FinExecutive Russia website 2020-03-23

Multitasking: reality or myth?

Some employers believe that the ideal employee will effectively perform his duties at work even while multitasking. Therefore, when compiling a resume, applicants are increasingly indicating this quality among their advantages. However, remember that a busy schedule and an accelerated pace of life can not only reduce personal productivity and negatively affect your career, but also cause serious harm to your health.

Multitasking is considered an indicator of a worker's productivity, competence and flexibility. Those who are able to quickly switch from one task to another, from a report to a meeting and back again, are considered an asset to the company.

Ability to multitask - one of the requirements for a candidate for many, many employers, which is easily confirmed by job descriptions on headhunter. Unfortunately, the reality of multitasking - not such a useful skill.

Every day we find ourselves trying to do several things at once. However, multitasking mode works very differently: we become less productive, but experience more stress.

How multitasking interferes with your productivity

Let's say you need to cope with three simple tasks: draw 20 circles on paper, connect 20 paper clips into a chain, and stack 20 coins.

Have a competition with your colleague or friend. One of you will solve each problem in sequence: first the circles, then the paper clips and finally the coins. The second one must switch between these tasks: draw 3-4 circles, connect 3-4 paper clips, fold 3-4 coins - and return to the circles.

The result can be predicted in advance. A person who does not switch between tasks, but completes each one before moving on to the next, will get the job done faster.

Connect paper clips and draw circles - not the most common workload (unless you are a kindergarten teacher). Let's consider a situation that we might encounter in everyday life.

Suppose we are making a presentation while simultaneously looking at our VKontakte account or talking on the phone. Most likely, after half an hour we will notice that time has flown somewhere, and only a couple of slides are ready from the entire presentation.

The more devices and social media accounts we have, including professional ones, the more difficult it is for us to focus on working with one of them. All gadgets and applications are designed to require your attention and action by default. « Answer the call » , « click on the link » , « open the application » , « turn me on » . And do it all at the same time.

If you listen to music while working, your attention will wander.

What will happen over time if we don’t get distracted by messengers and social networks, but silently make a presentation while listening to music? Scientists have bad news for us again.

If we are faced with several independent stimuli of different modalities (for example, a presentation that involves our actions and occupies the visual channel, and music, which occupies the auditory channel), our performance drops.

Trying to make a presentation with music, we are slower to perceive the information that should be displayed on the slide, we make mistakes with the design and more often confuse the numbers. Moreover, the older a person gets, the worse he copes with two things at the same time. With age, reaction speed decreases and the likelihood of error increases.

Why is this so? Our brain doesn't care whether we do multiple things or take in information from multiple sources. In both cases, the brain needs time to process the signal.

Researchers Ophir, Nass, and Wagner showed that multitasking people who regularly engage with multiple media sources and people who do not multitask excessively process information differently.

It is more difficult for the former to cut off unimportant stimuli and not react to them. They are less likely to ignore irrelevant information. “Multi-tasking” people are easier to get involved in side tasks that are not important for achieving the main goal than “single-tasking” people.

How the brain works when multitasking

The mechanisms of short-term memory are simple and not « sharpened » for multitasking. Trying to arrange tasks in a certain order (I make a call while I am calling, finish writing a letter, and then talk), we disconnect from the environment. We have to split our focus into several parts. But that’s the problem: the focus of attention is not divided.

It doesn't matter what metaphors proponents of multitasking use. The human brain works differently than a computer.

The computer is specially designed for multitasking. For example, the Windows operating system can simultaneously run several processes and programs without losing any quality or performance.

Microsoft Excel will not start making errors due to the fact that the browser is open, and in it - clip from youtube. But the human brain begins to switch between these two tasks, wasting time both switching and immersing itself in a new question.

Our brain can only concentrate on one thing at a time. If we are talking about short tasks, routine, well-known actions - multitasking works because we don’t have to split our attention.

If you have enough experience, you can peel potatoes while watching a well-known TV series. Problems begin when at least one of the tasks turns out to be important. For example, if you communicate with a client or analyze data, while simultaneously communicating with colleagues in a corporate messenger.

Multitasking distracts attention and interferes with concentration.

Pros and cons of multitasking

Multitasking - a very stressful way to live your life and build a career. People who multitask actually switch from one task to another faster, but they also get less done.

There is evidence for this statement. Article in « Journal of Experimental Psychology » reported that students solved a math problem 40% slower when they were asked to switch to other problems during the process.

American researchers found that people who constantly switched from one task to another made 1.5 times more errors than experimental participants who were able to focus on one task for a long time.

Consequences of Multitasking

Cognitive overload

When we multitask, we have to put in more mental effort to process all the incoming information. When there is a lot of incoming information, it takes longer to process.

Incorrect performance appraisal

People who consider themselves multitaskers often consciously create such conditions for themselves to work. But they are unable to objectively evaluate their effectiveness.

Teens and children cope less well with cognitive overload, so they should avoid multitasking. Even if we believe that by nature they are better suited for this.

Reduced work efficiency

Most of the tasks that come to us in a short period of time - distraction. In essence, multitasking is a trained distraction, not an aid.

As psychologists Finley, Benjamin and McCarley showed in their study, people are unable to adequately assess how much productivity will drop when multitasking.

Problems with concentration and attention

In an effort to meet job requirements, people try to develop multitasking, even if they were not naturally inclined to it. Unfortunately, multitasking develops to the detriment of other work skills.

Col Newport, author of a book on how to focus at work in a distracting environment, says that multitasking reduces our ability to concentrate. At the same time, the ability to concentrate is one of the most important skills for performing complex work.

Loss of joy from work

Neuroscientists Loch and Kanai found that people who multitask with media have lower gray matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex.

The anterior cingulate cortex is involved in motivation and reward mechanisms, and is active when we need to exert mental effort or focus. The lower the density of gray matter in the anterior cingulate cortex - the less joy there is in work that requires concentration and mental effort.

Risk to life

If you're in a remote meeting and driving, you won't be able to focus on the road. This increases the likelihood of an accident.
Several studies have shown that if a driver uses a phone while on the road, the risk of car accidents increases several times.

Why do we keep multitasking?

People who multitask take almost one and a half times longer to complete a task. Why then « multitaskers » continue to practice it?

Multitasking looks impressive

If you observe a person practicing multitasking, it will seem that he has everything under control at the same time. In addition, multitasking helps create the image of a busy and sought-after person.

Society is convinced that multitasking - norm

Messages from television, radio, magazines, friends, books, articles sound like this: « You can handle it » . In fact, more than 90% of people are not physiologically equipped to concentrate on more than one task for long periods of time.

Doing one thing for several hours is boring

Multitasking mode - a way to give yourself a shake-up, in which there is certainly no time for boredom.

The irrational belief that multitasking helps you get more things done

When a person tackles several things at once, it seems that he gets more done. It's easy to fall into the mental trap: « I have a lot to do. I should double or triple my efforts » . But this conviction does not help, but exhausts.

How to stop multitasking

If you've recognized the problem and want to solve it, here are five steps you can take to help you stop multitasking without losing productivity.
Realize that multitasking - it's a choice we can change.

Set your priorities

In multitasking mode, primary issues can fade into the background, since employees are constantly busy - they react to any incoming signal, constantly being distracted from more important and valuable matters.

Determine which tasks can't be postponed or delegated, and don't waste time and energy multitasking. Set a notification « don't disturb » to your messengers and get down to business without being distracted by notifications and questions.

Plan your day and week

Planning helps:

• Motivate yourself to achieve goals;
• Reduce stress levels (due to predictability);
• Eliminate the need to store all tasks in short-term memory.

Take 5-10 minutes at the beginning and end of the day to plan for the next day and determine what you need to do.

Use planning assistants. Trello boards or the Todoist app help you schedule tasks for the day or week.

Analyze your actions

Ask yourself questions regularly:

• Is what I do useful for my career and company?
• Am I distributing my workload correctly throughout the day?
• What changes or tools will help me be more productive while also freeing me up?

Learn to concentrate

Practice meditation and use apps. The ability to focus is a skill that keeps us from multitasking and saves us from stress.

What if I can't stop multitasking?

How to cope with a large number of tasks without feeling stressed that you can't complete any of them? Correct answer - The fewer tasks you do at once, the better.

But what if we are constantly distracted? You are trying to write a letter to a client, but they call you. And you can no longer fully concentrate, because the phone is ringing very annoyingly, and you have to answer. A way to cope with such a situation is called « Mental completion » .

How the technique works « Mental completion »

You are working - writing an article or a work letter. The phone rings and you need to answer. Mentally tell yourself: « I understand that now my work is at such and such a stage and is completed at such and such a stage » . Save the file or email and pick up your phone.

While you are talking with your interlocutor, do not return to your previous work. Concentrate completely on the conversation. Try to have a successful conversation: take notes, ask your interlocutor clarifying questions.

As soon as you finish the call, hang up and realize that the call is over. You have completed this task. Return to the previous task as quickly as possible without switching to something completely different.

It is important to give yourself time to mentally complete all tasks and even thoughts. This will increase your energy, concentration levels and structure.

And yet, true professionals learn not to take on several tasks at the same time. Follow their advice: slow down, engage in work, start and finish it. In the long run, you will appreciate how useful this skill is. You will be able to complete your tasks faster and better.

Be healthy and efficient!

Multitasking is what it means: doing a large number of things one at a time.

Examples. People have breakfast and read the newspaper, drive in the car and talk on the phone.

Multitasking is a person’s ability to quickly switch from the first task to the second.

Switch less frequently and be less distracted by several things at once, then your well-being has nothing to fear.

But you need to know that with each switch, vital resources are spent, stress increases, and feelings of anxiety involuntarily increase.

Scientists have proven that you can multitask if you have:

analytical thinking;

highly organized;

systematic approach;

ability to analyze results.

Let's say you don't have the qualities listed above. No problem, they will appear.

Listen to these tips for every day:

1 tip. Make a business plan for the day, week, month.

It will help:

motivate to achieve specific goals;

reduce stress to zero;

free your brain from unnecessary information.

Take 10 minutes to make a plan. Write in a notepad, diary, calendar, Todoist app, Trello board. Store valuable and large information on a flash card.

Managers of large companies plan their working hours by the hour, for each task for a certain period of time.

Let's say you have an unpleasant job that definitely needs to be done. Talk about it with your inner voice. Convince yourself, and you will feel that you are in the work, and it has begun, all that remains is to finish it.

Tip 2. Sort things by priority.

Well-known experts suggest using their developments for operating in the following mode:

Brian Tracy's ABCD method;
Bluma Zeigarnik effect;
Dwight Eisenhower's matrix.

Think strategically. Start doing the most important and voluminous tasks in the morning.
When the life resource is not depleted, and you can make the right decision.

Tip 3 Cyclicality in work.

By focusing on a difficult task, the subject will be able to achieve more than being scattered on several tasks at once.

To avoid stress and decreased productivity, work and maintain a cyclical nature of your work while multitasking.

The Pomodoro Method suggests how to focus on a task and take breaks by Francesco Cirillo.

Each person has his own biological rhythm of life. Observe yourself and you will determine the period of time of maximum efficiency if you want to multitask.

Perhaps you work productively for 1 hour, and 10 minutes is enough for you to rest. But towards the end of working hours, the period of fruitful work must be shortened so as not to look like a squeezed lemon.

Sometimes you can hear the expression “full concentration mode,” this is when a person is completely immersed in work. Or another word is “small wandering mode,” which means it’s time to rest.

Changing the modes of concentration and wandering will allow you to reboot your brain in order to increase the efficiency of creative work for the next period of time.

Multitasking mode at work: what is it: pros and cons

Multitasking gives the subject advantages:

helps to significantly increase the number of tasks solved;

concentrate on the most important thing, develops the thinking apparatus;

Instant decision making, reduces thinking time;

seeking new discoveries and sensations;

work effectively and have a decent rest, life will seem happy to you.

But multitasking also has negative consequences:

the subject does the work superficially, fighting for the quantity of work completed, and forgets about the quality ve;

sometimes tragic mistakes are made if a person is not able to quickly concentrate and switch from first to second case;

Improper task planning increases fatigue;

multitasking reduces your ability to concentrate your attention on a specific task and impairs your memory;

A busy work schedule for a long period provokes the production of systematic stress hormones in people’s bodies. Therefore, your body is tired and exhausted to the limit;

negative negativity develops about an employee when, during a conversation, he is distracted by phone calls, working on a computer, or chewing candy.

Multitasking mode has its own rules:

take a 60 second break before switching to the second task;

Don’t be scattered among your tasks, bring the first task to the finish line, then complete the second;

combine similar tasks into blocks and solve them gradually: one after another;

do fewer tasks, but with high quality;

If one thing requires a break, pause it. Make a note and come back to it when the time comes.;

rest during breaks, on weekends and be sure to allocate 8 hours of sleep.

Scientist experiments, modern multitaskers

Example. “Nina Petrovna is a super employee. She performs many tasks at the same time,” says the boss.

This means that multitasking today equates to increased productivity.

Scientists claim that When performing three or four tasks simultaneously, the human brain loses time switching and immersing itself in a new task. As a result, each task is completed superficially, but not completely, and a lot of effort is expended, and IQ drops.

There are individuals who are able to do a lot of things at one time. Julius Caesar was one of them. He could: listen, write, talk, read.

Currently, such people are called multitasking - Andrey Parabellum, an information businessman from Russia, and Elon Musk, an entrepreneur from America.

“An internal predisposition develops a person’s ability to perform work in multitasking mode,” defined scientist Alain Bluedorn.

A story about multitasking and brain function

The word multitasking or multitasking was used in the 60s of the 20th century to process computer data. The word Multitasking is translated from English as multitasking. Then these words began to be used in psychology, and now they can often be heard in everyday life.

The computer can multitask for a long time. For example, the Windows system runs a lot of processes and does not lose performance or quality of work.

And Microsoft Excel works well when the browser opens, then YouTube.

But the human brain works differently, not like a computer.

When multitasking, the density of gray matter, located in the front hemispheres of the brain and responsible for cognitive processes, decreases.

Scientists have proven that a person can only handle two things at once.

When performing the same task, both frontal parts of our brain are involved in working together. When there are two problems, then each hemisphere works only on its own task.

But enough for a third problem to appear, the brain displaces the first and places a third in its place.

Multitasking creates the illusion of carrying out several plans at the same time, switching from one task to another using the executive functions of the brain.

Quitting bad habits

Multitasking causes harm during work.

Therefore, one should resist:

turn off your smartphone and set up an email storage system;

install a social blocking program. networks.

Multitasking – This is a person’s work activity in which measured planning of tasks for the day, ... year takes place. Consistent execution with great efficiency and excellent quality.

The world overloads us with information and tasks so much that we simply forgot how to focus. We check social networks a hundred times a day. And we now have problems that other people used to solve. For example, it is now possible to independently book a plane ticket and a hotel room, and buy goods in a store without a cashier. There are many more tasks, and besides this I want to be with family, friends and take up hobbies.

Multitasking is a myth

However, having a large task list and being able to multi-task is not as good as it seems. A person cannot multitask. We take multitasking to be the ability to quickly switch from one task to another. And each such switch requires considerable resources, increases stress and increases anxiety. Therefore, the less we switch and are distracted by extraneous things, the better.

But what if there are a lot of tasks and you need to somehow cope with it? How to avoid going crazy with a huge list of tasks and be effective? Here are some tips.

Work in cycles

Business requires constant switching between tasks. If you have not yet learned to delegate and do everything on your own - from calling the water delivery person to an interview, then by the evening you are probably squeezed like lemon. To avoid unnecessary stress, work in cycles with a break in between.

The simplest technique for working in cycles is the Pomodoro technique. You concentrate as much as possible for some time at work and then be sure to take a short break. For example, 45 minutes of work and 15 minutes of rest. This operating principle is effective for working with both a large number of tasks and one large task.

Change your concentration mode

Our brain operates in two attention modes: concentration mode and wandering mode. Concentration mode (central-executive mode) turns on when we are completely immersed in work. We pay maximum attention to our work. In this mode, we work productively, but intensely. When working at such speeds for a long time, we gradually get tired and our efficiency decreases.

To work productively for a long time, you need to periodically switch from the first to the second mode - the mind-wandering mode. We are in this mode when we read literature, articles, walk, admire art, meditate. The “wandering” mode allows you to “reboot” your brain and relax. Therefore, breaks are useful for improving work efficiency.

Make important decisions in the morning

It is better to make all important decisions in the morning, when your decision-making resource has not yet been exhausted. Oddly enough, we can actually make a limited number of decisions per day. There is a certain threshold, and it makes no difference whether the choice we face is difficult or easy.

In one experiment, a group of people were asked to participate in a survey. Before the survey, they were specifically asked simple questions like: how should you arrange the paper? Would you like a blue or black pen? What will you drink: tea or coffee? With sugar or without sugar? With milk or lemon?

That is, they were forced to make decisions. And then they handed out survey sheets with questions on important philosophical problems. People struggled because they were already feeling tired. The decision-making resource has been spent.

Therefore, it is better to solve all important issues in the morning, while your head is fresh and you have not had time to spend all the resources.

Free your head

Don’t keep everything in your head, use brain “extenders” - calendars, diaries, lists, notepads, applications.

Think of your concentration as the RAM on your computer. The more programs you have open on your computer at the same time, the slower it will work. If you try to keep something in your head instead of offloading it to another medium, then you take up the amount of memory you need. The more such information, the more difficult it is to concentrate on the current matter.

Live "in the moment"

How often do you, while at work, think about household chores and dinner, and at home think about work? This happens all the time. During breakfast, people hold a fork in one hand and a phone in the other. They walk down the street with gloomy, concentrated faces, intensely thinking about something. We have stopped enjoying the present moment.

The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh teaches how to live here and now in his book “Peace in Every Step.” If you want to learn to live in the moment, then be sure to read this book.

When hiring, it is sometimes difficult to foresee what a person will do in the future, because changes can happen at lightning speed: the opening of a new direction, the emergence of an additional task, the need to provide insurance for a colleague, and much more.

Therefore, modern managers identify a number of qualities that help employees navigate the situation, be flexible in tasks, cope with changes and accomplish what is expected on time.

The article describes skills that help you be successful in any position, contribute to the development of the employer's company and your career ladder at the same time.

By analyzing these qualities, you can select a universal “soldier” who will orientate himself in a new place and get into the working rhythm, bringing benefits earlier than expected.

1.Multitasking

The ability to solve several problems simultaneously without loss of quality is valuable for a future employee. Along with the main functionality, he will be able to manage a number of projects and, what is most interesting, he will like it. Thanks to this skill, a colleague will be able to support, pick up or help in the implementation of almost any project.

What questions to use to determine multitasking in an interview:

— Have you ever had to work in multitasking mode?
- Tell me what it looked like?

The HR task will monitor whether this multitasking is as expected.

Give a case: “Imagine that your manager has assigned you an important task that needs to be completed by a certain deadline. A day later, he issues another task of no less importance and with the same deadlines. Question: how will you feel, what sensations? What will you do?

The interviewer’s task is to assess how the employee will act (in parallel and sequentially), to understand the true attitude (is he experiencing negativity, irritation, a desire to object, or is completely calm and happy to add variety to the day).

2. Ability to listen and hear

Managers note that they systematically face problems of different interpretations and understanding of tasks by employees. The understood task can be radically different from the task set.

Therefore, they highlight the skills not only to listen, but also to hear the speaker, interpret and draw the right conclusions, highlighting the true essence.

This skill will save at least half of the working time spent on trying to figure out the assigned task and accomplishing something completely different from what the manager wanted.

How to determine the ability to hear your interlocutor
— Give a voluminous task during the interview. Before issuing, indicate that the company values ​​the ability to correctly understand each other. Explain that the task will now be announced, it is necessary to accept it qualitatively, then explain how you understand it and what you will do.

There is a small “BUT” here: the task in the test should be understandable to any person, not concern the specifics of the enterprise, requiring expertise.

The recruiter’s goal is to track how the task will be accepted (using note-taking or not, with clarifying questions, with confirmation of correct understanding) and how it will be voiced (whether the essence is correctly assessed and captured, whether important details and deadlines are determined).

3. Ability to make decisions

This skill is possessed by people who do not need constant supervision and are able to act independently where they have sufficient competencies. They will not need additional assessment of the correctness of the decision. This skill is formed from the ability to rationally assess the situation, emotional balance, determination and the ability to take responsibility.

How to determine decision making ability
— Immerse yourself in a case situation by setting preconditions: “you know a certain document and advise colleagues on its use. Suddenly a question comes from a business partner; such a question has not been encountered before, but is within the framework of the entrusted document. The task is to competently and quickly advise a colleague. How will you act?

The goal is to understand the format of behavior, the ability to rely on oneself. The interviewer can answer clarifying questions from the applicant during the task.

4. Sincerity

Honest people are easy to manage, you can trust them and rely on them. This is a powerful screening quality that can fill other gaps in an applicant's skills. Why is it important to tell the truth?

— failures will not wait until the last minute, the manager will be warned;
— dissatisfaction will be known immediately, without turning into gossip.

How to Define Honesty
Give a mini-test with answer options marked as if it were a hint from other applicants. The goal is to track whether the test taker admits this and asks for another form.

5. Self-organization

The ability to independently control oneself, discipline oneself, find everything necessary to solve an entrusted task and manage the situation, showing initiative - these are the skills not only of a manager, but also of an employee who is able to work actively without sitting in a chair.

How to check self-organization
Self-organization is visible from a person’s behavior during an interview. Did he arrive on time, does he ask for a pen and a piece of paper (if there is a task to fill out something, and not all the conditions are provided for this - this is how you can simulate the circumstances to check this quality).

The evaluator's task is to track behavior and reactions. If the candidate sits waiting for an offer of help, most likely self-organization is at the initial level. Of course, such a test will not show the whole picture, but will give an idea as a first approximation.

6. Enthusiasm

The ability to think positively forms the right goals in the minds of employees, helps them find a solution and not give up. Scientists have proven that “positive” employees quickly find contact with the team, work with people more easily and achieve results more easily.

How to Test Enthusiasm
A positive or negative attitude is visible from the candidate’s first words. When he talks about how he got to the office, about his previous place of work.
It cannot be said that the above skills will instantly create a great manager for the organization, they will bring the company closer to effective and loyal employees, to profitable investments of time in their training and high-quality timely returns. You can determine the presence of a skill in different ways:
- using the examples given or creating your own work based on them.
- by assessing each skill individually or creating a pair of universal tests that demonstrate all the success factors.

Of course, when analyzing these skills, the risk of making the wrong choice remains, but if an employee is not even able to give his best, demonstrating all the qualities of an effective manager, then most likely, a miracle will not happen during work.