For years, as a student, and as a mom, I prided myself on being a capable and neurotic multitasker. I could perform diaper changes, read books aloud, check my email, and feed the cat all at the same time – or so I thought.
I also thought that I was so good at multitasking, that the list of things I was doing could be endless, and I’d still be able to multitask.
It even got to the point where if I wasn’t multitasking, not only did I feel like I was be inefficient, I felt withdrawal symptoms – almost as if I could not get anything done if I wasn’t doing at least three things at once.
Well, as things do, it caught up to me. There is way too much to do, and very little of it is getting done. Now, I am trying to wake up to the fact that multitasking is not a very good way to go about getting work done.
Are you with me? Do you do any of the following?
- Check email/twitter/RSS feeds 10-50 times a day?
- Start one thing, get distracted by another thing, then start that thing, then get distracted by another thing, and so on, and get very little done?
- Think about doing things more often than you do them?
- Have 10 projects going on at once?
If you say yes to more than one of these questions, you might have a problem with multitasking.
Now, don’t get me wrong, multitasking can be a very important skill. In some cases, multitasking allows us to be more effecient, say, cleaning while we’re talking on the phone. It’s when we start to be overcome by not being able to focus on one thing at a time (at least once in a while), to its completion, that it becomes even more inefficient than not doing anything at all.
I’m a multitasker, and my husband is a uni-tasker. I used to think that I had a better system than he did. But over years of observing his process, and observing mine, I realized that it’s not better. In fact, in many instances, his process is more effective at getting the job done. And when I really, really need something done, especially if it takes a lot of time and effort, it’s my husband I call to, because I know he won’t get distracted by the fifteen billion other things that call out to be dealt with.
Learning to cope with this personality trait has been a slow, and sometimes painful, journey. ZenHabits has a great list of ideas, some of which are giving me hope of overcoming this disability. I also have some tricks to keep me from letting the dishes, laundry, Amazon, and other things be a distraction. Perhaps if you have a multitasker in your house, you’ll have tricks to share too.
- Going to the library or a cafe and only bringing the work I need to do.
- Turning off Twitter, email and IM when it’s time to write. (Also turning off TV, Video games, etc.)
- Giving myself a very short to-do list that HAS to be done before anything else gets done. (Then, when I finish them, I have something fun lined up.)
- Meditating before I work.
- Waiting until the last minute so that it HAS to get done. (Not recommended, but very effective.)
Since I am a multitasker by nature (or nurture), I can’t sustain focused energy on one task for too long. It feels too good to multitask, so after a while, I need to get a fix. Interestingly, the more interesting the task, the easier it is to focus. (Hold on, hubby is IMing me…)
Ok, back. Anyway, when I sit and focus for a long time, it does make me really tired. But to be honest, so does multitasking! And not only does multitasking make me tired, I sometimes don’t get very much done. It FEELS like I’m getting a lot done in the moment. But when I look back, it’s the moments when I don’t feel much of anything, and that I’m focussed, that I look back and see how much I did. You know, the “zone” or what Mihály Csíkszentmihályi called “flow“.
Do you multitask? What’s your experience with it? How about your kids? Is there any hope for me to recover from this addiction? Or should I succumb to it and accept that it’s part of who I am, and work with what I’ve got?
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September 19, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I used to be a mad crazy multi-tasker with a to-do list a mile long. I don’t think that multi-tasking, in and of itself, is necessarily a bad thing…I think it turns into a bad thing when we’re pulling in a million and one things at the same time that really aren’t necessary to do. Its almost like when you realize how much you can supposedly accomplish by doing 70 things at once, you think, “Wonder if I can do 75?” and you figure out five more things to add. The all important to-do list becomes this list that never gets finished because it is forever being added to. I think doing a few things at once can be productive, but only if its to actually save time on things that are a priority – not just to do a lot of things to fill up our time. Good luck!
September 19, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I’ve gone back and forth about this because I am an inveterate multitasker–maybe that goes hand-in-hand with being an inveterate volunteer, too! Anyway, lately I’ve been embracing the part of me that seems most happy and fulfilled when I have a lot going on, because for me that seems to be a natural part of my personality. There is so much I am interested in and so much I want to do that there are not hours enough in the day, week, month, or year for me to restrict myself to doing only one thing at a time. I think it all began when I first became a mom and learned to nurse the babe and read a book while massaging my husband’s feet, that sort of thing, and my penchant for doing several things at once was born! Really, though, the trick is to know when to unitask (like for instance how to listen with all your attention when someone’s talking with you), when to focus on one thing (like just getting the dishes done, no excuses or distractions!), and when you can afford to try to be like Elasti-Girl stretching in several directions all at once!
September 19, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Tammy,
Take a look at this website:
http://www.davidco.com
David Allen and his book “Getting things Done” has changed my work life.
Tom
September 19, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Kari,
I agree with you that sometimes you have to multi-task. There’s no choice when kids are calling for your attention.
However, it’s also true that multi-tasking is really “switch-tasking” (see http://tiny.cc/XyaKl) and no matter how good you get at switching from task to task, it’s impossible to give either task your best when you keep switching.
Now, like Tammy, I tend to use the last minute approach. Over the years, I’ve realized that about myself, and I’ve gotten better.
But, when others are counting on you, as with parenting & volunteering, it’s hard to stay on schedule. Or, maybe that’s just an excuse.
Perhaps, by turning off all the distractions, I’d get the work done on time.
On the other hand, there can be a cost to uni-tasking – ignoring your kids, online opportunities, or other distractions that make the journey sweet.
Sorry, I’m totally ambivalent on this subject!
September 19, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Being a mom takes multitasking to a new level. I’m multitasking all day just to get the basics done, so I don’t have much energy left for the myriad of other projects I want to complete.
I get more satisfaction out of doing one thing well than ten half-way, but that takes a measure of focus which has been lacking. It’s time to prune the to do list again.
September 20, 2008 at 10:53 am
My grandmother raised seven kids, most with less than two year’s age difference, two with less than one year’s age difference. She could multi-task like no one I’ve ever known. After her kids were raised I’d marvel at her idea of “doing nothing”- crocheting, while reading a book (propped open with something), while watching a show on tv, while listening to the news on the radio. It exhausted me just to be in the presence of her “doing nothing.” But somehow when my own young children came along I was sure it was the only the answer. I realized I’d hit my rock bottom when I went into the bathroom to pee and found myself sitting there picking up and throwing out the trash on the floor and putting away the tub toys scattered about the tub and straightening the counter and nearly making a mess of myself with all my precarious turns and twists. I realized two things, that the bathrooms in this house really are much to small if I can reach the whole thing from the throne and that I could no longer stand to waste the time just peeing. My bladder just isn’t so large that I can’t afford that much peace, honestly how much time could a person lose emptying one? So now I multi-task by meditating in my duck pen while I wait for their water to refill. A much more Zen way to multi-task. And I try to be mindful of my other attempts to do it all, but the temptation is still there.
September 21, 2008 at 10:52 am
I struggle with this, too. It has gotten so bad that sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind…I start something and then get distracted with something else and then move onto something else and then 4 hours later I realize I never started the washing machine, even tho I loaded the clothes in.
I am trying to remember to be in the moment.
I find myself doing the last thing on your coping list- waiting till the last minute…which I hate doing and I hate the stress, but it is when I am most efficient.
I figure it will take baby steps to learn to think differently.
nice post subject!
September 24, 2008 at 12:39 pm
This is interesting.
I’ve always thought myself sort of inferior because I’ve never been able to multitask like Hubby or my kids or my friends.
Distraction actually frustrates me to no end and I much prefer to be able to focus on one thing at a time. Sure there have been times when I’ve HAD to juggle several things at once but it’s generally a bother.
I always wished I had the capacity to do several things at once…until reading this post that is. Now I’m a little more appreciative of my “one track” style.
Hey, maybe instead of behind the times, I’m actually ahead of them.
October 7, 2008 at 10:34 am
I completely agree. Most of the moms I spend my time with marvel at multi-tasking, but today’s multi-tasking isn’t the same as what it once was. Personally, I get the most distracted when I’m online. There’s just SO much information out there and so many things to investigate. Before I start real work I have to turn off my gmail notifier and such so that I can get into a workzone. Even in my workzone I am multi-tasking by working with a large number of articles at once while writing my own stuff. It’s plenty to handle at once.
Fun post, thanks! In addition to what someone shared above, another article I read a few years back about multi-tasking is here:
http://www.apa.org/releases/multitasking.html