I’m fairly certain that you are actually smarter than you act. Sadly, you may be acting stupid, and I’m often in the same boat as you. Without proper focus, you’re doing things. This is not to say that you are stupid, I’d be willing to bet that you aren’t. You’re just doing some stupid things. Just like me.
Why so harsh? There’s an enlightening article in The Atlantic, which basically says that multitasking makes you stupid and slow, and who isn’t multitasking these days?
- The tv’s on in the background while we “work” on a project
- We’re on the phone while driving
- We’re checking email 10 times an hour while writing an article, or performing some vital business task
- The number of web browser windows that are open an awaiting our attention is well in the the double digits
- Chewing gum while walking seems like child’s play–better add a cell phone and a jump rope
It’s a long article, but worth reading if only to scare you straight. I really love the part where a researcher gives hope for multitaskers. He says that people can actually learn to do 2 tasks “at once” as well as someone who does them sequentially. Ah… Hope! Of course, his studies indicate that it takes 2000 times before this is exhibited. So much for the good news.
Computers multi task, and it often slows them down to a crawl. Much of the time, they are responsive. This is usually because they’re doing relatively little in the background. But take your basic machine, and do something like search for all files on the main hard drive that contain the text “internet marketing”. Let it go and find those files. Then start using the machine for something else. Web Browsing. Write an article. Run your virus checker… You’ll likely notice a huge difference in responsiveness of the machine. It’ll take you longer to do what you want to do, and it’ll also take the machine longer to find the files.
This happens for a reason other than the cpu speed. It happens because there’s another bottleneck in the system, the hard drive. Not matter how fast the computer chip can process things, it still needs to access data on the hard drive to accomplish its tasks. The hard drive is extremely slow compared to the cpu, so the cpu ends up waiting around a lot for it to return data.
While I don’t know what the bottleneck in you is, I’m sure at least one exists, and if you are attempting to concentrate one more than one thing at a time, you will slow down, and become stupid. At least temporarily. The easy remedy?
- Do one thing at a time, and do it well.
- Focus only on that one thing.
- Get it done. Finish it.
- Move on the the next thing.
No bottleneck… Just results.How will this work for you?
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I live in Reno, NV with my wife Careen, and the ever so talented kitty named Milo. Programmer by trade, web surfer and learner for fun, I have a ton of interests, and you'll hear about each of them in time!
I think you have a valid point. I multitask entirely too much and I find at times my work suffers. Not until I slow down and begin to focus again on one thing at a time do I get back to producing optimally and to my satisfaction. Sage advice you’ve shared with us.
I agree completely. Multitasking is less efficient than single-tasking because there are switching costs associated with it. Though multitasking may seem more productive at first, the switching costs make it otherwise.
Excellent article! I can only wholeheartedly consent. There is only one thing you could add:
While most of us are really bad at multitasking consciously, the reality is that our unconscious mind is in fact multitasking and by focusing our conscious mind on only one thing we might even strengthen the possibility that were getting other thing done unconsciously, perhaps the creative ideas that we need so desperatly or just a solution to a thinking problem you tried hard to solve…
Mike
Sage advice! As a market trader, I find myself doing several things at once, especially while doing research at night after market hours. This usually leads to some form of distraction in one way or another and a total lack of focus!
Good insight!
Phil
I work in the corporate world and I can tell you that Nobody actually multitasks except for people with very low-level jobs. Most people switch from task to task and in the process waste a lot of mindspace by having to constantly refocus.
I multitask, but to a certain extend. Like for example listening to music and and typing a school report.
I think it all depends on what kind of “multitasking” we are talking about..
I think multitasking is ok if you keep it to a minimum. I can type and listen to the radio. However if I add being on the phone to that then it can get out of control quickly.
auch … isn’t multitasking a women thing?
be careful my friend, your wife might stop cooking your food, while filling up an other laundry machine and taking care for the bay, while on the phone with your best friends wife planning you guys next BBQ … better take this discussion from another perspective …
sure, don’t put the TV on, but there are plenty of tasks you can easily do simultaneous, while there are others you just can’t
so, it all depends on the matter at hand …
Right you are! For me it’s always difficult to write my work and talk by phone simultaneously. Actually, none of these things is really done when I’m trying to combine them.
I have to agree with you that multitasking is not the best thing when it comes to quality and concentration. There are other small jobs though that are either too unimportant or too boring to do that I prefer to multitask. Mostly because it can’t keep my attention very long. But luckily there is still something like outsourcing for those little jobs.
Great read thanks. I think multi-tasking is a no go because you don’t give any task 100% of your attention. Half the attention is like half a job..
This article is pretty good but I think there are different kinds of multitasking. For example, I can bounce back and forth between multiple computers and accomplish quite a bit of work. If there are tasks that can be automated but require a bit of oversight, I can keep an eye on that task while working on another primary task.
I couldn’t agree more. Splitting your attention does not always save you time. In fact sometimes it costs you time, because you make mistakes, and then have to do it over again.
I totally agree with you. Multitasking does not work really well when you are trying to do two important things at once. 2 small tasks sure it will work perfectly fine, but if it involves actually thought process sticking to one thing at a time will definitely pay off in the long run and save your time.
Thats so true. It may be good at profession start-up or when you are teen, with so much excitement. But not in the long run. In fact you may compromise quality of both/all things being multitasked. I think it comes as you get more stable internally.
I’ve never seen it written so strongly, but how right you are. It is for this reason I finally got smart and turn off my email for most of the day – I was finding myself constantly interupted and it was effecting my work.
In general, I agree with this; multitasking can have its advantages, but it is very difficult for me to put anything close to 100% effort into each task if I’m trying to do two or more things at once.
Multitasking can work OK for things like surfing traffic exchanges, doing boring clicks on PTR sites, etc. But for any type of really important work I have found that it is better to give each project my full attention so that I don’t have to worry about the quality suffering later.
You are so right with the “do one thing and do it well”! – Starting multiple projects at once makes you much less productive than focusing your attention on one thing.
Well thats what my wife keeps telling me anyway…mind you, now she is pregnant she is just about as bad…multi tasking…not my strength
This is so true… I often try to do more than one thing at once and it always brings down my productivity. I guess a first measure could be to close Outlook because always being interrupted by emails is one of the biggest brakes…
Thanks for sharing this
Mike
Yes, though I’m guilty of it myself, I have to say it is not a lot of fun talking to someone who is multi-tasking (reading other emails, working on a document, etc.) at the same time. I’ve been tempted to say “call me back when you can talk”, but my own guilt about doing the same thing stopped me!