Chris Knox
Professor Dollieslager
English 111
Oct 25 2016
Multitasking
In today's world, we are inundated with tasks and distractions. Multitasking seems to be the only way to deal with this flood of information. The question I would pose to you is, is this really an effective way of dealing with it? Can we really multitask, or is organization our salvation?
In an article written by Sarah D, Sparks, she discusses the effects of multitasking and our ability to control it. According to Larry D. Rosen, multitasking has become more prevalent in the youth of today compared to previous generations. With all the distractions these days; email, social media, cell phones etc... a teenager outside of school is multitasking on average six different things at the same time. With their attention split between so many different distractions, it becomes very difficult to focus on one thing which leads to only understanding things on a basic level. (Sparks)
The problem with multitasking is that the brain cannot actually do it. Your brain only has the ability to make one decision at a time. When the brain switches from task to task there is a delay involved. This delay is the primary reason that focusing on one task at a time is more efficient than multitasking. In addition to multitasking slowing down your production, it will also reduce the amount of information you retain and lessen your understanding of the material. (Sparks)
A test was developed to show the how children handle having an immediate reward in the form of a marshmallow or waiting for a better reward. Only a small percentage of the children were able to wait for the better reward. After looking at how the children performed throughout their academic career it was determined the students who were able to wait for the better reward did better in school. These results showed that putting off immediate gratification for a better outcome in the future was very important for success. (Sparks)
There have been times where I was put into a position where multitasking was required of me. The time that sticks out the most to me is when I was working at a fiber-optic cable facility. I was assigned five different cables to build and each of these cables had different building procedures. I have built all these cables before individually without any problem. I started each cable one after another following the documented procedures. About two hours into my multitasking assignment I discovered that in three of my cables had been built incorrectly due to my lack of focus. This mistake had cost the company thousands of dollars. Instead of getting the five jobs I was assigned done faster, I now had to restart them which added many hours to the build. This seems to directly correlate with what Sarah Sparks has discovered. In my attempt to focus on multiple things at the same time I ended up paying only partial attention to my tasks.
The extent of my time management to this point consisted of occasionally writing down in a weekly journal to visually see what I needed to do for that week. This technique helped me know what I needed to get done for that week but didn’t let me know what order those things should be done. Steven Covey’s time management matrix does exactly that, by implementing this matrix I was better able to see exactly what I needed to focus my attention on day by day. This method can also help with large projects, for example, I have been working on a paper for one of my college classes and using the time management matrix. This allowed me to allocate time each day that I would work on this paper while also managing my other important tasks, therefore my big project didn’t feel so big when worked on in small chunks. The matrix can also help you allocate free time that you can use to balance your workload. Since implementing the time management matrix I feel much more in control of my time and it has actually allowed me to have more free time to do what I enjoy.
In an attempt to answer my original questions stated in the introductory paragraph, I have learned through research and practice that the ability for a person to actually multitask is impossible. The fact that our brain can only make one cognitive decision at a time and it takes extra time switching from task to task, it leads to only one conclusion. Organization and time management are key to surviving in this world full of distractions.
Works Cited
Sparks, Sarah D. "Studies on Multitasking Highlight Value of Self-Control." Education Week. N.p., 11 May 2016. Web. 13 Dec. 2016. <http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/31multitasking_ep.h31.html?tkn=PTWFGpBwR5o7bKrnCvQZswL8Vr%2BlUoJB%2B62c&cmp=clp-edweek>.