Comments on: Multitasking = cognitive hell.

By: Tim Walker

Tim Walker — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:20:50 +0000

If the tasks are *truly* mundane, I agree. Nothing keeps you from listening to the radio while you fold laundry, for example. By extension, the guy in the mailroom can sort the mail while he’s jamming out on his iPod.

But if you’re doing anything that requires abstract thought, I’m dubious. Even things that seem simple go a lot faster and get done a lot cleaner when they get done without distraction or interruption.

By: Johnny

Johnny — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:15:11 +0000

I agree that multitasking is detrimental to finishing one complex task. Anything requiring a lot of concentration is at risk from constant interruptions. But I think that it’s great for mundane tasks. Which probably account for a lot more of our work than we realize.

By: Tim Walker

Tim Walker — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:06:54 +0000

I agree with pretty much everything you say here, Steve.

In particular, I like your point about the VP who listened to you intently despite the distractions. I think we often miss opportunities to have that kind of impact on others (customers, colleagues, proteges, family members, et al.) who could really benefit from even a little bit of our focused time.

By: Steve Luhnow

Steve Luhnow — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:41:53 +0000

I submit that we must all manage our time. One of the old ‘management’ tests is the inbox. What does the individual choose to work first and what is the priority. During my normal day I will multitask during status meetings (we have all heard the excuses before) and while on the email. But, for a conversation with a customer, be it phone or face to face, I try to devote my entire attention to the conversation, e.g. what is not being verbalized.

The flip side of mutitasking for the person on the other side of the conversation, is that you are not important to the person multitasking. You rank there with the email, headlines, etc. I still remember as a young man, a VP of another company talking to me in a crowded room and I knew I had his whole attention in spite of the distractions around us. I was important to him. Talk about a shot to my self esteem.

It is a sad commentary on the rudeness of our society today that Texting, Twittering, Phones, and Crackberries are as important to us as the person face to face in front of us.

Regina Brett, in The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) puts it in a question, “In five years, will this matter?” Maturity is in reality making better choices in life. It is through your choices that you manage your life and time.

By: Is it time to Stop!?

Is it time to Stop!? — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:28:25 +0000

[...] with a lot of what Tim talks about in many of his posts. Tim has written a few articles about not multitasking, closing your email, and even being mindful of your time. He has some great ideas but frankly I [...]

By: Quit Crashing the Browser. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

Quit Crashing the Browser. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:06:32 +0000

[...] Just as a television series doesn’t want to “jump the shark” and slide into mediocrity, the savvy knowledge worker doesn’t want to “crash the browser” — either literally, as in this case, or figuratively, in the broader sense of trying to access so many streams of information at once that your brain shuts down. [...]

By: ONE thing DONE. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

ONE thing DONE. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:45:11 +0000

[...] It’s the opposite of multitasking, which is the great poison of the modern workplace. [...]

By: Cleaning Out the Notebook II: Self-management. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:01:30 +0000

[...] readers will know that I’m a foe of multitasking. Rosen’s exposition of the phenomenon and its pitfalls is excellent. [...]

By: What if your company outlawed multitasking? -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

Tue, 27 May 2008 19:39:40 +0000

[...] from Jon Lebkowsky, this one from Josh Waitzkin (via Tim Ferriss), and, while we’re at it, this golden oldie from yours [...]

By: rsomers

rsomers — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:40:12 +0000

The message that ‘multitasking doesn’t work for tasks beyond a given level of complexity’ is frequently oversimplified to ‘multitasking doesn’t work.’

Spira’s number isn’t a net number. It doesn’t take into account the gain from multitasking on non-complex tasks. For example, firing off a quick Crackberry response to a non-critical email while in line at the grocery store gives me time back.

Looking at it another way, let’s say I perform two tasks at the same time, and the multi-tasking costs 40% of my effectiveness at each. That means I’m performing each task 60% as well as I would if I single-tasked. Sounds woeful, but I’m performing 120% of what I would be otherwise. If the quality of task performance isn’t critical (think waiting in line again), I come out ahead. There are many things in life that it is important to do but not important to do well.

The trick isn’t to avoid multitasking, it’s to identify the important tasks that require focused attention. Driving is obvious, but talking to your spouse or children is just as important. If you’re going to fire off Crackberry responses while in line at the grocery store, have the self-discipline to understand which emails should wait for focused attention.

Curmudgeons and old fogies like me resist multitasking because we haven’t grown up doing that kind of prioritization. We rationalize it with bad math based on the faulty assumption that all tasks are equally important. Millennials that have grown up with it do it more fluidly.