How to Stop Multitasking and Get More Done in 2025: The Proven Path to Laser Focus

Multitasking might feel like the ultimate productivity hack, juggling emails, Slack messages, and to-do lists all at once. But the truth? It’s costing you time, energy, and results. In fact, studies show that multitasking can reduce productivity by up to 40% and increase errors.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the science of why multitasking fails, how to identify when you’re doing it, and most importantly, how to break free from it and get more done with less stress. Whether you’re a remote worker, entrepreneur, or student, you’ll learn proven strategies to sharpen your focus and work smarter in 2025. Let’s dive in!

The science of attention and task-switching: Multitasking doesn’t actually mean doing multiple things at once. It means rapidly switching between tasks, which creates a delay every time your brain needs to refocus. Neuroscience shows that our prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for decision-making and problem-solving, is not built for managing simultaneous complex tasks.

Mental residue and the “attention lag” effect: Every time we switch tasks, we leave behind a little cognitive residue that makes it harder to fully engage in the next task. This lag reduces accuracy and slows you down more than you think.

Common multitasking myths vs. facts: Many people pride themselves on being great multitaskers. However, research from Stanford University (3) found that heavy multitaskers are actually worse at filtering irrelevant information and organizing their thoughts.

Surprising stats that prove single-tasking wins: According to the American Psychological Association (1), multitasking can reduce productivity by up to 40%. A University of Utah study found that only about 2% of people can effectively multitask. And research from UC Irvine showed it takes about 23 minutes to refocus after a task switch. (2)

Subtle signs: You might not realize you’re multitasking. Common signs include constantly switching tabs, answering texts during meetings, listening to podcasts while writing reports, or even mentally rehearsing to-do lists while on calls.

The illusion of “being busy” vs. being productive: Multitasking gives the illusion of busyness, which can feel like progress. But being busy isn’t the same as being effective. True productivity lies in focused execution.

Burnout, decision fatigue, and mental clutter: When your brain is stretched across too many things, decision-making suffers. You feel mentally exhausted, yet strangely unfulfilled. Over time, this leads to burnout and chronic stress.

Quick self-assessment checklist: Ask yourself: How often do you finish one task without switching? Do you frequently forget what you were doing? Do you feel drained after seemingly simple workdays? These are all signs of excessive multitasking.

Boost in cognitive performance and efficiency: Single-tasking allows your brain to enter a rhythm where it can work faster and with greater clarity. You’ll get more done in less time.

Improved memory and fewer mistakes: When you’re fully engaged in a task, you process information more thoroughly. That means better memory retention and reduced likelihood of making careless errors.

Less stress, more satisfaction in completed work: You feel more accomplished when you’ve completed something start to finish without interruptions. It brings a sense of closure that multitasking can’t offer.

Flow state explained: Coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow is a mental state of full immersion in a task. In this state, time flies and performance peaks. It’s nearly impossible to achieve this when multitasking.

1. Start small with habit rewiring: You don’t have to go cold turkey. Begin by identifying a one time slot per day to practice doing uninterrupted work. Track what distracts you and create small nudges that help you focus. This could be something small like turning off your phone or closing extra browser tabs.
2. Use Time Blocking: Divide your day up into dedicated block for specific tasks. Reserve your morning for deep work, afternoons for admin, and dedicate some time to plan and reflect. Using color coded calendars or timed reminders can help reinforce the structure.
3. Try the “One Tab Rule”: Limit your open tabs to just one per task. This will force you to complete what you’re working on before moving on or getting distracted. This is a constant issue for me. As someone who has various roles at work, personal projects, and just tons of random life responsibilities popping up, forcing myself to stick to one tab on my screen at a time makes sure I actually get things done, instead of building a tab list of actions for myself over a week.
4. Minimize digital distractions: Turn off non-essential notifications on your phone, desktop, or any other devices. There are so many tools and settings on our devices like focus modes or do not disturb to help remove these distractions for a set block of time. A quiet environment helps supercharge your focus and get more done.
5. Use focus anchors. Test out different methods to help your brain focus. Try experimenting with background music, Pomodoro timers, ambient sounds (rain or coffee shops), and start to build a ritual for your brain to get into a deep work mode. As your brain builds the associations, you create an easier method for you to get into focus mode. For example, what I do is get myself a cup of hot green tea, a filled water bottle, put on some focus music (I like medieval lofi… don’t judge…), and turn the lights low except for a small amount to reduce eye strains. When everything is in order, my mind just starts working so much better. One Task. One Focus.
6. Create Accountability: Let someone know your goal for the day, post it somewhere, send it in the group chat, or commit to your manager that something will get done by a certain time. Knowing that others are aware of the commitments adds a bit of push or pressure that keeps you focused on that task over others. Having said that, be careful not to promise too many different tasks and overload yourself. Some stress can be helpful, but too much stress and you won’t get anything done.

Let’s look real-life example. Imagine a week without any multitasking. You decide on a single-task for one week. Each morning, you block out some time for deep work, only check your emails twice per day, and you turn off all unnecessary notifications.

Before: You are a digital marketer who constantly switches between writing blog posts, replying to Slack messages, updating reports, and checking social media accounts for engagement. Here’s what a typical hour looked like:

• 10:00–10:10 — Starts drafting a blog post
• 10:10–10:15 — Responds to Slack pings
• 10:15–10:25 — Checks email and replies to two threads
• 10:25–10:30 — Scrolls through Instagram for brand engagement
• 10:30–10:45 — Returns to blog post but struggles to find focus
• 10:45–11:00 — Jumps to reporting dashboard to update metrics

By the end of the hour, you haven’t made much progress on the blog post and feel mentally drained.

After: You commit to single-tasking for a week. Here’s how that same hour looks after applying time-blocking and focus rules:

• 10:00–10:50 — Deep work block: uninterrupted blog writing
• 10:50–11:00 — 10-minute break and inbox check

Results by the end of the week:

• Blog post output doubled
• Emails and messages batched and handled more efficiently
• Fewer mistakes caught during revisions
• Workday ends with more energy left for personal time

By the end of the week, you’ve completed more high impact work, felt less mentally drained, and noticed fewer mistakes in your output. That’s the single most powerful thing about single-tasking. It is simple.

Break the multitasking habit. For the next three days, try to pick one task at a time to give your full attention. With clarity and speed, you will finish that task with more ease and accuracy than before. The satisfaction you’ll experience will definitely make you change how you work forever.

Remember, real productivity isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what matters, with intention. You don’t need a perfect system to get started. You need the willingness to slow down, choose a single task, and give it your best shot. With a few iterations and practice, you get better and better at focusing on one given task, getting more done in each given set of time with less stress.

As you see those results from your focused work, it helps create a peace of mind.

Try it yourself, and let us know in the forums what you think! Does single-tasking help you get more done? What issues did you face while trying to do it? What worked well?