Are you multitasking…. or just distracted?

“To do two things at once is to do neither” is a famous quote from Publilius Syrus – a Latin writer who flourished in the 1st century BC.  I was reminded of the folly of multitasking recently, as I narrowly avoided an accident with a car that drifted into my lane on the highway.  I drove past the car and looked over to see a guy fumbling with his Blackberry.  Unfortunately, this seems to happen every day.  Between cell phone conversations, texting, and navigation systems, drivers are spending a lot more time doing these activities instead of the one they got into the car for in the first place – driving !!  A graphic U.K. public service announcement is making it’s way around the globe via the internet and television news outlets warning teens. It’s not in dispute:  there are very real dangers when texting while driving.   

It’s a similar problem that so many of us have at work.  Despite real intentions to get day-to-day tasks accomplished, we get distracted by a myriad of issues.  They often seem important at the moment, but like the texting in the car, these are tasks that could have been done at a different time.  People are proud of their perceived ability to multitask, and new tools like the iPhone and recently introduced Palm Pre are touting their ability to bring multitasking to a simple-to-use mobile device.  Unfortunately, productive multitasking is a myth.  Numerous studies  have proven that multitasking is actually less efficient and less productive.  If you don’t want to read the studies…. you can observe it just by driving around!

A library of books have been written on how to better manage work time, and be more effective.  Everyone has heard the tips for improving effectiveness: take control of the technology; schedule time to read emails and news feeds;  plan more effective meetings; keep lists, etc, etc.  “The Myth of Multitasking” is a great book by Dave Crenshaw that provides a whole host of ideas for getting past our love affair with multitasking.  In fact, if you spend enough time searching the internet, and reading blogs like this, you can be distracted for hours learning how to be more productive.         

With apologies to all the experts, I really don’t think you need a book to figure it out:  Focus on one task at a time.

….. Now get back to work.