Multi-tasking

I thought that multi-tasking was specific to the female of our species – apparently not. So I could not resist this article to restart my blogging.

This great article by Mary McDonald, CEO/CTO of the McDonald Consulting Group http://www.mcdcg.com/10.html , an occasional client of mine, explains why multi-tasking can be detrimental to productivity.

Multi-tasking vs. Single Focus

People have different opinions on multi-tasking vs. one focus approach… so which is better?

“The Myth of Multitasking” by Christine Rosen details several reasons why multi-tasking is not the optimum approach:

a fall in IQ (more so than if the subject were smoking marijuana
decrease in learning
negative impact on productivity (affecting the economy?)
lost ‘brain time’ as the brain works to juggle several tasks
and many more.

I’ve seen first-hand how multi-tasking affects our decision making — while sitting at a light waiting to make a left, I watched a woman coming through the intersection from the other side, talking on a cell phone, and drive right into a telephone pole. She never braked until she actually impacted the pole; and she continue to chat as she got out of the SUV to inspect her damage! Unluckily for her, a patrol car was at the red light on the cross street; he simply flicked on his lights and pulled over to write her up.

When trying to get a project complete, divide the project into smaller tasks. This tip: do those smaller tasks in their entirety prior to moving on to the next step.

Good ways to accomplish this:

ignore the phone and email while working on a project
set aside time on your calendar to do research, gather materials, and write rough drafts
work from start to finish without pause, if possible
if you must break, take a break at a logical stopping point, and leave your materials in place for easy restart

WARNING: These simple ideas may cause you to become more focused, productive, and happy. PROCEED WITH CAUTION! <grin!>

Terence Kierans CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
Principal, Cyberspace Virtual Services, Western Australia
www.virtualservices.com.au – Experience the Difference
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2007 Thomas Leonard International VA of Distinction Award Nominee
Contented Member of ‘A Clayton’s Secretary’
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