Buzzword: Unitasking

What it means. In this age of computer-assisted information overload, many of us bounce willy-nilly among work tasks. While you're reviewing a spreadsheet or preparing a PowerPoint, you might suddenly get the inclination to Google an old high-school friend ("I wonder what Cliff's up to?"), launch Pandora to listen to a favorite artist whose song popped into your head, or tweet some random thought ("I don't believe the All-Star game should decide home-field advantage for the World Series").

So much for getting the work done on time and heading home right at 5 for a family dinner.

There are other downsides to multitasking. Weisure has blurred the line between work and home life, turning folks into burnt-out multitaskers. And just ask anyone who's gotten into a car accident while texting whether that message could have waited.

The response for some harried Harrys and Harriets? Unitasking, aka monotasking: focusing on one job, project, or goal at a time, completing that task, and moving on to the next one.

Why the buzz? Amazon's Kindle e-reader has been praised as a paragon of unitasking, forcing users to focus on the particular material at hand—no taking a break from reading Bleak House to check on the latest market news on Bloomberg.com.

When it comes to home remodeling, unitasking makes sense not only as available dollars for home remodeling have dwindled but also because it's a smart way to work.

As author and contractor Fernando Pages Ruiz explained in our interview with him, "Starting the work all over the house [is a common mistake]. This is usually a guy thing, the do-it-yourselfer who starts jumping around doing this and doing that until he finally runs out steam and the house is a mess."

Haphazard remodeling inevitably leads to a change of plans, and that costs money—a median of $2,000 extra, according to our recent remodeling survey of 17,219 readers. For major additions, that number ballooned to $10,000.

Of course, renovations are complicated, especially if you're managing the project or doing the work yourself. But the more you plan and prioritize, the fewer headaches and cost overruns you'll encounter.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: For more advice on managing a renovation, check out our updated Kitchen-Planning Guide and use our Home Remodeling Guide interactive.