I have never interpreted multitasking in the workplace to mean doing two or more things at once. I've always interpreted it to mean doing many things over the course of a workday, week, etc. In other words, to me, multitasking means the ability to switch between tasks that may require different skill sets (coding, customer support, technical writing, etc.). I think this piece takes multitasking a bit too literally.
The Myth of Multitasking (2008) [pdf]
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Re: The Myth of Multitasking (2008) [pdf]
#12"You can multitask? Fine. Then read a book and write one at the same time." -David Weinberger, 1999 Obviously (the excellent) William James predates this by some time, but within the context of the modern era, this sort of thing has been discussed long before the Hallowells and Ferrisses of the world made their careers by repackaging old notions.
I explain it like this. From downtown Los Angeles, drive to Las Vegas (5 hours) and San Diego (2 hours).
But in 30 minute increments: 30 minutes heading toward Las Vegas, then 30 minute heading toward San Diego.
Re: The Myth of Multitasking (2008) [pdf]
#13"You can multitask? Fine. Then read a book and write one at the same time." -David Weinberger, 1999 Obviously (the excellent) William James predates this by some time, but within the context of the modern era, this sort of thing has been discussed long before the Hallowells and Ferrisses of the world made their careers by repackaging old notions.
I explain it like this. From downtown Los Angeles, drive to Las Vegas (5 hours) and San Diego (2 hours). But in 30 minute increments: 30 minutes heading toward Las Vegas, then 30 minute heading toward San Diego.
I like that, though they'd need a Humvee.
Re: The Myth of Multitasking (2008) [pdf]
#14"You can multitask? Fine. Then read a book and write one at the same time." -David Weinberger, 1999 Obviously (the excellent) William James predates this by some time, but within the context of the modern era, this sort of thing has been discussed long before the Hallowells and Ferrisses of the world made their careers by repackaging old notions.
You can read a book and listen to music and get a good understanding of the book and know the lyrics at the same time. It requires a lot of practice and dedication, but it can be done. It's one of the underlying methods to teach yourself rapid reading. Multitasking is not just switching between tasks. It requires tremendous effort and time to achieve it, but it can be done.
That's interesting, I'd like to know more about that.
There are certainly areas where some level of multitasking can be trained. For some, it's still merely fast switching, and for the gifted few, there's the capacity to become so familiar, competent, and therefore at ease with complex tasks that they become second nature, and that frees up bandwidth for other things.
The problem gets to be that that sort of thing is very challenging, and most people just aren't capable of doing it well, if at all. The level of self-deception surrounding the issue is stratospheric. (We're talking about maybe ~5% of the population.) And, for the most part, it only makes sense to practice in high-workload environments where there may not be the ability to add people to divide the workload (think: some aviation).
Re: The Myth of Multitasking (2008) [pdf]
#15> To Chesterfield, singular focus was not merely a practical way to structure one’s time; it was a mark of intelligence. “This steady and undissipated attention to one object, is a sure mark of a superior genius [...] "
Sounds reasonable. But also consider:
> The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. - F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Crack-Up", Esquire Magazine (February 1936)
Re: The Myth of Multitasking (2008) [pdf]
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I explain it like this. From downtown Los Angeles, drive to Las Vegas (5 hours) and San Diego (2 hours). But in 30 minute increments: 30 minutes heading toward Las Vegas, then 30 minute heading toward San Diego.
I like that, though they'd need a Humvee.
They'll run out of gas and be in the middle of nowhere. (Kind of like what happens when you multitask as a software developer)