I'm sorry updates are coming late, it unintentional kindly accept my apology.

27 -02- 2019

Mr Fred. A. Erunkulu a.k.a Eikonworld lectured on "The Multitasking Myth – How to Really get things done" at exactly 7p.m.

Mr Fred a Portrait and Event photographer, noticed must photographers are "one man Army".

This means you are the one doing everything from talking to clients, shooting, selecting or culling, editing, designing and presenting.

As a photographer do you take a lot of time to finish a photo project?
Do you get to be as creative as you want or there is not enough time?
Or sometimes you feel overwhelmed?

One of the problems we face as photographers is how to be "productive" within our "work time"... In the bid to do more. We unconscious multitask.. (kill two birds with one stone).

Most times lots of photographers lament this way!
"I have just finished shooting  an event... i have 1800 pictures to cull and edit and it is taking me a a whole week to get it done"

The truth is that.. 
with proper understanding of your daily task and right planning,  you can always get things done faster and better and be on top of your game "The multitasking myth"

We all do it: Texting while walking, sending emails during meetings, chatting on the phone while cooking dinner. In today’s society, doing just one thing at a time seems downright luxurious, even wasteful.

But chances are, you’re not doing yourself any favors by multitasking your way through the day. Research shows that it’s not nearly as efficient as we like to believe, and can even be harmful to our health.

Here are some reasons why you should stop and rethink the way you work.

1. You’re not really multitasking - What you call multitasking is really Task - Switching or Switch Tasking. Moving back and forth between several tasks actually wastes productivity, because your attention is expended on the act of switching gears—plus, you never get fully “in the zone” for either activity.
A good example is editing pictures and you are also chatting with someone on WhatsApp... !

2. It’s slowing you down - Contrary to popular belief, multitasking doesn’t save time. In fact, it will probably take you longer to finish two projects when you’re jumping back and forth than it would to finish each one separately.

What tends to save the most time is to do things in batches. “Edit your pics all at once, then send your emails all at once. Each task requires a specific mindset, and once you get in a groove you should stay there and finish.

3. You’re making mistakes - Experts estimate that switching between tasks can cause a 40% loss in productivity. It can also cause you to introduce errors into whatever you’re working on, Imagine discovering you made a mistake after spending a good amount of time on a portrait!

4. Your memory may suffer - It makes sense that if you try to do two things at once—Culling and watching television, for example—that you’re going to miss important details of one or both. But even interrupting one task to suddenly focus on another can be enough to disrupt short term memory, according to a 2011 study.

Each time you switch back, you must remind yourself about what it was you were doing, while dealing simultaneously with the slight distraction from the other task. This can increase your cognitive load (Mental Ability)

You end up feeling tired early,  or lose your drive... And you decide to call it a day and start again the next day... And before you know it.. A whole week has pass

Please understand that he's talking from a photographer workflow.

Here are some steps to help you

1. Plan tomorrow today.
Don't wait till you are up and about before thinking of what or who. You starting your workday wrongly.

2. Know how much "Work time" you really have each day.
What is work time?
Some of us work from home,  some have an office or studio which is some distance from home.. 
The time you have to work is different.

A person working from home can decide to be on his/her system by 6.30am. Another person going to the office or studio might not get to sit down to work until  9am. He will also want to close and get home to rest unlike the person who is working from home.

3. Know your mental strength and weakness:
He is at his best early in the morning till around 2pm and he has learn to maximize this over time..

4. Learn to *break* your *tasks* and *work time* into Chunks - Focus and Breaks

5. And Finally; Your WillPower.
You have to be discipline and in time, it becomes you.

Let's go back to no4. (Learn to *break* your *tasks* and *work time* into Chunks - Focus and Breaks)

You have just finished shooting an event, you have over 1800 images, you have clients to call or follow up and some balance to collect
How do you do all this?
He came across a simple but effective technique called "POMODORO"

Pomodoro has been used all over the world by different individuals in their place of work, it works

So what is Pomodoro?
While there are slight variations out there, the Pomodoro technique is a standardized productivity approach emphasizing the following

steps:
Choose a task.

Set your timer to 25 minutes and work uninterrupted on the task.
When the timer is up, take a 5 minute break.
Resume and repeat four times, giving yourself a 20 minute break after the fourth cycle

But can this technique work for us as photographers?

Yes with some modification
He personally use it and with little discipline, you too can.
You are free to increase your time but it shouldn't be less than 45 min

Choose a task e.g Culling.
Set your timer to 45 minutes and work uninterrupted on the task.
When the timer is up, take a 10 minute break. Get up and walk around or make a call or check your chats.
Resume and repeat four times, giving yourself a 30 minute break after the fourth cycle

Do the maths
You will find out that you have actually worked for 3hrs and also taken a break for 1hr.
You are *Focus* and also have time for *breaks*.

Imagine sitting down by 6.30am or 9.00am...and by 10.30am or 1am, you have done quite a lot.

What do you do during your breaks?

You can put on simple calls or mails or chats during this time...
do not take a sensitive call or mail during breaks...
also use it to walk around,  stretch limbs.. Grab a drink
When you resume, your mind is relax and ready to pick up...

You will find that you are able to do your edits or selections,  make the serious calls and still have time for fun calls and chat.

please note he didn't advise that you group your serious calls or chat together as a task and not during breaks.

If you are doing photo related task face them and when done completely or at least to the point you wish to reach for the day. Then you can face calls or chats... Vice-versa

Now you might be asking..

Is there an app/software for this technique?

There are quite a lot for windows, mac and android, some are free and some are paid version.
He personally use RESULTIVE
It is free, simple, easy to use and it sit quietly on your desktop while you work....

Like the others, it tells you when to stop, take a break and start.
He also during *Focus* period have my phone either face down or on silent..

Whenever I get an idea or remember something urgent or fun that I want to do in the day,  i use another simple "To do "app called" *Microsoft To Do*

It is simple,  free, easy and have a clean interface
of course there are quite a lot of other options..  Find the one you are comfortable with and use it...

Remember you have to plan your tasks in order of importance or urgency.

!!!?KEEP CLICKING!!!