Multi-tasking

[Lilith]

Please note this post is my personal view.


I think the "ability" to multi-task is over-rated. Not every job or every assignment is best handled in this way is it? I think a huge amount of quality and efficiency is being lost by people not managing one thing at a time. Working on four projects all due at the same time is not necessarily better than working on each one individually until completion and having each one turned in a week at a time. I am thinking quality is often being sacrificed and truly time saving is not the reward because you have to push back the date on 3 projects further than need be to juggle all four.

I surely understand some positions require you to be able to juggle a variety of tasks but should this apply to everything??? Is there no value in finishing something started in the timeliest fashion and having given it your completely undivided attention. I just wonder if we are not creating a work environment that encourages distractions, interruptions, and paying cursory attention to many things at once. As someone who teaches students with ADD/ADHD I find this a diturbing trend. I spend a lot of time trying to teach students to concentrate on tasks and complete them but maybe I am leading them astray from future work expectations.

Any thoughts?

[Scarecrow]

In todays digital world multi-tasking is a sign of the times. Watch a TV show in HD, discuss it on the Internet and listen to the sound track in stereo on your DVD player. Is it to much to fast?????

[WildIrish]

I don't multi-task as much as I "perform in a tubulent environment". That is, I need to be able to focus on completing the task at hand, but part of that might involve completing secondary tasks along the way and also not letting interuptions derail me from finishing.

In my opinion, incorporating attention to detail and focus into your teaching methods is a priority. I don't see it proactive to show kids how to spread themselves too thin...we all learn it soon enough as it is.

[Aqua]

I can't keep my thoughts on one project let alone several. *headspin*

[WildIrish]

BTW...Until I got to the end of your post, I thought you were referring to how I'm able to cup my balls and finger my asshole while masturbating. :D

[Scarecrow]

WI is that like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time?

[WildIrish]

WI is that like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time?



No...it's much better than that!


Significantly messier as well. lmfao

[WildIrish]

Bonjour Jacques!

[jseal]

[I]... I think the "ability" to multi-task is over-rated. Not every job or every assignment is best handled in this way is it? ...
Any thoughts?
Lilith,

Couldn't agree more! I'm sure that it is valuable in some situations to be able to perform more than one concurrent task acceptably. I also think that in others it is more important to prioritize one task above another - or even above all others.

[Fangtasia]

Some people just arent born with the ability to multi task

The reason i do it is because i get distracted and wander off on another path...then wander back to the original task...depending on the time frame of the original task i could do that many times

I still usually give the original task my best while i'm doing it......i just find i get frustrated if forced to concentrate on the same thing for too long...so i move around the 'collection' of tasks...i eventually get them done on time....just in a round about way *LOL*

[PantyFanatic]

I find the only way for me to eat a pack of jackals is to treat them as one elephant. Working with a graphic timeline (like a Gantt chart) is a good tool for me to keep them connected even when the ear doesn’t look like the tail. Regardless of the size or shape of the elephant, it’s eaten one bit at a time, even when it a four course meal.

[Booger]

I think it all depneds on the job at hand when I was cooking you couldn't just do one thing at a time or half the food would be cold by the time evrything was done. It also depends on the task at hand some require your full attention while others don't take your full attention. The trick is learning which one are which.

[osuche]

As I get older, I find that context switching is getting harder and harder for me. I try to align my day into small segments where I can focus myself on ONE task at hand and do it well, then move onto the next segment.

Of course...reality sometimes sets in and I find that I have to reprioritize and often speed up the multi-tasking. So I think it's a valuable ability to be able to "roll with the punches"...but in order to get true valuable work done, it's often necessary to focus.

Did I vascillate enough for you, Lil? :D

[Teddy Bear]

BTW...Until I got to the end of your post, I thought you were referring to how I'm able to cup my balls and finger my asshole while masturbating. :D


*wonders if theres a video of this somewhere?* ;)

[Oldfart]

In my job, I have to multitask (we dream of a monotasking environment).

Some tasks are a little more highly rated than others, but all need completion within a timeframe.

These can't be done one at a time because they are linked to physical processes.

[Steph]

I think the "ability" to multi-task is over-rated. Not every job or every assignment is best handled in this way is it?

I RULE at multi-tasking. I don't get a lot of money for it but I'm freaking good at it. I can be talking to one client, updating another's database whilst emailing SDLS & wondering what my dog is doing as it's all going on.

I'm sure I don't make as much money as it appears people like osuche with their stock options are making but I'm freaking good at multi-tasking. I'm known for it!!! I'm also known for analyzing poetry but that doesn't make much money, either.

ADD was not something we knew about when I grew up. I kinda feel belittled when my multitasking is questioned. It's one of my quirky gifts. I can't apologize if it's someone else's weakness.

It's just how we're made.

[Belial]

As I get older, I find that context switching is getting harder and harder for me. I try to align my day into small segments where I can focus myself on ONE task at hand and do it well, then move onto the next segment.

Of course...reality sometimes sets in and I find that I have to reprioritize and often speed up the multi-tasking. So I think it's a valuable ability to be able to "roll with the punches"...but in order to get true valuable work done, it's often necessary to focus.

Did I vascillate enough for you, Lil? :D

Excellent user of computer science terminology :) My thesis (interrupted by becoming a wage slave) involved context switching at a pretty deep level.

But yeah, I can multi-task ok, I just reeeeally dislike being interrupted, which unfortunately happens all the time. I prefer to plan my multi-tasking. If I get that chance, I do ok at it.

[Lilith]

ADD was not something we knew about when I grew up. I kinda feel belittled when my multitasking is questioned. It's one of my quirky gifts. I can't apologize if it's someone else's weakness.

It's just how we're made.

Steph, not belittling your talent at all and not saying that for some jobs it's necessary as in Booger and OldFart's explanation but not everyone who is being forced to multi-task can truly do it well. My students (I am sure there are some who do but not mine) with ADD do not multi-task. They would never complete any of the tasks. My thought comes from knowing that there used to be people and professions who worked best in this manner but wondering if this is necessary for everyone to do in these days and if it benefits every profession. If so I had better prepare my kiddos in a different way.

[maddy]

Lil, I know very little about ADD, so my comments may be wrong ... if so correct me, please. I thought ADD involved an inability to stay focused, and in it's own quirky way this may help your students in the real world.

In my job I find that I am forced to move with the times and often do so very quickly. I work in an electronic environment where 90% of my communication is by phone or email, I must be able to respond to those items quickly and can't continuing plugging away on a spreadsheet without taking a glance at my email to see what's going on in the inbox. I'm alos forced to deal with competing and changing priorities on a daily basis, perhaps sometimes an hourly basis. Being able to adapt quickly and change directions on a drop of a hat is critical to my success.

I encounter people in my office (my manager) who are not good at this and it drives me straight up a wall. I find myself highly agitated that he can't keep up with the flow from one topic to the next or can't keep up on the 75 emails he receives in a day.

I'm not sure I consider it multi-tasking anymore, as much as adaptability and managing change.

So what did I mean by the ability to "not stay focused" might help? When they are stuck on the task at hand or bored with it... they can flip over to email for five minutes, fire off some responses and then go back to the task at hand.

[Lilith]

So what did I mean by the ability to "not stay focused" might help? When they are stuck on the task at hand or bored with it... they can flip over to email for five minutes, fire off some responses and then go back to the task at hand.

I got what you are saying and that is part of the reason for my questioning. I mentioned my kids because I think part of the way I have begun thinking about multi-tasking is based on me spending my day trying to teach students to either 1. not be distracted by extraneous stimuli or to 2. return to the task at hand and follow it through to completion. For instance.... I usually give this group 2 worksheets after a particular lesson. They know how to complete both. At first not thinking I handed them both to them at once. The students went back and forth between the two at times and only the one on meds finished them. So then I began to give them one at a time. Maybe I'd be better off handing them both and showing them how to toggle between the two and still stay focused. Just trying to figure out how to best get my kiddos ready for the real world despite my personal feelings so I figured I'd survey the real world (or at least the sexy part) for some opinions.

[maddy]

I don't think it can hurt to teach them to "toggle", it could be a good life skill for them or a method of coping. It may not work for all of your students, but for a few it might be a great tool.

[PantyFanatic]

Sorry I wasn’t clear on this question being a reference to your workload and method of teaching, or subject of what you are teaching.

It does seem to be a fact that fewer and fewer jobs consist of a single task or objective and I understand your concern. I very much like your concept of ‘toggle’. Completion of a single step or phase of any objective may be the key here, for all of us. How to teach that is YOUR assignment for today. ;)

[bare4you]

My job requires a talent to both multi-task (in an emergency situation) as well as focus (such as when dealing with individuals).

Effective use of this concept requires someone who can focus on multiple events and be able to be a success at each one independently. Not everyone has that ability. There should never be a knock on someone who cannot.

As the parent of a daughter with ADHD (albeit she is in her early 20s now) I can relate to the problems one faces when dealing with someone who is ADHD. Focused attention or toggling or multi-tasking is a specific art for each individual. To require someone to have this concept at the core of their life only hurts any prospective employer and I have little time for someone who is so narrow minded.

I guess that is why "69" does not work well for me!!!!

[Teddy Bear]

There is a difference between ADHD and ADD. The 'H' standing for hyper. My daughter is pure ADD, not a hyper bone in her body, most laid back person I know. She has always had trouble staying on task til completion. Outside distractions, no matter how slight throw her off track. If she then gives her attention to the distraction the original project is forgotten.

Through school she had an IEP (Individual Education Plan) which basically stated what might help her in the classroom and each teacher was made aware of this. If the teacher saw her off task she had a few simple ways to get her focused, such as putting a hand on her shoulder. Daughter knew these cues and refocused.

This worked through the younger years but became less used in High School. But by that time daughter had learned how better to direct her attention. She never wanted anybody to know, so shhhhhh!! She has always worked hard and often times I think she works harder then anybody else in the class because she is always struggling to stay focused.

I think what got her through was a pride in accomplishment. She was never told 'you can't do that', 'its to hard', but told to try it and stress was put upon 'do your best'. And that meant not using ADD as an excuse but do what you need to get it done. She has graduated college on the Dean's list (meaning all high B and A grades) with a degree in psychology. It was not easy and took her close to 6 years as she found it impossible to carry a full course load. But she did it!!

Lil, all that to say my only suggestion for your students is to teach them pride in finishing a project well. And they should never use ADD or ADHD as an excuse not to do something but rather they should try harder so they can say ' I did it in spite of!' I think alot is up to the parents though. This needs to be a partnership between home and school. Sadly many parents I know say 'Little Susie can't do that she has ADHD'. To that I say BS!! How to change the parents views I do not know. I wish you good luck with your students. I know many will do anything in thier power to get praise from a teacher. Use that to your advantage.

[Lilith]

Teddy, glad to hear of your girl's accomplishments! And yes I'm a praise pimp:D but never undeserved.