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Multitasking & Stress Reduction Part 1
By Brick | February 24, 2008
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Editor’s Note: This is the first post in a multi-part series on multitasking and stress reduction.
About a month ago I wrote on multitasking, or rather on how people do not actually multitask in the truest sense of the word. When it comes to people, the term multitasking is most accurately used to describe switching continuously between multiple single tasks over a period of time. In contrast to the common practice of multitasking, I noted that success in an endeavour has been characterized by some as the ability to single task: focus on the truly important, without interruption, to completion.
The reality is that we all have to switch between tasks sooner or later. Even if we have the ability to single task for long periods of time, we inevitably still have other tasks and activities that need to get done. By way of a practical example, consider that you are working on a company project that will take approximately three months to complete. While I am sure the ability to focus on that single project for extended periods of time will be helpful, if not critical, to success; at some point during these three months we can easily imagine that one will have to read and respond to email, make and return phone calls, follow up on issues with other projects, meet with your peers (or manager, shareholders, employees, employers, etc.) and at the same time take care of the multitude of demands of life outside work. Not to mention that within the project itself, we can easily imagine a multitude of different tasks and activities that will require completion. So in some sense, multitasking is a reality that we have to live with and probably need to actively manage.
I wanted to drill down from my earlier post on multitasking into a more detailed look at the subject. This series of posts will consider the following questions:
- Is multitasking a good or a bad thing?
- How might multitasking be related to stress?
- How is single tasking beneficial?
- What is the best way to practice multitasking if and when it is necessary to switch between tasks?
Subsequent posts in this series will look at a model for how our minds work when it comes to performing and switching between different tasks, some empirical data from task switching experiments and how this model helps explain these results, and lastly, strategies for multitasking and stress reduction in the form of time management tips.
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Topics: Time Management Tips |
