Multi-tasking? Is it a skill or a disorder?

by Crumpet 32 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Crumpet

  Do you tend to multi-task or hone in one job, giving it your full concentration until its finished?

  Would you say your ability/inability to multi-task is an attribute or a curse?

  The reason I ask is that I seem to have a very short attention span. I get distracted very easily. As someone said to me recently "you are the reason I carry hard/wet/shiny objects around in my pockets".

  I do get plenty done, but not in any coherent fashion and often find myself hemmed up against a brickwall and an urgent deadline academically, work wise, financially, healthwise. I do tend to be juggling several things at once and whilst they all get done it can be quite stressful and I'd really like to know how those who can concentrate on a project manage it as well as those who find multi-tasking the only way to survive their daily demands.
• 

  Dismembered

  Greetings Ms. Crumpet,

  I take great pride in my abilty to walk and chew gum at the same time. I'd call it an attribute.

  Dismembered
• 

  R.Crusoe

  In many it becomes a 'disorderly skill' due to the effects of juggling ones job in hand with ones daily chores and ones sexuality! Does that answer your question?
• 

  delilah

  I multi-task...it drives my family mad. I used to think it was a skill, however the older I become, the more I realise it's a curse.

  I'll throw laundry in, come back upstairs, start the dishes, let the dog out, feed her, gather all the dishes from the family room the kids left behind, grab the mail, open the important stuff, chuck the rest on the counter for later; finish the dishes, get something out of the freezer for dinner, throw the load of wash into the dryer, let the dog back in, go upstairs to clean the bath, ....you get the idea....is that what you mean Crumpy? I'm exhausted now....
• 

  nvrgnbk

  Multi-tasking is the opposite of mindfulness.

  By giving many tasks partial attention, instead of dedicating full attention to the task at hand, one is likely to be forgetful and careless.

  This habit can also have an adverse effect on relationships...one is in the company of a loved one, but not fully present in the moment.

  Your Brain on Multitasking - vs Mindfulness

  eating_passionate_users/2005/03/your_brain_on_m.html

  Your brain on multitasking

  
  […] Although there have been plenty of studies to show otherwise, the belief that multitasking will let us get more done continues. […] It makes me crazy when I’m trying to have a conversation with someone […] while they’re saying, “Uh-huh… yeah… I’m listening…sure, I can do this and talk at the same time…”. […]

  Our brains can’t do even two independent things that require conscious thought, especially if those two things involve different goals. […] With each context switch, say, from the phone conversation to the email, there’s a hit. […]

  One of the things I really like about stress-management expert Jon Kabat-Zinn is that he sometimes offers seminars and workshops on time-management, but when you get there, it turns out his approach isn’t about how you manage your file folders, but about mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness is like adding more hours to your day. If you’re mindful, time slows down. You get more done, enjoy things more, and feel less stress. […]

  […] Imagine what it would be like if every time your co-worker, friend, spouse, lover, child wanted to say something to you and you turned and gave that person all your attention. End of story. No television sucking you into the event horizon. No glancing at the computer. No talking on the phone or checking your watch or reading a report… just 100% mindful, totally there, perfect eye contact, YOU. If you already do this now, that’s awesome. If not, then if you try it–and I mean really try it–your family might think something’s wrong with you. (One of those, “Who are you and what have you done with my husband?” moments.)

  One tip: […] If you must have television, make it a destination event. Something you do consciously like choosing to go to the theater. […] Television literally sucks your energy, while simultaneously making you feel like it’s helping you to relax. (There’s a great issue of Scientific American special edition on the Mind (volumne 14, number 1) that goes into a lot of technical detail about this.)

  If you want to get more done, be mindful.
  If you want to have more time, be mindful.
  Mindful means one thing at a time.
  It’s how the brain works, no matter how you try to convince yourself you can do it (although there is evidence that fast media/video-gamer kids are a little faster at switching. Not because they have a younger brain, but because their brains were more wired for this pace at a younger age).

  […] When you’re answering email, don’t try to talk to someone at the same time. Be the emailing.

  Posted by Kathy Sierra on her blog on March 9, 2005 | Permalink

  TrackBacks:( http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/1998062 )

  Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Your brain on multitasking: […]

  » Multitasking - It’s a Good Thing from Bridging the Gaps: Using Connections, Technologies, Strategies, & Human Interests
  We all disparage multitasking yet we all do it? Why? Maybe because there is real value in multitasking at the right time but it is so easy to get caught into the a little is good therefore more must be… [Read More]
  Tracked on Mar 6, 2006 12:22:05 PM

  http://www.imagiscape.ca/blog/caregiving/your-brain-on-multitasking
• 

  Homerovah the Almighty

  I don't think its a disorder if what you can accomplish is done correctly and what your doing doesn't over stress you, which is not so good for your health

  Its good to stop and take those mini breaks or even a short nap if you can and shut your mind down for a few moments, this can alleviate getting burnt out by the time the

  day is over. Some occupations are as such that your buzzing around on your feet practically all day, like a cook in a fast paced restaurant for example

  how they do that day after day is quite astonishing. But the point again is making good use of your rest times.

  One of the other posters mentioned about house work and this brought to mind my own mother who had to bring up 6 kids, feed, cloth,dress and do all of the house work such as

  cooking and cleaning without hardly any help from my father, man thats what I call multi-tasking, how many woman today do you think could pull that one off.
• 

  ronin1

  Multi-tasking is a skill and is necessary these days.

  Ronin1
• 

  Crumpet

  Dismembered - and you manage that without bumping into anything?

  Delilah - exactly, exactly - although you forgot playing scrabulous on facebook!

  NVR - trust you dig up some rich mindful information - alas if only I could pay attention long enough to string it all together without my wandering off I'd....um what was i saying...

  R.Crusoe - the sexuality - the sexual distractions, major, major problem - half the day,and that's a conservative estimate, goes towards this.

  Homer - trouble is my mind takes constant mini breaks and then I'll find my school books in my bed where I started the day well intended, half a bowl of cereal on a random stool where I got distracted from eating it, cold cups of tea with the bag still in, a bath overflowing, sometimes I'll be on the phone and then think of something I urgently need to do and forget I was even on the phone leaving my poor caller hanging, or in the middle of doing yoga and remembering I need to put some laundry on and then I will find myself gazing with my mouth watering out of the window at a dark figment of my imagination and wishing he was really there...

  Actually could this all be early onset of senile dementia and absolutely nothing at all do with multi tasking. Everything does get done at the end of the day, pretty much, so maybe I shouldn't stress out about it.
• 

  Homerovah the Almighty

  You know what might help crumpet is try writing down ahead of time of the things that you must accomplish and in the morning and go over those tasks

  in a strategic fashion possibly noting how much time you think each task is going to take, this can help in organizing your day

  If you regiment yourself on your daily duties it does seem to make your self a better achiever and a more efficient person over a period of time.
• 

  nvrgnbk

  so maybe I shouldn't stress out about it

  That's the point.

  It's all going to get done.

  If you can pay attention to each task you will find joy in the simplest of things and find that your memory improves and errors/mistakes decrease.

  You will become more aware of potential connections with the people you come across in the course of your day.

  You can slow your mind down, if you think that it's a worthwhile goal.