Though some of us like to think we’re great at juggling jobs, the research simply doesn’t back up this little bit of self-delusion.
When it comes to multi-tasking, humans are terrible. This is not only my opinion, it is backed up by vast amounts of research. Sadly, most people simply don’t realize just how much time they waste trying to do more than one thing at a time. It is a staggering amount, and since few of us have any spare time, it is something we should look into.
A minute saved, is a minute earned. If I’m correct in that assertion, then spending a few minutes reading about how much time you’re wasting “multi-tasking” might be the most sensible investment of your time that you ever make.
To get you going, here is a seeming thumb-suck piece of information. Except it isn’t. The average office worker loses 17 minutes of productivity every time they switch the task they are working on.
Unfortunately, time isn’t the only thing we lose when we multi-task. We also lose effectiveness. What does this mean? It means that we do each of the jobs we task switch between worse. Period.
I came up with what I think is a rather neat analogy that illustrates human multi-tasking. It is based on the other term often used to describe multi-tasking, namely juggling.
Imagine we’re juggling three reasonably complicated tasks. Imagine that each of those tasks is a colored ball, and that we’re juggling them with one hand. Pretty impressive, right?
Wrong.
Yes, it looks impressive to see one hand magically holding three separate balls aloft. However when we analyze it, it is anything but impressive. For the sake of this analogy let us assume work is happening on the task whenever a ball is physically in hand. This casts the impressive feat of multi-tasking in an entirely different light. Why? Because the maximum amount of work the hand can do is limited to 50% of its time. The hand spends half of its time empty, doing nothing useful except switching to the next task.
Were this analogy to carry into the real workplace, multi-tasking workers are actually wasting a staggering 50% of their effective working time.
Now for the bad news. It turns out the analogy does in fact translate into the workplace.
And the more research you do, the worse it gets. I’m not going to do that research for you, you must do it for yourself. However I will point you toward just one article on the subject, titled “The True Cost Of Multi-Tasking.” That article opens with this line, “You could be losing up to 40% of your productivity” – I think they’re being too generous.
If you still think you’re a great multi-tasker then let me pose this question. How many people can you hold a decent, one-on-one conversation with at precisely the same time? There is only one answer, and that answer, is one.
If you don’t believe me try doing this. Take two cell phones, dial any two people you know, place one cell-phone on your right ear and the other on your left. Now talk to both of them at the same time about two different subjects.
There is only one answer, and that answer, is one.
So true! I always liked to think I was a wonderful multitasker. Your words reminded me of how wrong I was. 🙂 Plus having a three year old definitely allows me to see the reality of multitasking haha!
What a perfect example of our true multi-tasking inability! Looking after our kids drives home the truth about how bad we are at doing more than one thing at a time.
Sure we can switch to another task in the middle of changing a diaper, but we learn very fast just how foolish that is 🙂
I love your post. I’ve always claimed to be bad at multi-tasking, which is true. If I try to do more than one thing at a time, I feel stressed, and I don’t like that.
When I was a teacher and several students would be at my desk trying to get my attention at the same time, I’d hold up my hand and point to one student, deal with whatever they needed, and move on to the next, until I’d taken care of each one. I did the same thing in college and graduate school. I’d work on the homework for one subject until it was finished, then I’d move on the another. I find that kind of process so much more relaxing. At the end of the day, I’ve got a pile of work finished, and I feel relaxed.
Thank you, Lucinda. {By the way, I love your name. It is elegant, exotic, simple, and of literary origin.}
The world is filled with so many misconceptions, like multi-tasking. In a way, looking at how my blog has progressed since its inception, I seem to have taken on the role of addressing the ones I see in day to day life.
Should you return, use the sites search feature for “teachers”. You’ll find some of my thoughts on teachers in a post titled “Make a difference”.
May the children you taught remember you!