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Multitasking Or Multiminding? Either Way, You Are Not Being Productive

25th March, 2010 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments

Multi-tasking is a hot topic and one that is misunderstood. Our society and the pace of our lives encourage the concept of multi-tasking.

What is misunderstood is that often multi-tasking makes us less productive rather than more productive. Our brains do not switch well between tasks and in fact, are unable to do two tasks that require thinking at the same time. So, talking on the phone and answering email cannot be done at the same time as productively as you could do them separately. On the other hand, if you have folded clothes for many years and have done it the same way for all these years….then you can fold clothes and watch TV at the same time (a fact that may have escaped others in your household).

So, when deciding whether to multitask, consider these productivity tips:

Does more than one of the tasks require you to think? If so, don’t multitask.

Do you feel annoyed when you’re talking to someone and they appear to be doing something else at the same time? Then don’t multitask when you should simply face the person and listen.

Multi-tasking is not a time-saver, assuming you want a high-quality outcome from all the tasks at hand. If you don’t care about the outcome, then go ahead…have at it. Multi-task as much as you want.

Do you really give your BEST when you are multi-tasking? Tell the truth.

Does your employer want to pay you for doing less than your best? Do I have to answer that for you?

What do you have to do to resist the temptation for multitasking? For one thing, stop imagining that it’s possible. Secondly, stop using the term “multi-tasking” so you and others stop thinking it’s an option. It is not.

Are you convinced that although others can’t multitask, you can? You can’t. They can’t. Refer to #1.

Do you find yourself daydreaming about something else and claiming that you’re multi-tasking? (A cartoon in the February 2006 Kappan magazine has a student saying to the principal, “Some might call it daydreaming; I call it multitasking.”)

Multi-tasking also involves the notion of multi-thinking. Thinking is a “task.” And, because we all have many things whirling around in our head at any one time, we have to be aware that we really can’t “think” about more than one thing at the same time. If your “psychic RAM” is crowded with your many thoughts, have a pad of paper with you at all times that you can use to empty your psychic RAM. Note: In the January/February issue of Fast Company magazine, a news release stated that “Women today aren’t just multi-tasking–they are multi-minding, constantly thinking about and preparing for the myriad dimensions in their complex lives.”

There are laws against multi-tasking while driving. It’s called distracted driving. Be safe.

I would encourage you to print out this article for frequent reference. Bring up the topic at your next staff meeting. Begin to remove the language “multitaskers wanted” when you advertise for jobs. You don’t want people who are delusional enough to think that they multi-task.

To access a fabulous free teleseminar with my guest Dave Crenshaw, author of The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing it All’ Gets Nothing Done, just go to

** http://meggin.com/MythofMultitasking.php

Dave is a contributor to some of the new Top Ten Productivity Tips series. Learn more (free) here:

** http://TopTenProductivityTips.com

(c) 2010 Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. | The Ph.D. of Productivity(tm)