Multitasking

Multitasking

How many of us keep checking SMS on our smartphone or tablet while accomplishing a task? Sometimes, older people with a certain life experience don’t hesitate to remind us of terms like “concentration is fading, digital and information overload lead to our attention being constantly interrupted and becoming more volatile.”

Sometimes, in carrying out our various tasks at work, school, or at home, we put ourselves in a risky position. Are we practicing multitasking without even realizing it? So, what is multitasking? Is it good or bad for those who practice it?

What is multitasking?

Multitasking, which is an English expression, is the temptation to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. That is, doing several things at the same time. We do it while being convinced that it contributes to increasing our productivity and the idea of doing more by switching from one task to another without finishing the first, performing two tasks or more in quick succession.

We are in an era where the evolution of new technologies and communication puts us in situations where we do not realize the practice of multitasking in our daily lives.

It’s easy to respond to messages, SMS, emails while attending a work meeting, talking on the phone while browsing a website, etc. Embedded in our habits, we do not notice the effects of multitasking on the accomplishment of our various tasks at work, school, at home, and elsewhere.

However, even though doing several things at once may seem interesting and give us the impression of accomplishing more in less time, the big question that comes back is whether this practice is truly productive for us?

Are there really “multitasking” people?

Nowadays, we cannot ignore that there are people who have more difficulty avoiding the threat of multitasking than others. We can cite four types of personalities that are the most common advocates of multitasking. These individuals provide a conducive ground for the practice of multitasking in their daily lives. They are:

• People who are always looking for potential gain
• People who crave sensations
• People who are convinced they can effectively perform multiple tasks at the same time
• People who are naturally distracted.

What are the consequences of multitasking?

It is often thought that performing multiple tasks at once makes us more productive and efficient. That is why, when we practice it in our daily lives, we tell ourselves, “I maximized my time by accomplishing two tasks in the span of one.”

Even if multitasking offers us a number of advantages in our initial moments of work, we must understand that it actually ruins our productivity. Here are some consequences of multitasking for a person who practices it:

1. Multitasking wastes time

It should be noted that every time we switch from one activity to another, our brain needs a certain amount of time to leave the first activity or task in order to adapt to the new one. This is referred to as “Goal Shifting” and “Rule Activation.”

2. Multitasking creates constant interruptions in your day

It creates a constant interruption during your workday. Your stopping to constantly switch from one activity to another, even if the first is not finished. You lose work time, as well as focus on your work.

3. Multitasking decreases attention and effectiveness

Multitasking also decreases your level of attention and your effectiveness on each activity you try to do at the same time. Know that the brain is not designed to perform two activities simultaneously. Your effectiveness will therefore be reduced in accomplishing both tasks. Multitasking dilutes your attention and makes you mediocre in one task or the other, or worse, in both tasks.

4. Multitasking prolongs the duration of a task

Being dispersed between two or more activities, you extend the time it takes to accomplish a task. Because your time is shared among several activities. Multitasking always prolongs the normal duration of a task.

5. Multitasking decreases intellectual capacities

In addition to wasting time in accomplishing your various activities or tasks, it also affects your intellectual capacities.

6. Multitasking harms your interpersonal relationships and quality of life

Practicing multitasking during group work may lead your collaborators or colleagues to think that you are ignoring certain tasks. Your habit may therefore offend your colleagues or collaborators. The idea is simply to be aware that multitasking can offend people and harm the quality of your relationships.

How to use multitasking and be productive?

It is true that multitasking is a habit that has many harmful effects on those who practice it and on the work done. There is one particular case where this practice can actually help you be more productive and accomplish more. Therefore, for multitasking to be useful in your work, the tasks or activities performed simultaneously must meet a certain number of criteria:

1. Combine simple activities that require little attention

You should be able to perform simple activities simultaneously that require little attention and concentration.

2. Combine activities of lesser importance

Therefore, practice activities of lesser importance, in other words, activities that you are willing to take on. Activities that require less effort on your part. You can then do one of the two tasks with less effectiveness without suffering consequences. You have the possibility to put more energy into one activity while accomplishing the other in the background.

3. Engage in an activity that requires different focus

If the two activities you are trying to do engage the same senses or focus, they will compete and require the same type of energy. This will dilute your energy between these two activities and ruin your effectiveness in each of them.

How to avoid multitasking?

Everything suggests that we are never as effective as when we work in monotask mode. It is therefore possible for each of us to avoid multitasking in the performance of our various tasks or activities. Everything could depend on our organization in work.

Here are some tips that can help you avoid multitasking:

1. Schedule moments of disconnection in your day
2. Organize your workspace
3. Make a list of tasks to accomplish
4. Use a timer!
5. Do exercises to stay focused
6. Take the time to focus on the present
7. Breathe deeply and clear your mind or do meditation exercises