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Single-Tasking: The Sane Alternative to Multitasking
What do you do when you’re answering emails and suddenly the phone rings? Do you answer it and try to speak to the person while you finish your emails? Then the doorbell chimes. Do you go to the door while still on the phone? Now you have some decisions to make.
We live in a world where multitasking is commonplace. But is it the most efficient use of our time?
The Multitasking Myth
A number of states have already made it illegal to talk on your cell phone and drive at the same time. Some states won’t even allow you to drive and eat at the same time. These laws are based on the fact that if your focus is divided, accidents are more likely to happen.
Recent studies have also shown that when people are forced to change gears in the middle of a task, valuable time is lost. The more complex the task, the more time is lost. The lost time is the time that’s usually spent by the frontal lobe of your brain making decisions and establishing priorities.
When you multitask, rather than getting a lot more accomplished, you’ll find that the quality of your work diminishes significantly while important tasks actually take longer!
Single-Tasking: the Alternative
