Grow: Focus on people

- In my book, The Myth of Multitasking,…I talk about the three effects of multitasking.…Things take longer.…You make more mistakes.…And you increase your stress levels.…But there's also a fourth effect…when we're dealing with other people,…and that is, we damage the relationship.…I illustrate this in my live events.…I do a little exercise where two people…are talking to each other,…and one person is multitasking…while they're sort of listening to the other person.…I ask everyone to describe in one word…how that made them feel,…and most often I hear the word unimportant.…

Now, we would never dream of going to a coworker…and saying, "Hi, Tony.…"You're unimportant.…"What are you going to do today?"…Yet that's exactly what we do…when we multitask on them and not focus on them.…So here are a few tips that you can use…to better focus on important relationships in your life.…First of all, use a schedule.…What this means is that you are committing time…to talk with someone, and during that time…you focus on them.…Now, it doesn't mean that you have to schedule…