Multi-tasking: some reflection

Should we really brag about our ability to multi-task? If multi-tasking is doing two things at once, what does that mean for the quality and efficiency of those two tasks? Would you want your surgeon multi-tasking while operating on you?

Maybe a better way to think about the accountants need for multi-tasking is more about "continual re-engagement". Work is not always one task right after the other, we have all kinds of things open at once and we must "touch" our tasks throughout the day.

But really even the young Gen Y folks I work with, the more responsibilities they get, the more they long for their own time to focus on one thing at a time. In an ever changing and continually accelerating world, the ability to intensely focus on the task at hand is a sought after skill, even if it is in spurts.

Multi-tasking in a way that dilutes your focus is inefficient, and unfortunately, it can be addictive. If you watch TV and check email at the same time, you might feel like you are getting something done while relaxing, but is that type of combined activity a long-term solution to (1) being efficient at processing email, and (2) spending time on an energy renewal activity? Probably not.

Re-engaging your focus in an efficient manner on single tasks IS different from multi-tasking.

Ask yourself:


1.) Do I multi-task efficiently?
2.) Do I consciously focus on one thing at a time during my day?
3.) Do I allow myself some "closure time" between tasks? (Even if it's not completing a task before going on to the next: Are you allowing yourself to know where you are formally leaving it ... and most importantly, what the next action item will be once you re-focus on that task again?)