Multi-Tasking: It May Be Your Biggest Time-Waster

I must be out of synch. Many of my co-workers talk about all the multitasking they’re doing and imply that those who aren’t up to it aren’t pulling their weight. I work better focusing on one thing at a time. What should I be doing differently to keep up?

— Brandon T.

A. Probably nothing. There’s a frantic drive everywhere to handle the daily schedule by doing several things at the same time: teenagers doing their homework while they’re watching TV and talking on a cell phone; people listening to tapes while jogging; office workers reading their mail while handling phone calls.

But studies show that multitasking is usually counterproductive. And if you’re doing anything besides driving your car on the way to work ( shaving; eating; putting on makeup; using the cell phone) you could be inviting an accident. “In some cases, you could be wasting your employer's time,” says researcher University of Michigan David Meyer, Ph.D. Meyer and his associates found that for various types of tasks, subjects actually lost time when they had to switch from one task to another.

He says that people in a work setting “who are banging away on word processors at the same time they have to answer phones and talk to their co-workers or bosses—are doing switches all the time. Not being able to concentrate for, say, tens of minutes at a time, may mean it's costing a company as much as 20 to 40 percent in terms of potential efficiency lost. “In effect,” adds Meyer, “you've got writer's block briefly as you go from one task to another. You've got to (a) want to switch tasks, you've got to (b) make the switch and then you've got to (c) get warmed back up on what you're doing.”

Are You Multitasking Now?

What are you doing right now as you read this article? Monitoring a screen for production equipment performance? Carrying on Instant Message conversations with three co-workers? Eating the lunch you never have time to leave the desk for? Opening and reading traditional mail?

Drs. Larry Rosen and Michelle Weil are partners in Byte Back Technology Consultation Services (www.technostress.com) which helps individuals and businesses successfully implement technology. Their research on more than 25,000 people worldwide shows that Multitasking Madness makes it harder to concentrate for extended periods. “You might notice that as you are working on one task, thoughts about another creep into your consciousness,” they say. “Another sign of Multitasking Madness is the feeling that your memory is not quite as good as it used to be. You start working on something and then find yourself not being able to remember what you wanted to do or say. Still another symptom is an inability to sustain a peaceful night's sleep or to enjoy what used to be calming, recreational times. Too many thoughts are buzzing in your head. In the end, Multitasking Madness diminishes your productivity and makes you work harder just to feel like you are barely keeping up with all your work.”

You Can Stop The Madness

Rosen and Weil say we must become better at estimating the time it takes us to complete a task. Make a list of all the tasks that you plan to complete during, say, a four-hour period and then write down how long you think that each task will take. Now, time yourself. You'll find the percentage by which you typically underestimate, and you can adjust your expectations. Of course, you also have to learn to say no to tasks you don't have time to complete.

Second, develop an external memory, such as a pad of paper, to take some of the load off your brain. Once you list the tasks you're juggling, your mind feels comfortable letting go of the memory traces, and your filter gets a chance to rest. This is especially effective right before you go to sleep. If you find yourself awakening in the middle of the night, dump your thoughts on a pad of paper that you keep by the side of the bed. Sleep should come back soon.

Third, give yourself a chance to persevere on a task until completion—the most productive way to work. This may require removing distractions: turning off most programs on your computer, not checking your e-mail, and turning off the ringer on your phone and fax.

Fourth, give yourself “down time”—watching a baseball game, playing with your children, going to a movie with your spouse. This is crucial to refresh your system and let you return to your work.