How Many Things Have You Multi tasked at Once? Or Should You?

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Multi tasking is still big. But some are hooked on it and others see it as the door to man's downfall. I fall in between the two extremes. I've personally mutitasked 3 things at once.

Typing a lettter.
Uploading video.
Closing a real estate loan on the phone.

I'm sure that's peanuts to veteran multi taskers. What's your record for multi tasking? How do you feel about it now?
#multi #tasked #things
  • Profile picture of the author Peter ONeill
    Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

    Multi tasking is still big. But some are hooked on it and others see it as the door to man's downfall. I fall in between the two extremes. I've personally mutitasked 3 things at once.

    Typing a lettter.
    Uploading video.
    Closing a real estate loan on the phone.

    I'm sure that's peanuts to veteran multi taskers. What's your record for multi tasking? How do you feel about it now?
    I don't multitask at all... one priority at a time...

    Otherwise I feel busy but I don't get anyting done
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  • Profile picture of the author clove
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author JulianKane
      Originally Posted by clove View Post

      Studies in psychology show that there is no such thing as "multitasking" in general (you can be trained to multitask two SPECIFIC things, but no one is a good "multitasker"). Multitasking is simply doing things sequentially with frequent switches. It lowers efficiency.
      Psycho-babble, I often complete multiple projects within a certain time frame- I would say that is the ultimate in efficiency.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by clove View Post

      Studies in psychology show that there is no such thing as "multitasking" in general (you can be trained to multitask two SPECIFIC things, but no one is a good "multitasker"). Multitasking is simply doing things sequentially with frequent switches. It lowers efficiency.
      Actually, this isn't wholly true. if you are doing very different things, you can have parallelization. If you practice them, or they fit a pattern, they can be habitual and nearly TRANSPARENT!

      Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author hardraysnight
      Originally Posted by clove View Post

      Studies in psychology show that there is no such thing as "multitasking" in general (you can be trained to multitask two SPECIFIC things, but no one is a good "multitasker"). Multitasking is simply doing things sequentially with frequent switches. It lowers efficiency.
      psychology is only theory, multi tasking is practice and practice becomes perfect
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      • Profile picture of the author ThomM
        I was a chef in one of my past lives
        I almost can't function unless I'm multi-tasking.
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        • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
          Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

          I was a chef in one of my past lives
          I almost can't function unless I'm multi-tasking.
          Yes, now that's a career that demands multi tasking. In my past life too, I've worked with the "can only do one thing at a time chefs."

          It's most frustrating when you have a party of 10 ... your grill, all fryers and burners are full and one of your chefs calls in sick. And the theatre across the street is letting out and you're about to get slammed. That's a multi task or persish situation baby, brace yourself.
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          • Profile picture of the author GrizleyAdams
            I am not sure how good is to multitask.. That way you teach yourself to divide your attention and focus and that's not always a good thing
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          • Profile picture of the author ThomM
            Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

            Yes, now that's a career that demands multi tasking. In my past life too, I've worked with the "can only do one thing at a time chefs."

            It's most frustrating when you have a party of 10 ... your grill, all fryers and burners are full and one of your chefs calls in sick. And the theatre across the street is letting out and you're about to get slammed. That's a multi task or persish situation baby, brace yourself.
            I hear that
            I was for lack of a better title (or at least one I can spell) the Pastry Chef at one of the larger country clubs in my area. In the summer I had 1 part time worker with me, but mostly worked alone.
            Everything cold from salads to desserts was my responsibility. We did a lunch menu a dinner ala carte menu and around three banquets a day (up to 300 people each).
            Two things you needed to know how to do to survive.
            Plan and execute. I never used a microwave or did I ever use a timer.
            It was common for me to have different things baking in 5 different ovens at a time while doing prep and presentation work.
            During the summer working 16 hour days 6 days a week with an 8 hour day on Mondays was common as was sleeping in the break room.
            Without a doubt it was the most insane, intense, and stressful job I ever had, and I loved every sec. of it
            The full kitchen staff (of cooks) was the exec. chef, banquet chef, line cook, and me. Best group of people I have ever worked with and partied with.
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            Life: Nature's way of keeping meat fresh
            Getting old ain't for sissy's
            As you are I was, as I am you will be
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  • Profile picture of the author armedgrace
    ~PFF~! call that multitasking?

    I can do 4 things all at the same time!

    I'm cooking with my one hand while taking care of my cousin (which is only 3 yrs old) with my other hand while reading a book about entrepreneurship and online business while tagging my friends @ Facebook. (when I let go of the ladle of what I'm cooking)

    How's that for a multitasking? LOL
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  • Profile picture of the author MrMysteryBox
    lol at my desk there are always 3 monitors going at the same time 1-work 2-netflix 3-random ustream channel
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  • Profile picture of the author jakebvs85
    I don't really do multitasking everyday but just in case things are should be done on the same time, that's the time I do multitasking....I generate some articles while updating my clients social sites accounts and post some comments on forums or blog sites just like now
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    • Profile picture of the author lcombs
      Multi tasking is a myth.
      It's simply another way of saying you have A.D.D.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jesse L
        Originally Posted by lcombs View Post

        Multi tasking is a myth.
        It's simply another way of saying you have A.D.D.
        Never tried raising 3 kids I take it
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        • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
          It certainly depends on what the multitasks are.

          Some tasks combined could be dangerous!

          For example, a few years back, I was driving home from work while deep in thought working out a sales presentation for an upcoming speaking engagement.

          After I had mentally polished up some portions of the presentation, I noticed I was almost home with no recollection of going through six intersections with traffic lights!

          Scared the crap out of me. I guess I was driving on autopilot or something, but the thought that I could have killed myself and/or someone else freaked me out.

          Now the only other thing I'll do while driving is sing at the top of my lungs to my favorite tunes, lol!

          Terra
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          • Profile picture of the author Sumit Menon
            Originally Posted by MissTerraK View Post

            It certainly depends on what the multitasks are.

            Some tasks combined could be dangerous!

            For example, a few years back, I was driving home from work while deep in thought working out a sales presentation for an upcoming speaking engagement.

            After I had mentally polished up some portions of the presentation, I noticed I was almost home with no recollection of going through six intersections with traffic lights!

            Scared the crap out of me. I guess I was driving on autopilot or something, but the thought that I could have killed myself and/or someone else freaked me out.

            Now the only other thing I'll do while driving is sing at the top of my lungs to my favorite tunes, lol!

            Terra
            It's unlikely you'd have killed yourself. Happens to me too and I've noticed when something out of the ordinary happens, you're snapped back in. I could walk all the way home and not know which way I took.

            Also during summer I drink water from the fridge every 5-10 minutes. I don't realize it unless mom points it out. Sometimes when no one's home, after a couple of hours, I'm like, wtf! who drank all the wa.. oh wait. :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author Imbizhq
    I hear and feels just like you here.;-) Multi tasking can be very subjective and this really depend on how each person look at it.

    However from my point of view, multi tasking to me can be very dangerous as well and my reason why I'm saying this is because we may be drift from setting our priority right. If we were to set importance of priority in whatever task or particular work we do, we can definitely put our 100% focus on getting a particular task done and my guess is if you were to do it right, you probably gonna LOVE IT.

    Let's do a simple theory here - If you were to focus two particular work (e.g. Work A and Work B) at the same time, this means your focus would probably be 50% focus for Work A and 50% focus for Work B. Thus if you want to achieve 100% focus on both works, that means you'd probably have to Double your Focus. Yes you probably can cut both of these work timelines in half, but bear in mind you need to double your work, load, perseverance and effort as well. And if anyone can't cope it, it's pretty normal to get a feeling of getting stress out.

    Thus from my opinion, if we do have several different tasks to do or complete , it's best we FOCUS JUST ONE TASK ALONE AT ONE TIME which is of highest priority first and this can certainly be done if we do have a S.M.A.R.T goal in mind which means your goal must be:

    1. Specific
    2. Measurable
    3.Attainable
    4.Realistic
    5.Timeable

    Thus in my opinion (again this may be subjective as how each person would look at), if there isn't a need to do multi tasking, it's best to just FOCUS at finishing one task alone. A great tip on how I do this is always about setting a goal that includes planning and managing my time as well.

    So what happen if there's a need to multi task? hmm.. good question too. I guess if there's a need to do so, make sure to stay focus (do whatever it takes to stay focus) and set a S.M.A.R.T goal in mind.

    For whatever reason we've, my humble opinion suggest.. we should avoid getting into a state of over rushing simply to complete all jobs at once. The reason why I'm saying this is because all of those jobs would probably end up of low quality and you probably would have to spend extra time working on it over again. On the other hand, if you can outsource some of task which worth your time and money, you can certainly do that as well. The key point that I would like to highlight here is no other than 'leveraging' your tasks as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      The biggest problem I see with multi tasking is people trying to multi task who don't understand how to do it.
      It's a skill you have to learn, and it's not entirely what you think.
      You're not actually trying to do multiple things at the same time.
      You go back and forth on multiple projects.
      Depending on the concentration level needed for a particular task you can often be planning your next move for one project while completing a task on a different project.
      Many times when I'm multi tasking I'll mix in projects that are totally none related and try to have a couple that don't require a lot of thought.
      Then I'll work on one stage of one project until it's completed or I hit a snag. Then I'll jump to another project and in the back of my mind I'll start thinking about my next move with the first project or what I need to do with my third project. So instead of wasting time planning something and only doing that, I plan B while working on A and plan C while working on B and so on and so on.
      That way you are constantly working on a project and not stopping to figure out what you have to do next.
      Signature

      Life: Nature's way of keeping meat fresh
      Getting old ain't for sissy's
      As you are I was, as I am you will be
      You can't fix stupid, but you can always out smart it.

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      • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
        Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

        The biggest problem I see with multi tasking is people trying to multi task who don't understand how to do it.
        It's a skill you have to learn, and it's not entirely what you think.
        You're not actually trying to do multiple things at the same time.
        You go back and forth on multiple projects.
        Depending on the concentration level needed for a particular task you can often be planning your next move for one project while completing a task on a different project.
        Many times when I'm multi tasking I'll mix in projects that are totally none related and try to have a couple that don't require a lot of thought.
        Then I'll work on one stage of one project until it's completed or I hit a snag. Then I'll jump to another project and in the back of my mind I'll start thinking about my next move with the first project or what I need to do with my third project. So instead of wasting time planning something and only doing that, I plan B while working on A and plan C while working on B and so on and so on.
        That way you are constantly working on a project and not stopping to figure out what you have to do next.
        I think you're right that people have different interpretations on what is exactly multitasking is.

        Dictionary dot com describes it like this: to work at several different tasks simultaneously
        Simultaneously means at the same time

        Terra
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        • Profile picture of the author ThomM
          Originally Posted by MissTerraK View Post

          I think you're right that people have different interpretations on what is exactly multitasking is.



          Simultaneously means at the same time

          Terra
          And what I described is working on different projects at the same time One you work on physically another you work on mentally.
          It all depends on what you are working on also. Some things demand undivided attention and don't lend themselves with multi tasking. For example driving a car (or motorcycle) and doing anything else. If you try to multi task with tasks that don't fit and fail, you can't say multi tasking doesn't work.
          Signature

          Life: Nature's way of keeping meat fresh
          Getting old ain't for sissy's
          As you are I was, as I am you will be
          You can't fix stupid, but you can always out smart it.

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          • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
            Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

            And what I described is working on different projects at the same time One you work on physically another you work on mentally.
            It all depends on what you are working on also. Some things demand undivided attention and don't lend themselves with multi tasking. For example driving a car (or motorcycle) and doing anything else. If you try to multi task with tasks that don't fit and fail, you can't say multi tasking doesn't work.
            Yes it is.

            See?

            synonyms for simultaneously:
            concurrently
            in chorus
            at once
            all together

            Antonyms for simultaneously:
            separately
            unconnectedly
            disjointedly
            independently
            individually
            alone
            singly
            one by one

            I wasn't disagreeing with you Thom, lol!

            I was just trying to point out that some people have different understandings and ideas on what multitasking is. I guess the key words here was "trying to".

            Oh and I totally agree with your last sentence too.

            Terra
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      • Profile picture of the author Sumit Menon
        Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

        The biggest problem I see with multi tasking is people trying to multi task who don't understand how to do it.
        It's a skill you have to learn, and it's not entirely what you think.
        You're not actually trying to do multiple things at the same time.
        You go back and forth on multiple projects.
        Depending on the concentration level needed for a particular task you can often be planning your next move for one project while completing a task on a different project.
        Many times when I'm multi tasking I'll mix in projects that are totally none related and try to have a couple that don't require a lot of thought.
        Then I'll work on one stage of one project until it's completed or I hit a snag. Then I'll jump to another project and in the back of my mind I'll start thinking about my next move with the first project or what I need to do with my third project. So instead of wasting time planning something and only doing that, I plan B while working on A and plan C while working on B and so on and so on.
        That way you are constantly working on a project and not stopping to figure out what you have to do next.
        Well, then I multitask to the extreme, upto a point where I might forget I have to do the task! (You read the test paper and are like, f**k, I was gonna read that part.)

        But its fun to finish all the tasks at once instead of finishing it one by one. That's why you do it, isn't it?

        As for the other definition of multi-tasking where you talk on the phone, do math problems and watch TV all at once. That I can't do!
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      • Originally Posted by ThomM View Post

        The biggest problem I see with multi tasking is people trying to multi task who don't understand how to do it.
        It's a skill you have to learn, and it's not entirely what you think.
        You're not actually trying to do multiple things at the same time.
        You go back and forth on multiple projects.
        Depending on the concentration level needed for a particular task you can often be planning your next move for one project while completing a task on a different project.
        Many times when I'm multi tasking I'll mix in projects that are totally none related and try to have a couple that don't require a lot of thought.
        Then I'll work on one stage of one project until it's completed or I hit a snag. Then I'll jump to another project and in the back of my mind I'll start thinking about my next move with the first project or what I need to do with my third project. So instead of wasting time planning something and only doing that, I plan B while working on A and plan C while working on B and so on and so on.
        That way you are constantly working on a project and not stopping to figure out what you have to do next.
        You're right...I am so used to doing it, it surprises me when someone cannot...If they are perfoming brain surgery, or similar 'focus' work, I can see a need to concentrate on the task at hand...but when I hear "could you give me a second? I'm trying to sharpen this pencil..." :rolleyes: I begin to wonder...(unless they are trying to do it with a chainsaw)
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