Powe of the Universe
The planets revolve in their orbits, focused on only one ask. We can depend on the to continue, at least in our lifetime. Acrylic on Canvas 16 x 20 x 0 $299.00 USD
Is it Possible to Multitask?
When asked, I proudly tell people that I am an accomplished multitasker, but I recently became aware of research saying that I am not. I ride an exercise bicycle and watch TV while doing so. Isn’t that multitasking? while I imagine I might be a better cyclist if I was not distracted but I would probably get bored and give up after ten minutes.
A receptionist answers the phone while greeting visitors, a parent talks to a child while preparing dinner, and partners have sex while making mental plans to see a lover. Aren’t they doing two things at one time? I once observed a very successful canvas artist work on eight, 4 by 8 foot canvases spread out on the floor of his studio. He added colorful pigments and details moving from one to the next and back again. He was fast and working on so many at once permitted paint to dry while focusing on the next canvas. I was impressed by his ability to develop unique creations. When finished, though, he did not have eight masterpieces. One was exceptionally good but the rest were mediocre. He sold them all, however, which was his intent.
As do most working executives, I thought of myself as a multitasker, for I was able to move rapidly from one subject to the next. An hour could easily be filled with 10minute meetings on topics ranging from a broken plumbing pipe, budget and insurance issues, discussion around marketing to interviewing a prospective employee. If someone interrupted me for an emergency I was able to handle it and then turn back to the topic I had been working on. I labeled this behavior as multitasking. What I haves since learned is that most of us think we are multitasking when we aren’t. I wasn’t do two things at the same time, but rather was compartmentalizing my mind. I was a fast shifter. Each activity required complete attention and it was easy for me to go back and forth quickly.
This skill is not easily transferred to art work or writings. To paint, I need 100 percent focus on what I am doing. It is not possible to select a color, put a dab on a brush , and apply it to a canvas without complete attention. Young children who are less focused, leave art sessions with with paint on their clothes or spilled on the floor. I attest to having cleaned up quite a few messes.
For nearly all people, in every situation, multitasking is near impossible. The neuroscience presented is clear. We are wired to be mono-taskers. Attempting to do two things at the same time is an illusion for most of us.
Over the past ten years many businesses downsized to become a lean and, in some instances, a mean workplace. As employees dwindled, loads increased, requiring workers to do more, producing short term effectiveness and long term disasters. When overworked, people become stressed, develop migraines, and suffer adult ADHD according the the American Management Association. The young man Ray and I mentored was injured on the job, in part, because management worked him physically 10-12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, month after month. His manager kept challenging him to man up, go faster, paint while balancing precariously. Since it is easier to move without wearing a heavy harness, he took short cuts and was rewarded with praise for being efficient—that is until he fell from scaffolding and became a quadriplegic.
One of the keys to successful mono-tasking is to slow down, not speed up. Learning to do move from topic to topic and place to place quickly takes time. The brain and muscles have to be well trained in order to switch from one activity to the next without getting overloaded. Multitasking is a misnomer for doing any task well requires full attention to the project at hand. What effective managers learn to do efficiently is to switch between tasks quickly. Basically, they single task with intention, often using cheat lists to store enabling information. And—most importantly—they know to take brain rests. They use the full amount of time allocated for lunch and work breaks in order to turn off their mind.
I am always impressed with the skills at-home parents develop by caring for children, cleaning, and engaging in social and community activities. To accomplish a multitude of tasks they develop organizational and time management abilities that rival those practiced by corporate managers.
So, can the brain do two things at one time? The estimate is that 2 to 2.5 percent of the population are capable of doing more than one complex thing at a time. One of the tasks is usually automatic, like walking or tying a shoelace while talking.
When activities are unrelated, the two hemispheres split the labor, with each side taking on a task. However, both tasks tend to suffer and errors greatly compound, for neither has the brain’s full attention. For instance, those walking briskly down a street become slower when they talk. You seemingly can cook and talk on the phone at the same time but not efficiently. A third goal will get discarded altogether by the prefrontal cortex.
One Stanford University study showed that those who believe they are the best multitaskers are actually the worst, for they are chronically distracted and find it difficult to focus. Multitasking is more wasteful than it is timesaving. The more we multitask the less we are able to accomplish because we lose the ability to focus enough to learn. According to an article by Kabu and Machado, “empirical research has demonstrated that multitasking with technology (such as texting, listening to music, checking emails) negatively impacts studying, doing homework, learning and grades.“
So, yes, we can practice switching from one task to the next quickly and no, you will not be multitasking. It is unlikely that you will ever be able to do two things at the same time and do them well.
References:
Secrets of Multitasking: slow Down to Speed Up. (2018) American Management Association. retrieved from web site http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/secrets-of-multitasking-slow-down-to-speed-up.aspx
Goodman, N. (2013) How to Train Your Brain to Multitask Efficiently. Entrepreneur. retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225865
Glowatz, E. ( 2016) Do You Struggle with Multitasking? Why The Brain Can Only Focus on one thing at a time. Medical Daily. retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/04/multitasking-splits-brain
Telis, G. (2010) Multitasking Splits the Brain. Science Magazine. retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/04/multitasking-splits-brain
Kabu,C. & Machado, A. (2017) Why Multitasking is Bad for You. Time.retrieved from
http://time.com/4737286/multitasking-mental-health-stress-texting-depression/
Art is always for sale. Contact me at Marilynne@eichingerfineart.com
Home » Blog » Is it Possible to Multitask?
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The planets revolve in their orbits, focused on only one ask. We can depend on the to continue, at least in our lifetime. Acrylic on Canvas 16 x 20 x 0 $299.00 USD
Is it Possible to Multitask?
When asked, I proudly tell people that I am an accomplished multitasker, but I recently became aware of research saying that I am not. I ride an exercise bicycle and watch TV while doing so. Isn’t that multitasking? while I imagine I might be a better cyclist if I was not distracted but I would probably get bored and give up after ten minutes.
A receptionist answers the phone while greeting visitors, a parent talks to a child while preparing dinner, and partners have sex while making mental plans to see a lover. Aren’t they doing two things at one time? I once observed a very successful canvas artist work on eight, 4 by 8 foot canvases spread out on the floor of his studio. He added colorful pigments and details moving from one to the next and back again. He was fast and working on so many at once permitted paint to dry while focusing on the next canvas. I was impressed by his ability to develop unique creations. When finished, though, he did not have eight masterpieces. One was exceptionally good but the rest were mediocre. He sold them all, however, which was his intent.
As do most working executives, I thought of myself as a multitasker, for I was able to move rapidly from one subject to the next. An hour could easily be filled with 10minute meetings on topics ranging from a broken plumbing pipe, budget and insurance issues, discussion around marketing to interviewing a prospective employee. If someone interrupted me for an emergency I was able to handle it and then turn back to the topic I had been working on. I labeled this behavior as multitasking. What I haves since learned is that most of us think we are multitasking when we aren’t. I wasn’t do two things at the same time, but rather was compartmentalizing my mind. I was a fast shifter. Each activity required complete attention and it was easy for me to go back and forth quickly.
This skill is not easily transferred to art work or writings. To paint, I need 100 percent focus on what I am doing. It is not possible to select a color, put a dab on a brush , and apply it to a canvas without complete attention. Young children who are less focused, leave art sessions with with paint on their clothes or spilled on the floor. I attest to having cleaned up quite a few messes.
For nearly all people, in every situation, multitasking is near impossible. The neuroscience presented is clear. We are wired to be mono-taskers. Attempting to do two things at the same time is an illusion for most of us.
Over the past ten years many businesses downsized to become a lean and, in some instances, a mean workplace. As employees dwindled, loads increased, requiring workers to do more, producing short term effectiveness and long term disasters. When overworked, people become stressed, develop migraines, and suffer adult ADHD according the the American Management Association. The young man Ray and I mentored was injured on the job, in part, because management worked him physically 10-12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, month after month. His manager kept challenging him to man up, go faster, paint while balancing precariously. Since it is easier to move without wearing a heavy harness, he took short cuts and was rewarded with praise for being efficient—that is until he fell from scaffolding and became a quadriplegic.
One of the keys to successful mono-tasking is to slow down, not speed up. Learning to do move from topic to topic and place to place quickly takes time. The brain and muscles have to be well trained in order to switch from one activity to the next without getting overloaded. Multitasking is a misnomer for doing any task well requires full attention to the project at hand. What effective managers learn to do efficiently is to switch between tasks quickly. Basically, they single task with intention, often using cheat lists to store enabling information. And—most importantly—they know to take brain rests. They use the full amount of time allocated for lunch and work breaks in order to turn off their mind.
I am always impressed with the skills at-home parents develop by caring for children, cleaning, and engaging in social and community activities. To accomplish a multitude of tasks they develop organizational and time management abilities that rival those practiced by corporate managers.
So, can the brain do two things at one time? The estimate is that 2 to 2.5 percent of the population are capable of doing more than one complex thing at a time. One of the tasks is usually automatic, like walking or tying a shoelace while talking.
When activities are unrelated, the two hemispheres split the labor, with each side taking on a task. However, both tasks tend to suffer and errors greatly compound, for neither has the brain’s full attention. For instance, those walking briskly down a street become slower when they talk. You seemingly can cook and talk on the phone at the same time but not efficiently. A third goal will get discarded altogether by the prefrontal cortex.
One Stanford University study showed that those who believe they are the best multitaskers are actually the worst, for they are chronically distracted and find it difficult to focus. Multitasking is more wasteful than it is timesaving. The more we multitask the less we are able to accomplish because we lose the ability to focus enough to learn. According to an article by Kabu and Machado, “empirical research has demonstrated that multitasking with technology (such as texting, listening to music, checking emails) negatively impacts studying, doing homework, learning and grades.“
So, yes, we can practice switching from one task to the next quickly and no, you will not be multitasking. It is unlikely that you will ever be able to do two things at the same time and do them well.
References:
Secrets of Multitasking: slow Down to Speed Up. (2018) American Management Association. retrieved from web site http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/secrets-of-multitasking-slow-down-to-speed-up.aspx
Goodman, N. (2013) How to Train Your Brain to Multitask Efficiently. Entrepreneur. retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225865
Glowatz, E. ( 2016) Do You Struggle with Multitasking? Why The Brain Can Only Focus on one thing at a time. Medical Daily. retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/04/multitasking-splits-brain
Telis, G. (2010) Multitasking Splits the Brain. Science Magazine. retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/04/multitasking-splits-brain
Kabu,C. & Machado, A. (2017) Why Multitasking is Bad for You. Time.retrieved from
http://time.com/4737286/multitasking-mental-health-stress-texting-depression/
Art is always for sale. Contact me at Marilynne@eichingerfineart.com
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