There is a pervasive myth in modern life that doing many things at once means being twice as efficient. If you want to build a new business, secure a promotion or simply level up, multitasking isn’t always helpful.

In reality, the brain doesn’t multitask; it "switch-tasks." It jumps rapidly between focuses, and every jump costs you a micro-moment of clarity. When we try to answer emails while on a call, or check stocks while writing a report, we aren’t investing our time—we are diluting it.

To borrow a financial concept: You wouldn't want a portfolio that owns a tiny, meaningless fraction of every single stock in the world. You want a portfolio with conviction.

Your time works the same way.

Whether you use the Pomodoro technique (25 minutes of deep work) or simply turn your phone over during a meeting, the goal is the same: Single-tasking.

When you give one task your full respect, you not only finish it faster, but you also finish it with less anxiety. You move from a state of frantic "doing" to a state of steady "being."

A gentle nudge: Pick one task today that you’ve been putting off. Close every other tab. Set a timer for 20 minutes. Give it everything you have, and then, and this is super important… give yourself permission to take a break.