Found an interesting article a while back on one of my favorite websites, Lifehacker. The topic was multitasking and how it is not as effective as it is really made out to be.
While it is not a new concept, from where I am standing it seems that multitasking seems to be a "hot" term in marketing, productivity, and technology. I find myself berated by the concept everywhere I go, whether it be websites/blogs or even an app store my favorite device. Turns out that I spend more time reading about how to multitask and be more productive than I spend actually getting stuff done. Furthermore, my iPad and Droid phone are practically bursting with clever apps that promise to help me do more quicker. Again, I spend more time downloading, researching, and learning to integrate these apps in my life than I spend getting things done. So far, I've only talked about how distracting of a marketing term multitasking can be.
Maybe it is the era we find ourselves in. Nowadays, it seems just sitting down to watch a good movie isn't enough to keep us entertained. We play on our phones or laptop while we watch TV or listen to music. My theory is that our brains have adjusted to all the "stimuli", enabling us to process more. On the other hand, this leaves us less stimulated by that which we may have found sufficient a couple years ago. So, of course our natural tendency is to drift towards multitasking when it comes to getting actual work done.
But, do we really get more done? Or do we feel like we are getting more done? From my own experiences, I've begun to realize that the more I do, the less I get done. So I have tried my best to make a habit of choosing one task at a time. That one task gets 100% of my focus until its complete, then I move on. While it is still tempting to allow myself to start incorporating other things into my workflow, if I can resist the urge, I find myself ending a hard day of work with a better feeling of accomplishment and more tasks having been completed off my to-do list.
That's just my two cents. Agree or not, I suggest checking out the article I referred to in the link below.
Debunking The Myth of Multitasking
No comments:
Post a Comment