My blog is named Murph Multitasking - basically because that is what I do all day, every day. Is it a habit? Oh yes. Am I good at it? Most of the time. Is it beneficial? According to studies, not one bit.
Take this article from 2008 and a quote from it: "People can't multitask very well, and when people say they can, they're deluding themselves," said neuroscientist Earl Miller. And, he said, "The brain is very good at deluding itself."
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| Graphic from: Instant Productivity Booster: Quit Multitasking by Eva Rykr |
In my job, I multitask. I have my cell phone next to me (though it doesn't get service in my office), a computer in front of me with at MINIMUM three web browser tabs open and papers around me that I need to grab information from or will read to fill me in on something. And that isn't even on game day.
On game day, I have to do stats, which for those who don't know requires using special keystrokes and inputting what is happening on the field, court, etc. into a program, update Twitter and/or Facebook, slowly generate a story in my head or on paper and do whatever else is required while I am in the press box. Every one of those things may seem to appear to be able to be completed and then move on, but that isn't the case. Again, is it effective? I'm not sure, but it is what I HAVE to do. No choice. Must. Complete. All.
The next thing is that while I am at work I am chatting with friends on GMail, playing Words with Friends on Facebook all while writing bios for athletes. Some days I do these all seamlessly without losing my train of thought or getting sidetracked on to a different task or random e-mail. Other days, I can barely complete a sentence to my friend, let alone make sense of what happened last season for an athlete.
For me a lot of how productive I am while multitasking is based on a) the task, b) how rested I am and c) the desire I have to actually do the tasks.
Surprisingly, when I made myself a detailed list of hour-by-hour tasks, it was what I would call the most effective use of my time in a long time. The reason I did this though was internally motivated, I wanted to leave work by 1:30ish in order to get to the east side of the state for a special event. I LITERALLY put a timer on for 10 minutes while I check Facebook and responded on Twitter. Then I worked on something for an hour and gave myself another 10 minutes of the mindless stuff. It worked.
The downside of this is that I do not know what is going to be on my agenda every single day. Most days I know, but sometimes people come into my office and need something and it takes 20-30 minutes away from the time I dedicated to a project.
So I guess what I take away from all of this is that maybe an hour-by-hour to do list every day is an effective way of managing my time and therefore can make me more efficient. Now if I could just break this multitasking habit...
Another good article on multitasking: Instant Productivity Booster
Until next time...
Grad Girl 5.0 out.
I wouldn't have made it through undergrad and grad school without multitasking, so I disagree with the notion that multitasking is not beneficial.
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