Learn to recognize when multitasking goes too far

Published by Ryan Paugh on December 13th, 2007 in Productivity, Work, Work/Life | 18 Comments

The art of multitasking has become so engrained in our lives that it has fundamentally shaped the definition of the millennial generation. It's frequently marketed as a good thing, as if we've become hybrid models of human efficiency. But I wonder if it in fact signals the start of an era in which we're more dumbed down and disconnected from reality than ever before.

I met a college student the other day while volunteering at Madison's local teen center. Great girl, had a lot to say, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of her Blackberry for the life of her. It's frustrating to think that face-to-face personal exchange has somehow become so diluted that we balance it with communication lying elsewhere.

She admitted that her infatuation with her Blackberry was somewhat pathetic. While hanging out with her friends on the couch, she explains, sometimes they're so buried in texting that they don't utter a word to each other for hours. Dead silence is only masked by the faint clicks of laptops, cell phones, Blackberries or whatever.

The business world is no different. I can recall several one-on-one meetings where a seemingly important dialogue took a backseat to whatever communication was going on via PDA.

But it's not just the way we communicate that's affected negatively when we take multitasking too far. It's also the quality of our work.

The more we attempt to do at once, the less focus we tend to put on each individual activity. As good as we think we are at juggling many things at once, if we're not careful, our work is likely to decrease in value.

I had a co-worker who was exactly like this. She thought she could multitask her way through anything, until everyone started to notice how inferior her work had become.

You know that screeching sound a train makes when it needs to slow down really fast? That's what it's like when a chronic multitasker finally reaches their boiling point.

Her self-proclaimed superiority in handling anything and everything at once led to an emotional breakdown that left her cube vacant for weeks. She was so detached from her co-workers and her fundamental responsibilities that working from home seemed like the only way for her to get a grip.

In November's issue of The Atlantic, Walter Kirn describes the great tragedy of such multitaskers:

"This is the great irony of multitasking – that its overall goal, getting more done in less time, turns out to be chimerical. In reality, multitasking slows our thinking. It forces us to chop competing tasks into pieces, set them in different piles, then hunt for the pile we are interested in, pick up its pieces, review the rules for putting the pieces back together, and then attempt to do so, often quite awkwardly."

But still, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't give a few kudos to the value multitasking has added to my life. I'm far more efficient with my cell phone in hand and my laptop conveniently strapped over my shoulder nearly everywhere I go. But where do we draw the line?

Maybe the distinction lies in high-level versus low-level activities. And if that's the case, it's important to recognize the difference.

We don't want to become the generation known for completing low-level work with unsurpassed efficiency – especially if our high-level work happens to be far inferior.

The authority of automation that technology bestows is a force to be reckoned with. And the wealth of activities we can accomplish at once makes our lives far more efficient. But with that value sometimes comes the feeling that we can do just about anything. It's then and there that it's time for a reality check.