MULTITASKING is the order of the day in our endeavours and pursuits at home and in the workplace.
Many job descriptions state: “Must be able to multitask.”
Even when we are doing something fun, our minds wander off to the next activity or list of tasks waiting for us.
The origin of the term “multitasking” came from computers. People noticed that those gadgets performed several functions at the same time.
When most people refer to multitasking, they mean working on two or more things at the same time.
A law of physics, however, says that no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time. While processes and thoughts are not objects, the same concept applies.
In an exceptional situation, multitasking can be helpful, even productive.
But as we continue to multitask, time is wasted due to human context-switching. We are more distracted, unable to give due attention to tasks and our efficiency and productivity nosedive. In many cases, it can be dangerous, too.
A study by the American Psychological Association (APA) indicates that for complicated or unfamiliar tasks particularly, it is not possible to do two things at the same time and do them both at 100 per cent.
Every time you switch, there is a recovery period associated with it, so you are losing minutes. If you have completed one activity and then move to the other, it would be a lot quicker with better results.
RescueTime, a company that analyses computer habits and draws its data from 40,000 people who have tracking software on their computers, found that on average, a worker stops at 40 websites in a day.
This fractured attention comes at a cost. In the United States, more than US$650 billion (RM2.6 trillion) a year in productivity is lost because of interruptions and mundane matters, says research firm Basex.
The firm says that a big chunk of that cost comes from the time it takes people to recover from an interruption and get back to work.
Besides getting less work done, there is a component of physical damage.
According to APA, constant multitasking causes you to pump adrenaline throughout the day, adrenaline build-up produces stress in your body and stress is tied in to almost 80 per cent of medical expenditures.
We may want to stop and ask ourselves: what is our multitasking style and is it helping or hindering us in getting things done?
On the plus side in favour of multitasking: simple tasks allow for a fast switch in mental focus.
It provides progression, even if slowly, on multiple duties that must be performed and it creates a habit of adaptability.
But on the negative side, multitasking makes it more difficult to accomplish something important in a timely and efficient manner.
It eliminates personal and inter-personal skills, affects one’s energy and enthusiasm levels and leaves us with less time for recreation.
By constantly splitting our attention, we are apprehensive of running behind and being second best. Our outputs are often short of meeting our fullest satisfaction and that of others, too.
Achieving the right balance lies in our ability to prioritise the tasks in hand: those that are critical, followed by importance versus time required for other tasks, to get those that come out on top of our list done in sequence, consecutively not concurrently.
Depending on time and resources available, important tasks that need more time or are ongoing will need to be maintained alongside higher priority ones.
REUBEN DUDLEY,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor