Single Tasking vs. Multitasking Rant
Okay, all apologies but Angry Charley's feathers are ruffled again. Much of my better writing comes as a result of this so hopefully this is of some value to you, even if it's only for entertainment.
By day I am a project manager for one of the largest companies of its sector in the world. I work on projects that take multiple years to develop, cost tens of millions of dollars to implement, span multiple countries, and usually involve several project managers, in various countries, with differing grasps of a common language, both on the business and IT side. Not bragging, just laying out a few credentials so we're clear on where I am coming from.
I'm not just shooting from the hip.
So I get awful tweaked when I see the current trend of articles that admonish multitasking in favor of single-tasking, some written by folks who've never spent a day in a corporate setting.
If you think that it's quite simple to just bow out of meetings, say "no" when your boss puts something on your desk and says it needs to be done by EOB, or give the brush off when coworkers come to you with questions because you're a subject matter expert…etc., I (strongly) suggest that you're out of touch with the Corporate world.
There are ramifications to blowing off people and tasks at work, chief among them being, you'll find, with your new found unpopularity, few will be willing to help you when you need it.
Is this a diatribe in defense of multitasking?
Not so. In principal I agree, multitasking is less efficient. Guess what? Large Corporations are less efficient.
Despite that, I think true multitasking is ill-defined by the average productivity blogger.
I'm not playing semantics, but if you jump from a meeting to writing a report, to firing off a dozen emails, to answering interruptions at your desk, to another meeting, to returning phone calls, to another meeting, you're not multitasking. You're actually only doing one task at a time. You're freakin' busy, that's all.
True multitasking is writing your report while you're sitting on a teleconference, during which time one of the attendees will inevitably ask you a question and you'll respond with, "sorry can you repeat that?" You weren't paying attention and now you're wasting everyone's time.
True multitasking is screwing around with your Crackberry while you should be paying attention to a meeting that you are actually in attendance for. Everyone there can see you screwing around with your Crackberry even when you try to hide it under the table.
True multitasking is ploughing through your email while you're cramming a sandwich down your pie-hole during the five minutes that used to be called the one-hour lunch. Guilty of that on a daily basis.
Again, you're just damn busy and you don't need a lecture on single-tasking versus multitasking. You need focus while still being a team player.
Blogging advice about blowing off meetings is great unless you're an integral part of a project or a subject matter expert. Then you come off like a dyck for not respecting the importance that others may attribute to the subject of the meeting.
Cutting your emails down to three or four sentences is great unless you're trying to answer an important and complex question or giving requirements for a project. Then when your recipient doesn't understand what you wrote because you couldn't be bothered to explain yourself, let's see how many emails go back and forth before every one is clear.
Take the couple minutes to be clear with your writing. Focus on the task at hand.
My passion is writing and my favorite form of communication is the written word, but sometimes a phone call or a quick meeting goes a hell of a lot further than shooting off unclear, three sentence emails. Then once you have it clear, you can fire off your three sentence email confirming the direction as discussed on the phone call/meeting. Yeah, it takes longer, but you've focused on the task and gotten it done.
If you're the one sitting around being "not busy" guess what will happen when push comes to shove? Chances are, you may find yourself out the door.
So what's the solution? If you want to sit around doing nothing all day, just keep doing what you're doing. Otherwise, there really isn't one. You can GTD all you like (not a fan) and get bogged down with your systems so you can't see the forrest for the trees.
You can try to set up blocks of time to do certain tasks but you need to remain flexible. For example, scheduling 9-10am as eMail hour works so long as no one schedules a meeting during that hour. Otherwise, move your hour.
And yes, in case you're wondering, you are a dyck if you block that hour on your calendar every day so that no one can schedule anything with you.
Aside from flexibility and going with the flow, the other key is focus. If you get confused easily and it takes you several minutes to jump from task to task, there may be nothing you can do except try your best to focus quickly on the new task. The Corporate world isn't going to wait on you while you figure out how to switch gears.
There will be some days that you'll get nothing done on your to do list. We like to call those weekdays. So be it. Amazingly, progress is still made by your company and it really is more about them than it is about you and your GTD lists. If you think it's only about you, start your own company and hire a bunch of people who think it is only about them. See how that feels after a few weeks and then leave me a comment.
With that being said, I am going to go back to concentrating on the things in life that I can simplify, those things that won't get me fired, or worse, made the subject of ridicule at the water cooler.
Ok, I'm done ranting.
Namaste.
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Comments on Single Tasking vs. Multitasking Rant
4:27 am
By all means get angry, and don't worry about apologizing. Its interesting stuff.
I wouldn't say that single tasking should be about brushing off your co-workers or in telling your boss no (though there are a few rare cases where that is the right thing to do) Rather its more like saying okay, can I get started on that once I finish this? Or you set aside what you are doing to work on your bosses assignment. That's it. You shouldn't blow anyone off. People all need respect, and your boss is the one who hired you, they dictate the priorities that they hired you to take care of.
I'm glad you got angry because it caused you to write something interesting. I do however know for a fact that some of the advocates of single-tasking have quite a bit of corporate experience. That said this is overall still a good article.
6:14 am
I understand totally. I come from years in the surgical/clinical/radiological medical field, then years in the field of IT, so multitasking has to be a gifted talent or else you are not asked to do anything of value, fired or kept on and felt sorry for.
There are times for both, depending on what you do for a living or the project at hand, one may require insane multitasking and one may require reflective focus.
In all I have done, it is impossible to even predict what a day will be like in the corporate world (and again that depends on "what kind" of corporate world and what position you hold.) I never were one of those lucky people who sat at a desk all day eating and gossiping (nor would I want to be.)
In my experience in high energy, high money, high stakes corporate environment, multi tasking is a must. Unless it were a very serious project and you were allotted the time set aside to work on that, otherwise, it is go go go . . . especially with the technology and economy as it is presently.
Multi tasking is actually a gift, not everyone can do that. I use it in my private life, as well. Focus is a must. I have never single tasked anything no matter where I were employed. My positions never allowed that freedom yet I am grateful for that experience. It applies to my every day life.
I do not mind multi tasking. As long as it isn't stressful, overloaded, unfocused, making you ill multi tasking, I look upon that as an essential and qualified tool to succeed in the world no matter what your vision is.
6:43 am
Charley,
I know where you're coming from.
Having been the computer consultant for some of the top companies in the industry in the Germany for now over 20 years, I'm pretty sure, I've tasted a touch and more of corporate reality. It once brought me to a point of working 115 hours (no not per month, per week, sleeping and showering in the office). Thank God those days are gone due to some harsh restructuring on my side and some tough decisions I made.
So I know that there is a land called "Reality" and a land called "Ideal State".
In "Ideal State" I would only do the things I enjoy and work only one task at a time – ah not working, having fun, one task at a time.
In "Reality" I have commitments, coworkers, clients, problems, needs, and lots of other distractions from "Ideal State".
But that time of absolutely over-working has thought me, that although I might never reach "Ideal State", knowing where it lies makes sure, that I know the direction I want to go.
And yes, I have to compromise a lot, while sometimes a strict No from myself, can overcome even the toughest client. Actually I kicked out my now best client once – showing him the line that he passed. And since I was the only one, who had the balls to do that, he is now a loyal customer, who yells at every one else, but never me – he knew, that we are at par.
So – I think that rant of yours was great, to make sure, that people not forget about something called "Reality" – and dealing with it you need to adopt nearly all of the rules that people put up, who are in a very different situation.
So, that is why I say, there are no rules in personal development, only things you try that might work for you or not. Strive for the ideal state, but don't bother with systems who were developed on a construction table and not been field tested under your circumstances.
I once used GTD, but I turned it into my own system and now, hard-core GTD people wouldn't recognize it – so what!
Learn, adopt and then make it your own. Unwrap your mind from the teachings – even from great guys, like me
– and take what you can use and forget the rest.
As long as such great articles come out of a rand from you, keep it boiling
9:57 pm
Charley, You have a talent for ranting, and you're right on with this one.
"I'm not playing semantics, but if you jump from a meeting to writing a report, to firing off a dozen emails, to answering interruptions at your desk, to another meeting, to returning phone calls, to another meeting, you're not multitasking. You're actually only doing one task at a time. You're freakin' busy, that's all."
Absolutely correct. Multitasking has a very specific meaning: switching from one task to another and then back or on to a different task altogether. A good example is when you're writing a report and the phone rings. Someone starts talking a mile a minute about some completely unrelated matter. You can almost feel your brain trying to stop working on the report and switch to the phone call.
Research on this subject shows that the more unfamiliar the different tasks and the more complex, the longer it takes to make the switch. Each switch does not take so long, but multiplied over a day the time adds up.
I completely agree that the term "multitasking" has been used rather loosely to mean having a number of projects going in the same general time-frame. As happens in just about every job there is.
Ranting is not always a bad thing.