WARNING - This is a long winded post, generally it is light hearted and will not be true for everyone, though i know some will relate to this and are having a similar problem - END WARNING
Okay I am going to give you a little insight into the weird and wonderful way that I (Marc here) personally think.
There are many quirks to personality, in fact I am sure I could fill an entire book on the subject. One thing I do know is myself, I know how my brain works, what my strengths are, where I fall down.
You could call me very “in tune” with myself.
Of course I find new things out everyday about how my brain works, this is just part of growing..
Though this one is a major part in the way I live my life
MULTI-TASKING IS THE DEVILS COUSIN
I don’t multi-task
Not at all, not even slightly, not even in the same vicinity, not even on the same planet. In fact the word alone gets me flustered.
Here’s why, and let me give you a little glimpse into why I don’t multi-task.
Simply because I cant, my brain will not let me multi-task (Daniel, my wife and anyone who knows me properly will attest to this 110% and have a chuckle over it).
I personally believe it is because my attention span is less then Zero, now try to manage multiple things at once with an attention span of minus zero and you will get my point.
What I am about to type is a typical example and happens more then I would care to admit.
Robert or Daniel will start a conversation with me (lets say I am sitting in front of my computer), the conversation could be about anything, generally it is a conversation that has not actively engaged me (not a topic that I would call my subject matter expert), it could be about coding, marketing whatever doesnt matter.
Around half way into the conversation my something will pop into my brain, or my desktop will catch my eye and trigger a memory to do something on my computer.
I can be literally mid sentence replying to the other person when I will stop, continue on with the seperate thought process that just entered my brain and leave the conversation hanging in mid air and continue doing whatever it was that jumped into my mind.
Of course Daniel or Robert, or my wife is now left hanging mid conversation going “wtf!!!”.
Lucky for me I am getting better with this.
Perhaps multi-tasking works for some people, though i believe that multi-tasking a high level action (one that is your main action, example driving a car is one action, though it contains many smaller tasks) is either not possible or only attainable by a select few. Sure you could multi-task several “low brain activity” tasks, but a task that requires holding a logical chain of thought processes all requiring moderate attention? Well if you can do this I envy you.
If you are multi-tasking, what you are really doing is taking your bucket full of water (lets call it brainpower) and then splitting that focus into multiple smaller buckets so that you can feel like you are doing more. When in actual fact you will realize that when you pour your “water” into these other buckets you are spilling some of it over the sides (quite a bit of it).
So if you have a similar problem read below and what you read may help you.
The answer for me is SINGLE FOCUS
What I do brilliantly if I can engage my interest in something, is completely absorb myself into one given task or goal, so much that almost everything around will seem un-important. Now you need to be able to keep other things in check, those that are important. Thats why I have my wife and business partner 
What this means is that for me, I can be wildly productive if I am very clear about what I need to do, why I need to do it, and why it is in my best interest.
If I can define those few things, then I am at my most productive.
When I single focus on tasks, and even better when i can get really excited about a project or action, then I enter the zone of “super productivity”, if you have been there before you will know what I am talking about. Nothing gets in your way, everything seems to get done at break neck speed.
If you are reading this and go “holy crap this is me” then I suggest you get clear about what you have to achieve and give single focusing a shot. You might just find you take things to a new level.
If you are reading this and saying “this guys on drugs I can multi-task fine”
Then we are different people and I am sure you have learnt to be most productive multi-tasking.
“Always Moving Forward”
Marc
Popularity: 25% [?]
Marc,
You are right on. Focus and concentration are the key to success, I believe. Not only can you use the powers of your conscious mind, you also engage your subconscious mind on what is important. When I was in college, one of my teachers told me - you do a lot of things somewhat good, or a few things very good, or one thing excellently.
Keep up sharing those gems of wisdom.
- Dave
Marc!
I hear you - concentric focus is what I call it. A means of pointed concentration with an out-come in mind.
The force behind concentric focus is your own electro-magnetic energy directing action on a target. Not brain-power spill over. The buckets were a great example.
It is so good to know another single bucket thinker.
~DrDeb
You might be interested in Micheal Green’s free audio download on ‘Diary Profits’.
Micheal is a very successful internet marketer and is also a British Member of Parliament. I have personally learnt a lot from Michael. He works in an extremely focused way on usually less than a day a week and has personally created around 20 successful products, many of which I have bought and are very useful indeed!
For the download, you will have to give your e-mail address and end up on his mailing list (he is a successful internet marketer after all), but yuou can always get yourself off it.
I’m not sure if I can add a link here, but here goes - it isn’t an affiliate link!
http://www.howtocorp.com/success-habits-diary-profits/
Martin
Multi-tasking is a bad word. While you can do a couple simple things at the same time you are not able to do any one thing 100%. The harder the task the harder it is to split your time all at once.
I picked a simple day-time job so I can think about the next thing I have to do in the evening to help my on-line business. As the day-time job is simple and repetitive for the most part I can spare the brain power. In the evenings things can be just the opisit. If I am working on editing a home film, and converting it to a DVD, it depends on what step of the process I am on as to what gets my attention. If I am importing, or writing the DVD to disk, I have extra time and mental power to spare, yet if I am watching the film to set timing marks, editing, etc, then I have very little time to spare.
For most things computer related I am comfortable with, and so I can carry on a converstation at the same time. If it is a bit tense on the computer then the converstition may go a bit slow, yet I don’t forget the person I am talking to. Other things the results very. The more mind power required on one thing the less attention I can spare on another.
Yes, it does come down to learning your abilities and limitations. And some studies have shown that multi-tasking is detemental to the big tasks at hand, and can reduce effectioncy. Here is a link to some articles that may be helpful: tesh.com