Self Improvement Ideas
Valuable Life Improvement Tips Just For You
What Is Multitasking: Multitasking - Friend or Foe?
Posted on June 25th, 2008 by Better Life, under life hacks, selfimprovement, time management.
If you are interested in Unique Self Improvement Ideas, you may want to subscribe for Free to our RSS feed or Subscribe to Tips For Life by Email Thanks for visiting!
Multi-Tasking: Friend or Foe?
Multi-tasking is one popular technique taught by time management experts, but does it make your life easier, or more stressful? That will depend on several factors, such as the type of person you are, the tasks and activities unique to your situation, how strong your level of focus is, as well as your ability to handle pressure.
Some people are great at multi-tasking because they thrive on challenges. The more complex and intensive a task is, the better they are able to master it. They have no problem focusing on more than one thing at a time and completing them easily.
Other people simply get overwhelmed when they’ve got too much to do at one time, and they end up feeling pressured and irritable. As a result, they accomplish very little.
Also important to consider are the types of tasks you’re working on. Multi-tasking may be easy if the work you’re doing isn’t mentally intensive. For example, you would probably find it easy to fold laundry while helping your child with his homework. One task can be done on “autopilot” while the other requires concentration. If you tried to balance your checkbook while helping your child with his homework, however, you might end up feeling scattered.
There is no right or wrong way to multi-task, only what works for you. If you find yourself feeling frustrated and confused, it’s a sure sign that you’re trying to do too many things at once.
But what do you do when you have no choice but to multi-task? When you’ve got a ton of things that need to be done and only so much time to do them, you might be faced with the necessity of overlapping activities.
Here are a few simple techniques that can help keep you focused:
1) Try to stay organized. When you’re working on multiple projects or tasks at one time, it’s easy to get confused and lose your place. You may find it helpful to keep organized lists and files for every project or task you have to complete. Keep detailed notes about what has been done already and what still needs to be done. When you switch to a new activity, give your notes a quick review so you can refresh your memory and pick up where you left off.
2) Avoid getting stressed. One major cause of stress in relation to multi-tasking is a feeling of panic or urgency. This happens because you feel the weight of two or more tasks that must be done and you worry that you won’t be able to complete them properly or on time. However, that very panic can erode your focus. Do your best to stay calm and focus only on the task at hand. Take it one moment at a time and don’t worry about what comes next. The calmer and more focused you can stay, the more easily you’ll be able to get more done.
3) Pause and breathe periodically. Sometimes just a two-minute pause to clear your head and refocus your attention can do wonders. Do this at least once every hour; more often if you can.
Popularity: 7% [?]
To get more Life-Changing Info subscribe to our RSS feed!
Related Posts:
2 Comments
Patrica on July 20th, 2008
I agree with what Tom said in his comment. It definitely is more effective to start one task and finish it, but it is not always practical or the best practice in some frontline jobs.
Imagine a service worker at a fast-food chain, telling the customers to wait until they finish sweeping the floor. No, they have to sweep the floor, serve the customers when they come in, handle spills and situations as they come up. They need to be able to stop and go a lot in a day. Yes, it would be nice to just finish those darn floors and get them as clean as they can, but that is not the job of a frontline service person.
I find the same thing in the job of administrative assistant. We are always starting and stopping one task or another, depending on the urgency of a matter or what comes up in a day. Yes, it would be nice to just stop and finish one thing before going on to the next task, but someone has to handle the other little things that come up in the day.
Patrica’s last blog post..Outlook Rules that rule: Start to take control of your Inbox instead of it controlling you
Personal Development by TRCoach on July 2nd, 2008
There really is no such thing as multitasking. Generally when we multitask we are starting one activity, stopping, restarting another, stopping, etc. It is much more effective to start one task and finish it. This builds momentum too.
Thanks, Tom
Personal Development by TRCoach’s last blog post..Synchrodestiny