM. This would also be extremely helpful if you are a night owl used to sleeping at 8AM and then waking up in the evening.

As Charlie Mendoza suggests, “Do it in increments, so instead of sleeping at the same time, say 8 AM, sleep 15 minutes earlier and wake up 15 minutes earlier ….. If you do this continuously, you’ll be a morning person in less than a month.”

3. Do not Hit Snooze

As Jeff Goins mentions in his article, “Hitting your alarm’s snooze button doesn’t give you more of the restful REM sleep. Your body and mind aren’t recuperating you’re just wasting time.”

In fact if you are in a habit of hitting snooze regularly your mind will become used to ignoring the alarm. It is a good idea to keep your alarm across the room so that you have to get up to turn it off. This way you will have to get out off bed and there will be no urge to hit the snooze button.

4. Create an appealing early-morning routine.

Create a morning routine that gets you excited. It could be few minutes of meditation or a hot cup of coffee or some other activity that gets you motivated. As per Katherine Martinko, “Easing gently into the day makes it a lot easier to get up, rather than leaping into jogging clothes and hitting the empty streets for an early morning run (although that might work for some highly energetic individuals!).”

5. Get Enough Sleep

Although everyone’s sleep requirement is different from each other, but generally a person needs to get at least 6-8 hours of sleep. Another important factor is to get quality sleep rather than focusing on quantity. The better your sleep quality is the easier it will be for you to wake up early and not feel tired or fatigued. (Peter Clemens)