Don’t Do Many Things At
A Time
Ashim Kumar Paul
In your busy, hectic academic
world where you are often bound to meet the frequent class exams, assignments,
presentations etc. you have to do your other ‘important’ tasks along with your
academic activities within the short time frame. Or, suppose, in the morning
when you wake up and have breakfast, you get a call from a friend who is also a member of the group that has
been allotted to submit an assignment and make a presentation which will be
held the next day. Just as you keep the call, you get an SMS from one of your
group members when your mother asks you when you’ll be going out. As you reply
her, you keep on reading the message. Then, during your conversation with her,
you start updating your to-do-list.
With a view to enhancing
our efficiency, many of us multitask in this way to some degree. In a world
where the swiftness of life is often expeditious, people who can multitask are typically regarded as
efficient and effective. In fact, people are prone to
multitasking that is defined as the
best performance by an individual to cope with more than one task at the same
time. Some hold the notion that multitasking can give rise to time waste due to
switching from activity to activity and
apparently causing more errors due to insufficient attention.
The term "multitasking" originated in the computer engineering industry. It refers to the ability of a
microprocessor to apparently process several tasks simultaneously. Computer multitasking in single core microprocessors actually involves time-sharing the processor; only one task can actually be active
at a time, but tasks are rotated through many times a second. With multi-core computers, each core can perform a separate task
simultaneously. The first published use of the word "multitask" appeared
in an IBM paper describing the capabilities of the IBM System/360 in 1965.
Many studies regarding multitasking have been carried
out over the last decade, and most of them have generated the same conclusion:
Multitasking doesn't make us more productive! Several studies have found that multitasking can actually result in
us wasting around 20-40 percent of our time, depending on what we're trying to
do. The simple reason that multitasking doesn't work is because we can't
actually focus on more than one task at a time. But we think we can – so we
multitask to try and get more done.
Take another example; you’re reading your text book to
make yourself prepared for the upcoming examination while your eyes are glued
to the television screen at the same time as one of your favourite movies is
being aired. In both of these tasks, communication is involved. You can't concentrate
on your studies and watch a movie on the television at the same time. The tasks
are too conflicting – your mind gets overloaded as you try to switch between
the two tasks. Although these two tasks are a bit easier to do together because
they involve different skills, your attention to your studies will fade in and
out as you're watching the movie. You simply can't fully focus on both things simultaneously.
The biggest dilemma with multitasking is that it can deplete
the quality of our work – we try to do two things or more things at once, and
the result is that we do everything less well than if we focused properly on
each task in turn.
When we switch tasks, our minds must align to cope
with the new information. If we try to do this rapidly, like while we're
multitasking, we simply can't devote our full attention and focus to every
switch. So the quality of our work is compromised. The more complex or
technical the tasks we're switching between, the bigger the drop in quality is
likely to be. For instance, it would be almost impossible to write a
good-quality presentation while having an emotionally charged conversation with
a co-worker! Indeed, sustained thought is impaired when one’s attention is
partial or cracked.
Another key drawback to multitasking is the effect it
exerts on our stress levels. Managing multiple things simultaneously makes us
feel overwhelmed, shattered and frazzled.
On the other contrary, assume how happy you feel when
your full concentration is given to one task. You are able to give your utmost
attention, and you'll probably finish it feeling as if you have not only
completed something, but done it well. This is called being in flow and it is a
skill that can be developed with some practice.
It can be hard to identify when you're multitasking.
But there are a few key indicators you can look for:
- If several pages or tabs are opened on your computer, then you are probably multitasking. The same goes for your desk – if you have several file folders or papers out that you're working on, you might well be multitasking.
- Multitasking is more likely to be done when you're working on a project or task you're not excited about. For instance, creating a spreadsheet analysis might be an unwelcome task, so you might frequently check your email or do some research on a new assignment in order to lessen the pain of the current task.
- Frequent interruptions can also cause you to multitask. For instance, you might be writing your next class’s report when a classmate comes to your reading desk with a question for you. You then carry on trying to tinker with your study as you answer his question.
·
The idea that women
are better multitaskers than men has been popular in the media. Recently, a
study by British psychologist Professor Keith Laws at the University of Hertfordshire
was widely reported in the press to have provided the first evidence of female
multitasking superiority albeit a formal research paper has yet to be
published.
·
Observers of youth in
modern society often comment upon the apparently advanced multitasking
capabilities of the youngest generations of humans (Generation Y and Generation Z). While it is true that contemporary researchers find
that youths in today’s world exhibit high levels of multitasking, most experts
believe that members of the Net Generation are not any better at multitasking
than members of older generations. However, recent studies by Bardhi, Rohm, and
Sultan argue that Generation Y is becoming better at media multitasking. This
is evidenced by the fact that they are gaining control over deciding which
messages they pay attention to or not. Furthermore, while there is a great deal
of evidence showing the negative effects of multitasking on cognitive tasks,
there is no evidence showing that multitasking has a positive or neutral effect
on these tasks.
If we want to develop the quality of our work, reduce our
stress levels, and become more efficient, we need get out of the multitasking
habit. Some suggestions to help you cut back on multitasking are provided below:
- Plan your day in blocks. Set specific times for returning calls, answering emails, and doing research.
- Manage your interruptions. Keep a log showing who interrupts you the most, and how urgent the requests are. Once you have compiled a week’s worth of interruptions, politely but assertively approach your friends and acquaintances with a view to managing and reducing their interruptions.
- Learn how to improve your concentration so you can focus properly on one task at a time. Doing this may feel ill at ease at first if you frequently multitask. But you'll be surprised at how much you get done just by concentrating on one thing at a time.
- Every time you go to check your email or take a call when you're actually supposed to be doing something else, take a deep breath and resist the urge. Focus your attention back to what you're supposed to be doing.
- If you get an audible or visual alert when emails come in, turn it off. This can help you avoid the temptation to check your inbox whenever you get new mail.
- Whenever you find yourself multitasking, stop. Take five minutes to sit quietly at your desk with your eyes closed. Even short breaks like this can change your mind, reduce your stress levels, and improve your concentration. Plus it can give your brain a welcome break during a hectic day.
- There will be times when something urgent comes up and you can't avoid interruptions. But instead of trying to multitask through these, stop and make a note of where you left your current task. Record any thoughts you had about how to move forward. Then deal with the immediate problem, before going back to what you were doing. This way you'll be able to handle both tasks well, and you'll leave yourself with some clues to help you restart the original task more quickly.
- If you find your mind wandering when you should
be focusing on something else, you need to guide your thoughts back to
what you are doing by putting yourself in the moment. For example, you
might be attending an important class lecture, but thinking about the exam
that is likely to be held the next day. Tell yourself, "I am in this class,
and need to focus on what I'm learning here." Often, acknowledging
the moment can help keep you focused.
