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Is it wise to be so dismissive of multitasking? Sure, sending a text message while driving an automobile — I am told this is a routine sight on the LA freeways, where one may even occasionally sight someone changing clothes while driving — is a recipe for disaster.
In the real world, we multitask all the time. Provided this is not carried to extreme, nor applied to truly important tasks, this is a good method. One also improves with practice.
I agree with you, Amb. Rana, and your opinion that multitasking in small doses can be a practical aid to ones job. In fact, I was a bit critical of another article in this blog that examined multitasking from a scientific point of view and in particular, our brain’s inefficiency in trying to multitask.
For anyone who missed it, you can read it here:
http://istitutodiplomatico.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/what-happens-in-your-brain-while-you-multitask/
The basics are that from “A study by Zhen Wang and Clifford Nass from Stanford University…
multitasking decreases brain efficiency and doesn’t help memory and filtering of information.”
I commented on that article and will only cut & paste the part that interests this discussion.
…I have developed my own work method that relies heavily on multitasking. I use the inefficiency of man and machine to my advantage. As an example: I’m on the phone and the caller wastes time gathering the info I need…I don’t just sit there doodling…I get back to whatever I was doing before the phone call or begin a new task that I would have started after the call. Or, what about the precious time wasted waiting for heavy webpages or intensive programs to load…again, I will quickly switch to something else that I know I can start and finish in that brief time. It’s a technique that sounds crazy but that can be developed with a good understanding of your job. By the way, I never planned it that way, it just came naturally over time. Now that I try to explain it I realize that my brain is not really multitasking at all but rather singletasking at a faster rate by simply filling in the “natural pauses” in my work schedule with other activities. Anyway, it works for me.”
In the end, it’s a fine line between multitasking and turbo-charged singletasking.
As you say, multitasking can be learned; but [lots of] practice makes perfect.