- Do less – Strayer found that supertaskers’ efficiency came from having less metabolic activity during demanding tasks than an ordinary person would. They find a way of overcoming the processing bottlenecks by selecting the most important thing to focus on.
- Ignore more – We’re constantly being overloaded with stimuli, but people Strayer terms “elite cognitive controllers” are able to zero in on only the most relevant, goal information. Ignoring the chatter of co-workers equals error free completion of tasks.
- Being young – Unfortunately, the older we get the more memory lapses we have, and we’re more susceptible to distractions. It’s not all bad news for oldies though with Staryer finding that after repeated sessions playing a driving-based memory game, the older players memories improved, even outscoring the 20-year-olds.
- Play video games – Researcher Daphne Bevalier of the University of Geneva in Switzerland found that people improve their multiple data stream management through constant play of first-person shooter video games. Her study found that gamers weren’t born this way, but rather trained their brains into tracking up to six objects at a time through repetition.
- Move on from mistakes – Dwelling on negative situations you can’t change equates to more distractions. Researchers suggest moving forward quickly by admitting you’ve made a mistake, correcting it if possible and moving towards the next pressing goal.
- Delegate – Pass on tasks that someone else has a higher level of expertise in so you can focus on the more important task at hand without wasting time and energy.
- Maintaining Emotional Equilibrium – Not losing your cool is the secret to supertasking success for people in high stress or emergency work environments. Try to keep calm and not be emotionally steamrolled by what’s going on around you.
