Multi-Tasking Is A Myth

There is an ad running at the moment by (I think) Sprint. It shows some guy that is multi-tasking so well he has little versions of himself running around doing stuff for him. Now I’m not sure which particular hallucinogenic the people that produced the ad were taking at the time, but it looks like it was a good one.

I’m sure that you have heard of the story of The Emperors New Clothes. If you haven’t, here’s a brief synopsis. A tailor was appointed to make a fine suit for a King in some country far far away. Actually I was living in England when I heard that story, so maybe I’m nearer to said country now and it’s only far away as opposed to far far. Sorry to be pedantic but I didn’t want to confuse you anymore than normal. So the tailor makes a suit out of the finest gold thread, or rather he didn’t, he just tells the King he has. He then plays a brilliant if slightly unethical sales masterstroke by telling the King that only highly intelligent people can see the gold thread. To cut a long and by now very boring story short, King Dumbass paraded about bedecked only in his crown to the amusement of all concerned.

The conscious human mind has a design flaw in so much as it can’t hold more than one thought at once. Seriously it can’t. It may seem like it can, but it just skips back and forwards at lightening speed appearing to be doing many things simultaneously. It’s a bit like your PC processor. Sometimes it appears to be doing lots of things concurrently but it really isn’t, it’s just spinning lots of plates, juggling some balls and crashing into some stuff into the bargain.

There is one caveat to this and that is we can multi-task things at an unconscious level. It is possible to drive and be on a cell phone, it is possible to walk and talk at the same time and it is possible to be watching American Idol and breathing at the same time although with the latter I usually lose the will to.

When people try and multi-task they lose the ability to become fully engaged in any one activity. They are flicking backwards and forwards and at best become partially engaged in several things. Their productivity never improves and the quality of work invariably deteriorates. By having numerous things on the go people ‘believe’ they are getting more done, because it appears that way, but in dark light with a hat on and heavily made up I can appear good looking, but I think we both know the truth is somewhat different.

If you are a multi-tasker try giving it up for a month or so. Don’t worry, you don’t have to throw the Blackberry under the bus just yet, simply concentrate all your energies on one thing at once and see the impact it has on your productivity. I think you’ll be surprised at the results and even if you don’t actually get more done the work you do will be more satisfying, successful and enjoyable.

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