In Defense of Multi-Tasking

Rich says on July 22nd, 2009 at 10:19 am

Multi-tasking is the art of getting everything half-done. As apposed to true multi-tasking, I prefer multi-tasking in a single-chip PC sense – give a load of things my full attention one-by-one in 3 minute segments! Get everything done, without getting either bored or distracted!

Simon says on July 22nd, 2009 at 12:27 pm

I find lifehack articles in general well-researched, well thought-out and useful. This article is none of these. “It was tedious work that I literally could have done in my sleep” – no you couldn’t, unless you programmed it – look up the meaning of “literal”. Then “work’s more fun when the TV’s on.” – no it’s not, I bet you’re not actually working (even thinking about work) while you’re watching TV. And “do as many mindless things as possible, all at the same time.” – quite the opposite – eliminate the mindless things you can and be mindful of the ones you can’t.

Sally says on July 22nd, 2009 at 12:33 pm

I’ve multitasked for years now and have gotten really tired of the bad rap it always gets. I’m one who switches easily between many tasks, and it never has made sense to me to just do one. How boring, unless it’s something complicated enough to take my full attention. I also get things done better that way; I seem to come up with more creative solutions for all the tasks I’m doing. I think maybe the people who hate multitasking just aren’t mentally and emotionally wired to do more than one thing at a time, but not everyone is wired that way. I’m wired for the multi-tasking approach and glad to hear from someone else who is too!

Paul Baarn says on July 22nd, 2009 at 1:22 pm

Well, hope you’re wearing your flame-resistant suite. :-)
Always nice to see a view that is different from the mainstream. I think the success or failure of it might depend on your age. If you grew up and studied in this time of information and activity overload, you are better equipped for multi-tasking. It takes practice.

Travis says on July 22nd, 2009 at 2:09 pm

I guess multi-tasking can work here and there, although I still find my more resourcefulness to come from when I pour my full attention into one specific thing at a time.

I guess it also depends on the scope of the project, as some things don’t NEED a full attention span, they maybe only need 25% or so. For example, you can be partially watching the tube, surfing the net, working on some advertising, and setting up an outline for your next blog post, none of which require a full 100% attention span (at least not for me.)

Sheldon says on July 22nd, 2009 at 2:14 pm

I’ve been reading, with a bit of smugness, a lot of the anti-multitasking articles around the blogosphere lately. My thoughts are similar to yours – if you can’t cook, do laundry, and watch tv all at the same time (and do them all well, by the way) you’ve got issues. In my world multitasking is the ONLY way to do mindless and time-consuming things. Yes, if the task takes thought, then do only that task. Many of the articles I’ve been reading recently seem to suggest that to multitask ANY task reduces the quality of work done. Let’s face it – not all tasks require undivided attention. Thanks for the article!

David says on July 22nd, 2009 at 4:36 pm

There are very few things that require 100% focus – but when they do you really do need to give them that. A lot of the anti multi-tasking is about work related tasks. And it’s all true – the context switch means that although you are ‘doing’ more than one thing at once it will probably take you longer.

That isn’t true of other things – you can easily multi-task things that don’t require your full attention. In fact most people do it ALL of the time.

Ironing or exercising whilst watching TV is actually better – because it does take a monotonus task that would otherwise be boring and makes the time go quicker.

But then when something does require your full focus and attention you and you can do that you will find that you can enter a state of ‘flow’ where you just get on and do it and don’t notice the time passing by.

Sadly this seems really difficult in a modern workplace – it is full of distractions from email notifications, IM, phone calls or even people just interrupting you at your desk.

That’s the sort of multi-tasking that I can do without!!

Kim says on July 22nd, 2009 at 5:40 pm

As a single parent of a very active 3 year old, a full-time student who holds down a full-time job and does a bit of web development work I would be lost without multitasking. Not to mention the fact that I’ve been a multitasker before I knew it existed, I just function better that way.

Charley Forness says on July 22nd, 2009 at 5:53 pm

Multitasking is a necessity for alot of us. I have infant triplets, a full time job, a rock band, landlord responsibilities for six apartments, and a budding writing side business. You do what you can, when you can. I will often write an article while listening to a non-fiction book to come up with more article ideas. When I cook, I will read some more information when I am not actively flipping or slicing the food. It is a reality and I don’t see how most single-taskers even pull it off. I understand identifying and focusing on what’s important, but with a family, there is a whole LOT that is important. The only tip I have is that I am trained to always ask myself, “What can I be doing now to be more productive.”

mickeyjuice says on July 22nd, 2009 at 7:01 pm

Agree entirely. Congrats to Simon, as well, who seems to assume that everyone is wired the same way that he is. People are different, mate, and different things work for different people. (Agree about the abuse of ‘literal’, though – come on, that’s basic English.)

(And can Gawker please get a decent comment setup?)

John says on July 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 pm

This is just like the guest post I made on PicktheBrain. Multi-tasking is not as bad as most people think. It can help you get things done too. It’s obviously less effective in getting big projects done, but I multi-task from time to time anyway.

Jeri Dansky says on July 22nd, 2009 at 11:24 pm

Many people who argue that multitasking makes you inefficient are NOT talking about things like exercising while watching TV.

One argument is that no one can really do two things at once; when you are multitasking, you are just switching between tasks very quickly, which (at least some) studies show decreases your productivity.

See http://tinyurl.com/muyh2h

ellipsiso says on July 22nd, 2009 at 11:30 pm

I think most of the butting of heads comes from people not agreeing on what “multitasking” actually is.

I would say that multitasking is like trying to write an email while reading a book. Those are both focus-intensive actions that draw attention from the same part of your brain. If you can do this, you aren’t really multitasking, you’re just rapidly switching between tasks. That is fine. Some people can do this very well. Not everyone is built the same way.

On the other hand, doing laundry and listening to music, while writing a paper is more like background tasking. You don’t need to focus on either the music or the laundry, while writing the paper. The paper has your focus, everything else is running in the background. I wouldn’t say this is multitasking at all, but I see that a lot of people here would define it as such.

The simple fact is that the human brain doesn’t handle more than one thought at a time. Your focus can never be on more than one thing at a time.

When you feel like a whole slew of thoughts are running through your head and you can’t keep up with them, how do you feel? My guess is that most of you feel distracted, annoyed, unproductive, unfocused.

The same thing happens to you when you do rapid task-switching. You may be more familiar and comfortable with it, but that switching back and forth is very taxing to brain, because for every task you do, there is the “ramping up” time, the action and the “cutting off” time.

My advice is to not overstimulate yourself. Yes, there are times when rapid task-switching is unavoidable. But when you get into the flow of monotasking, you gain focus, clarity and a little peace of mind. Give your brain a rest every once-in-a-while.

EL says on July 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 pm

I think we’re arguing apples and oranges here. Different tasks require varying amounts and types of attention, and therefore some are better suited to multi-tasking than others.

- Large, difficult, important tasks that require your undivided attention (for example, writing a thesis, particularly a formal one) should be single-tasked, even if only for short bursts of time. I don’t think anyone would argue that such tasks go much better when in a state of “flow”, uninterrupted by other tasks.
- Small, mindless tasks can and should be multi-tasked. Why not search the web and watch TV at the same time, instead of doing each sequentially?

The in-between tasks are the ones that are debatable. Should I write this blog post while watching TV? Maybe, if I want to let my brain ruminate on the contents every so often. Should I make phone calls, send emails, and fill out forms at the same time? Probably not, as I’d get terribly confused. The trick is to experiment and find what works best for you and not worry so much about productivity “rules”.

Thanks, David, for the reminder that this rule doesn’t apply to every situation!

Dustin Wax says on July 23rd, 2009 at 2:14 am

Mickeyjuice: This is off-topic, but just for the record, Lifehack isn’t a Gawker site. LifehackER is a Gawker site. I’m not usre what bothers you about our comments, but I’d love to hear any complaints — you can email me at dustin@lifehack.org or use the contact form at http://www.lifehack.org/contact to contact our head office directly.

Anca says on July 23rd, 2009 at 9:55 am

The key to making the most of multi-tasking is to understand these pros and cons from the inside out. What we must learn is to prioritize our tasks and projects in terms of both their importance and the duration required to complete them.

Disa says on July 24th, 2009 at 3:14 am

I am the supreme multitasker—true multitasking, not just rapid task switching, which is what the author seems to describe and what most people think of when they hear the word “multitasking”.

I have separate tracks on which I can process information, and as long as the information is on a different track than what I am already processing, I have no trouble with it. Numbers, spoken words, and spatial/rotational tasks each appear to be processed on different tracks, as do somatosensory tasks. Written words are processed in a different place than spoken words. Music with lyrics is processed like spoken words. Music without lyrics is processed on its own track.

The upshot is that I can play a mean game of (level 32!) Tetris while carrying on a fairly complex conversation. Also, when I worked in a call center years ago, I could type notes from the previous call into the computer system while I talked with the current customer on the phone. But I could not have music with lyrics going in the background. It would interfere with the conversation I was having.

There are physical limitations. I could probably process text and written music at the same time if I could acquire a second set of eyes, somehow, but since I can only point my eyes in one direction, I am limited to one task involving my eyes at a time.

When I was a child, I would draw in class while the teacher was lecturing. Each new teacher had to accuse me, at least once, of not paying attention. When I said I was paying attention, they would ask, “So what did I just say?” I was always able to answer them, in detail.

I think it may have had something to do with learning to sight read music when I was a small child. It requires a lot of simultaneous processing. You have to read the notes and the written directions on the music, listen to the other musicians, stay in tune and on time, pay attention to your fingers, use breath control, and watch the conductor. When I first started, it was hard. After a while, it was like breathing.

So I am a bit confused by all the anti-multitasking sentiment. Why should I not do something that comes absolutely naturally to me just because somebody else has trouble with it?

nXqd says on July 27th, 2009 at 12:25 am

Yup. People are afraid of multitasking but I’m not.
With me, I always have background music when I works or study. I do a lot of stuffs at a time. Because it’s small and easy to get done. And some tasks like You do this and after 45′ is the next step. So in 45′ I’ll do something else.
being clearly about multitasking and know what to arrange task. You can do well with it.

But with big task, single task at a time is needed for me :)

Sarah says on July 27th, 2009 at 2:18 am

I love this post. I’ve tried to cut down on multitasking — and I can see that the multitasking itself wasn’t the problem – it was the things I was choosing to multi-task around. Something I love doing, I want to focus on. Cleaning, sorting, tracking, cooking —all those things are SO much better when you do them all at once. Thanks, Sarah

van dealer says on July 30th, 2009 at 5:22 am

I agree whole-heartedly with this article; watching tv whilst working is definitely the way forwards :)

Claudine Motto says on August 5th, 2009 at 1:18 am

Interesting post, David.

I think it’s all about the type of task…

All the tasks you described doing at the same time are ideal for multi-tasking because they don’t require much thinking.

But even then there are exceptions – i.e., if you need to take notes on the TV show you’re watching, you will be much more efficient if you tune out everything else – otherwise you’ll be doing a lot of back and forth and rewinding.

Same with other tasks that require you to think or get in the flow for best results (such as writing). Sure you still can get them done if you write and every few seconds glance at your email or at the TV – but you’re still “rewinding” each time, even if you don’t realize you are. It may not be much wasted time over a fairly quick task, but the minutes add up quickly if you’re doing that all day.

As far as having music in the background, some studies have shown that for some people, that can increase productivity – others need absolute quiet.

Bottom line is, when a task is demanding of your focus and attention (whether it’s because you love it or are wrapped up in it), you are better off giving it your full attention – even if for 10 minutes at a time, if that’s all you can stand – than switching back and forth.

But, I’m one of those “productivity” people :)

Claudine

Max says on August 12th, 2009 at 3:54 pm

Multi-tasking, as it applies to home life, just might be acceptable. But in the workplace, it’s a killer.

I am one of those folks who consumed “The Productivity Handbook” (Wetmore) and could not be happier with the gains both in quality and time that it has provided. Sure, I still mow the lawn and listen to audiobooks, but when it counts at work my best efforts are always those lead by a focus on a single outcome.

See: http://tinyurl.com/pb5uly

Cheers,
Max

Greg says on August 25th, 2009 at 12:33 pm

This was a great article. You must learn to multitask if you plan on accomplishing your goals. While some things require sole focus, most can be started and managed simultaineously. Thanks for the info.

Multitasking says on September 8th, 2009 at 2:18 am

I’d like to share a valuable principle with you. It’s something I’ve taught to many business owners and executives I’ve worked with. This principle may go against the grain of some of your beliefs about time and the best way to get things done. Because of that, I ask you to keep an open mind.

Multitasking is a myth. It just plain doesn’t exist.

Multitasking has become something of a heroic word in our vocabulary. Many executives pride themselves on their ability to “multitask“. Recent job descriptions that I have seen even ask that potential employees have the ability to multitask. A current national commercial sings the praises of multitasking. However, multitasking, as most people understand it, is deceptively counter-productive. Multitasking is tremendously costly. Multitasking hurts us every time we attempt to engage in it.

When most people refer to multitasking they mean simultaneously performing two or more things that require mental effort and attention. Examples would include saying we’re spending time with family while were researching stocks online, attempting to listen to a CD and answering email at the same time, or pretending to listen to an employee while we are crunching the numbers. What most people refer to as multitasking, I refer to as “switchtasking.” Why?

Because the truth is we really cannot do two things at the same time—we are only one person with only one brain. Neurologically speaking, it has been proven to be impossible. What we are really doing is switching back and forth between two tasks rapidly, typing here, paying attention there, checking our “blackberry” here, answering voicemail there back and forth back and forth at a high rate.

When we speak of multitasking, what we really mean is that we are switchtasking: switching rapidly between one task and another.