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I've read several stories along these lines now, so I suppose I should pass it along.

For most people, apparently, one key to improved productivity is to reduce multitasking. That is, turn off your e-mail, reduce other interruptions, and allow yourself more uninterrupted time to concentrate on a single task.

I've read elsewhere that this is more important for males than females, purportedly because of our evolutionary heritage; in general, males, it is said, excel in single-minded pursuits, while females are more adept at handling multiple tasks simultaneously. I imagine that this is because our female ancestors were often pregnant and unable to run quickly, as would be necessary in hunting, so it was to any group's advantage for the females to stay home and tend the myriad of tasks that entails, while the males hunted.

That's not to say that this is appropriate today, and I'm not recommending it. In fact, I'm strongly opposed to anyone making generalizations about another person. We should treat people as individuals first and foremost. But, in searching ourselves for our own natural tendencies, this may offer some insight into some of our behaviors.

Major Digression Alert! Engaging Soapbox Mode:

Is that clear enough? Okay, I'll say it again, more simply this time:

1. Never assume your colleague should be good at this or that because she's female, or good at something else because he's male.
2. Never use maleness or femaleness (or race, religion, sexual orientation, age, political opinions or affiliations, etc.) as hiring criteria. Work at guarding against this by shielding yourself from this information to the extent possible in your hiring process.
3. Understand that using such criteria in hiring has been illegal in the United States since 1964. See the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for more information.
4. Understand that if you willfully violate this Act, you, as a private employer, may be sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

So, not only is playing fair a nice thing to do, it's the law.