From the course: Time Management Fundamentals

Addressing the myth of multitasking

From the course: Time Management Fundamentals

Addressing the myth of multitasking

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- Ironically, the biggest obstacle to effective time management is a behavior many believe makes them more productive: multitasking. Attempting to multitask may feel effective but it's actually counterproductive. In fact, it doesn't really exist in the way most people think of it. In my book, The Myth of Multitasking, I explain that what's occurring is either backtasking or switchtasking. You back task when something that doesn't require your attention occurs in the background, like bread, baking in the oven while you make a salad. Backtasking can be productive, but most people who think they're multitasking aren't backtasking, they're switchtasking. Switchtasking occurs when you try to do two or more attention requiring tasks at the same time, like trying to watch this video, while you're sending a text message. Switchtasking is a thief. It robs you of time, money, and your mental and emotional health. Let's experience switchtasking firsthand with a little exercise. To prepare, you'll need a pen or a pencil and a piece of paper. You can either print out the exercise file or simply draw three lines across a piece of paper. This gives you four empty rows. This exercise is timed, so don't start until I say go. You're going to copy this phrase in the first row. Switchtasking is a thief. Then in the second row, you'll write the numbers one through 21, one number for each letter in the phrase. Make your paper look like what you see on the screen. Got your timer, pen and paper in front of you? Get ready, get set, and go. Now we're going to do this again, but we're going to simulate switchtasking. You're going to copy the phrase, switchtasking is a thief, in the third row, and all the numbers one through 21 in the fourth row. But this time for every letter that you write in third row you're going to write responding number in the fourth row. So you'll write S, and then one, W and then two, I and then three. And so on until you again, fill up the third and fourth row. Get your timer, paper and pencil ready. Get set, go. Notice the differences? This exercise highlights a primary goal of this course: to help you reduce attention switches as much as possible. Why? Because the biggest obstacle to effective time management isn't that we lack enough time to get things done. It's that we're trying to do too many things in the time we have available.

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