Multitasking: Everyone does this to some extent. Some people attempt to do more things at once than others, but it is almost a requirement now to be able to work. I recently heard of a job posting that listed “multitasking abilities” as one of the prerequisites for the job.
Yet, in counterpoint, research shows that when we attempt to do two things at once we are not as effective at either one, and both tasks will take longer to accomplish than if we were to focus on one activity at a time.
We know that we can get more done when we are able to concentrate on a specific area. It’s one of the reasons we come in to work early and stay late–the interruptions are limited at those times and we can focus on the task at hand.
Besides mental limitations with multitasking behaviors, there are also physical repercussions. Driving accidents due to distractions are one example of serious consequences. Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute lists some of the driving distractions that lead to crashes and near-crashes:
1. using a cell phone or other wireless device
2. interacting with passengers
3. reaching for CDs
4. tinkering with your dashboard, like programming radio stations
Start to think about ways that you can group types of activities so that you can focus on one thing at a time, both with work hours and personal time. You will actually get more done and also be less stressed!
3 responses so far ↓
1 D // Jan 25, 2007 at 11:33 pm
in the workplace though when productivity is a major factor wouldn’t you say that multi-tasking can shaves sec. that turn into mins. to meet the company productivity standards, not over doing multi-tasking but getting one task underway & then starting another, I use this because of computer slowness, when asked about this I’m told that because co-workers within the usage perimeter is either high band-width websites
2 Denise // Jan 27, 2007 at 9:26 am
It is true we will never totally eliminate multi-tasking. All we can do is find the best methods to limit the need for this. Grouping similar activities instead of bouncing back and forth is a way to cut down. On the other hand, you are talking about not wasting minutes when you know there’s a gap in time. Having small items available to fill in that space, items that don’t require much concentration like scanning a newsletter or signing a form while you wait can actually avoid the frustration of sitting and staring at a slow-responding computer. Constant frustration builds up stress, and that’s another work issue.
3 CSPD » Blog Archive » Be Efficient, Unitask! // Apr 10, 2009 at 10:20 am
[...] why: research has shown that multitasking is not efficient. Several studies have conclusively shown that those trying to do multiple activities simultaneously [...]