The destructive power of multitasking
Monday, October 27th, 2008
I’ve written (ranted?) several times on the evils of multitasking and every time I turn around there’s more proof that it doesn’t raise productivity, improve results or cure your time crunch.
Proof, that is, in terms of scientific research as opposed to subjective evaluations.
The most recent was in Sunday’s NY Times that brought out the fact that you don’t really do things simultaneously; rather you switch your focus back and forth between them.
That may sound OK, but the problem is in the lag time, since the human brain doesn’t do the switch instantaneously.
Sure, some multitasking is just rude, think talking on the phone and doing email, while some is downright stupid, like texting and driving.
“…17 drivers, age 17 to 24, to use a driving simulator to see how texting affected driving.
The reaction time was around 35 percent slower when writing a text message — slower than driving drunk or stoned.”
But what about the multitasking that you’re forced to do at work? Jumping back and forth on projects, checking/responding to email, answering questions, etc.?
“A 2005 study, “No Task Left Behind? Examining the Nature of Fragmented Work,” found that people were interrupted and moved from one project to another about every 11 minutes. And each time, it took about 25 minutes to circle back to that same project.”
Have things changed or are the older studies holding true?
According to Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California at Irvine and a co-author of that study and a new one published last April titled “The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress” showed that “people actually worked faster in conditions where they were interrupted, but they produced less… Ten and a half minutes on one project is not enough time to think in-depth about anything.”
Impressive. One action that single-handedly kills productivity and innovation, while increasing stress.
Multitasking seems to be a great tool for those who manage by intimidation and abuse, but for the rest of us it would be better to focus and spend some time on innovative approaches that minimize multitasking for yourself and your people.
And before you add a silent ‘but me’ think about which side of ‘but me’ your choice plays to.
