Many people think the best way to get things done and produce more is to muti-task. Laura Stack thinks we have bought into what she calls the myths of multi-tasking; that is, we are doing more than one thing at a time, and we’re increasing our efficiency and productivity by working more quickly.

What we really mean is that we are switching between tasks. When we do that, none of the tasks gets our full attention. In the Journal of Experimental Attention (August 2001), research has shown that multi-tasking actually reduced productivity.

Switching takes time, even if we aren’t aware of what our minds need to do. It was interesting that when experiments were done with people who were carrying out multiple tasks, it was found that performance was detrimentally affected. When people in their twenties were talking on their mobile phones, they had reactions of 70-year-olds. And they were using hands-free phones! In fact, the studies showed their reactions were worse than drunk drivers who exceeded the drink limit by one-and-a-half times! (Human Factors, Winter 2005)

If your job entails you doing lots of different things, concentrate fully on each one as it comes up. This technique is known as ‘spotlighting’. Give whatever you are doing 100% attention, even if it’s for a brief time.

If you remember something you need to get done while you are doing something else, make a note of it, and come back to it later.

Think results, not activity. Focusing on the outcome you want means saying ‘I’ll finish two sections of this report by lunch’ rather than ‘I’ll work on this report for a while’.

Giving yourself deadlines also encourages you to stay focused.Having too much time to accomplish something means you may become wavering and demotivated to complete it.

Make plans but don’t try to make everything perfect. If something isn’t working, try something else. As the Chinese proverb goes “No matter how far down the wrong road you have gone, stop!”

Doing one thing at a time is a good starting point to cut down on stress. Focus and see what happens to your productivity.

So, how good are your multi-tasking skills? That might not be the right question. Instead, ask ‘What should I do to be the most productive?’ Focusing on one task at a time may well be the answer.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

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When you’re in a meeting, do you often find your mind wandering to other stuff that needs doing when the meeting’s finished? Are you sometimes looking through emails on your laptop while also talking to someone else on the phone about totally different matters?

If so, you are probably practicing multi-tasking without realising it. But is this the most effective way of getting work completed?

Well, recent research at Stanford University has unearthed some interesting results concerning when we try to get more done by multi-tasking. They found that people who multi-tasked regularly performed worse on a test of task-switching ability, likely due to the reduced ability to filter out interference from other tasks.

They concluded that we, as humans, are not suited to paying attention to multiple tasks, and having multiple things to do at the same time.

Professor Earl Miller of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that our brains have to skip inefficiently between tasks, because it finds it difficult to concentrate on more than one task at a time, as it causes an overload on its processing capacity.

When we try to multi-task, we are often using the same part of our brain to do two different things, like when we are talking on the phone and writing an email. The processing power simply slows down.

When students took part in an American study, it took them up to 40% longer to completely solve problems when they had to switch to other tasks, than when they spent time solely concentrating on the problem itself.

And Glen Wilson, from the University of London, found that trying to multi-task similar situations could knock a whole 10 points off your IQ: the equivalent of losing a whole night’s sleep.

Does this mean we shouldn’t be doing more than one thing at a time? Naturally, we are able to flit our thoughts around while working on a task, but it seems that we are unable to work faster and accomplish more. In fact it can produce more stress, worry and frustration. We tend to go onto autopilot when we multi-task, and so we don’t use parts of the brain that form strong neural connections.

The obvious answer is to concentrate as much as possible on one thing at a time. But if you have to multi-task, here are some ideas:

• Overload often happens when you’re tired, so try to accomplish more things in the mornings, rather than leaving them to later in the day
• Multi-task with simple things that don’t take much brain work
• Try not to do too many similar things at once, as our brains will be using processing power that will slow down our responses if we do
• Take a break (5 minutes or so) every 90 minutes, so you refresh yourself

By the way, it’s a myth that women can multi-task better than men! Women have learned to do more diverse things better, so their brains are being utilised in a different way. Men can learn that, too!

Anyway, back to those e-mails, before another phone call comes through!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

As much as you want to believe you’re a super-manager, the truth is that you probably aren’t. Now, don’t take that the wrong way. Most of us, believe it or not, are not stellar when it comes to multi-tasking. The real truth is that it is important to take a look at your performance and really understand whether or not you are part of the 2.5% of society (yea, that’s right – just 2.5%) that can multi-task, or if you are part of the 97.5% of society that really isnt’ very good at it. The latter seems a bit more likely, doesn’t it?

What does this mean to you?

It means most of us really aren’t as good at writing an email while talking on the phone as we think.

It means most of us should not be having conversations on the phone while driving – at all – even though we think we’re in control.

It simply means we shouldn’t attempt to do so many things at the same exact time.

Studies have shown that those who multi-task have lower performance levels when their work is evaluated. Meaning each project is considered average, and sometimes sub-par. People who turn in projects they’ve finished one at a time, or that they worked on in small chunks of time that were not dedicated to anything else, did very well with their work projects.

So what are you going to do with your schedule today? Are you going to sit at your desk and try to plan a meeting, read your emails, and double check a report at the same time? Or are you going to dedicate specific amounts of time to each and leave the others alone?

Remember, you don’t have to finish every project before you move on to the next – but you have to alot dedicated time to it without focusing on anything else. That’s when you’ll get true results.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”