Close Those Tabs

Content producers have a bad habit of keeping dozens of tabs open in their browser all at once. Switching between tabs and triangulating tasks is exhilarating. It feels like you’re in a space ship command center, shouting orders, shooting down bogeys, mapping a new course all at once. 

Except it’s a surefire strategy to burn out–quick. 

As someone who often runs projects for multiple clients at the same time, I reach a stress fever pitch the moment I realize I’m switching between too many tabs. I feel productive. But really, my hair is starting to catch on fire. I can’t focus on any one thing for too long before I remember something else that’s urgent. I move each piece one space at a time, and feel stressed because no single thing has been completed. 

This year, I developed a new solution for this stress: I close all my tabs. Then, I set a timer for 45 minutes, and choose one thing I want to accomplish. I only open the tabs that are necessary for that task, and then I work on that until the timer goes off. When I look up, I’ve made a lot of progress on that one task. Then I take a short break, and do it again. 

It’s hard to do at first, sure. I feel like I’m losing all the “progress” I’ve been making. But after the first 45-minute session, focus brings clarity, and clarity brings real progress. And my stress is much easier to manage after that. 

So close those tabs. It’s okay. They’ll be waiting for you when you really need them again.