Confucius once said, “The man who chases two rabbits, catches none” – or something like that. Multitasking is a bit like chasing two rabbits – we set our sights on one goal, then shift them to another while still trying to keep track of the first goal. In the end, instead of completing multiple tasks more quickly, they often end up taking longer and aren’t done as well as if we had focused on one at a time.
I used to think I was a good (make that great) multi-tasker. I could carry on a phone conversation and check email at the same time. Ha – I sure was surprised a while ago during a phone conversation with a business associate when she asked me what I thought of her idea and I realized I had no idea what she was talking about. I was reading my emails while she was talking, and somehow my brain stopped paying attention even though my ears were well aware of the fact that she was talking. As it turns out, our brain can’t multitask, but rather, it switches back and forth between activities, paying attention to only one at a time – or in my case, eventually paying attention to only one thing for an extended period of time.
The New York Times reports that, “While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress. And scientists are discovering that even after the multitasking ends, fractured thinking and lack of focus persist.”
It’s understandable that we feel the need to multitask – our lives are becoming increasingly complex, ironically due in part to the technology that was supposed to make our lives easier. We are constantly accessible by phone, email and text messages help make sure we’re never caught up on our communications, and social media soaks up even more of our time. Our attention is being pulled in so many directions that we feel as though we have to multitask just to keep our heads above water.
Ever since my embarrassing phone fiasco, I’ve made a point not to multitask, or to stop it as soon as I’m aware I’m doing it. I’ve found that when my eyes as well as my brain are purposely focused on one thing at a time I feel less frazzled and more in control. Without trying to sound overbearing, I’d like to challenge you to stop whatever multitasking you engage in, just for a day, or even just for an hour, and let me know how it affects your productivity.
Best wishes for success,
The first time I heard a particular radio commercial of a major home improvement store, I though I had misheard it. But when I heard the same commercial a second time, I became alarmed as I realized that thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people might think its message was accurate. The message? Buy storage containers for “important” stuff, “not so important” stuff, and “not sure why I’m keeping” stuff and “you’ll be organized for the new year.” Well if tossing stuff into storage bins is all it takes to get organized, there’s no reason anyone would ever be disorganized. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. As I’ve mentioned before, and as I put into practice with my clients, using containers is just one step in the process of getting organized, and it’s not the first step. And while putting things into bins as the commercial suggests might look better than having them scattered all over, it most likely won’t help you easily find things when you need them. And that’s the whole reason for getting organized – to make life easier and save you from hunting all over to find things. So go ahead and use store’s suggested method if it works for you. But for those of you who would merely end up with a containerized mess rather than a visible mess, remember that tried and true methods of setting up organizational systems have a much greater chance of being successful for you in the long run.
