Organizational Behavior
The Myth of Multitasking
Steven Woods
Brown Mackie College – Northern Kentucky

Since the mid-1960’s multitasking has been one of the defining buzz words of the business world. However, most people think that they are great multitaskers, especially if you have been seeing success in your business and personal life. Yet, how do you feel at the end of the day? Tired? Stressed? Are you losing sleep time because you need more time to get those last few things completed? Are you spending more time at work, because you just cannot get them all done in eight hours? If you answered yes to any, or all, of these questions then you most likely suffer from the effects of attempting to multitask. The reality of our human world is that we are not physically or mentally capable of completing more than one complex task at a time.
Let us start by defining the term multitasking. Merriam-Webster defines multitasking as: “The ability to do several things at the same time.” (1) The American Psychological Association (APA) defines multitasking in a similar fashion, but also adds the term “switch” at the end. The addition of the word switch actually tells us volumes about the true nature of multitasking. Studies show that multitasking is actually the human mind switching from one task to another. (4) In general, the switch takes only fraction of a second to complete. This quick switch gives us the allusion that we are performing more than one task at a time, thus multitasking is accomplished, or so we think. In fact, according to a study conducted in 2001 by Joshua Rubinstein, Jeffrey Evans and David Meyer found that participants lost significant amounts of time as they switched between multiple tasks and lost even more time as the tasks became increasingly complex. (9)
Scientists have broken the process down into two stages, first “Goal Setting” and second “Role Activation”. The first stage is goal setting, or conscientiously deciding to switch from one task to another. The second stage is role activation, which is the changing from the rules for the previous task to rules for the new task. (4) These same scientists have estimated that potentially up to 40% of our productive time is wasted in the process of switching tasks. Now, we have to look at the broader effects of time that is wasted. Most people will be able to justify the fractions of seconds that it takes to switch from one task to another. What about the ramp down and ramp up of each task? How much time does that take, in addition to the actual switch. There is a time cost that is associated when you actually stop working on the task at hand, so that you can decide on which task to work on next. Sometimes, that decision is made for you when your phone rings or beeps, or that email notification pops up on the screen. Maybe, someone walks up to your desk or randomly just wants to start a conversation with you. At that point you have to make a choice. A conscientious choice to stop what you are doing and focus on what has interrupted you mental process.
Attempting to focus on more than one complex task at a time often means that you have the potential of missing important information. If you listening to a conference call and have to ask the speaker to repeat themselves, or you are using you electronic device while you are driving and miss a red stop light because you are switching the channel, or sending a text, did you luckily make it through the stop light safely, this time? Maybe? There are numerous stories throughout the world where people have been in situations where multitasking has been met with tragic circumstances due to the lack of focus on more important tasks. Entrepreneurs Expert Mitchell York has put together eleven points that may help people make an informed choice on whether to attempt multitasking or not: 1) Say no to the interruption, or at least make them work harder for your attention. 2) Just forget multitasking, it really does not work. 3) Don’t keep your email open, plan periodic times throughout the day to stop what you are doing and read and respond to email at that time. 4) Schedule similar tasks in batches and assign dates and times to work on them. 5) Know where your stuff is, how much time is wasted when you cannot find your keys. 6) The rule of three, if you touch an item three times without doing anything with it, throw it away. 7) Try meditation, just 20 minutes of meditation a day will help focus you on the remaining part of your day. 8) Sleep, no less than 6 to 8 hours of sleep as required for your body and schedule. 9) Keep your to-do list close by, if it is in your face you tend to stay on track, in your head, maybe misplaced. 10) Delegate, delegation of task that can be completed by others probably should be. 11) Plan your fun time, plan time for you and your family away from the pressure of your non-personal life, everyone needs to decompress. (10) Simply stated, focus on the task at hand and make time for yourself and your family.
Looking at the reality of the world we live in today, our personal and professional lives have demanded more from production from us, more results from us, and more time from us on a daily bases. Understanding that there will never be more than twenty-four hours in a day, and that we must allocate our time effectively, it just makes sense that we schedule our tasks appropriately so that we can give them our full attention which will result in a much more fulfilling and success, less stressful life. Less stress leaves room for more happiness and happiness leads to a healthy and long life. We all have to make a choice, so hopefully you will make the right choice for your life.

"To do two things at once is to do neither."
A quote by Publilius Syrus, a slave in the 1st century B.C., who said,
References
1) (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/multitasking
2) Adams, Chris. (n.d.). Can People Really Multitask or Is It a Myth? Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://ergonomics.about.com/od/ergonomicbasics/f/can_people_multitask.htm
3) Brunelli, Laureen. (n.d.). Multitastking - Multitasking for the Work at Home Mom. Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://workathomemoms.about.com/od/balancingworkfamily/a/artofmultitask.htm
4) Cherry, Kendra. (n.d.). The Cognitive Costs of Multitasking. Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/costs-of- multitasking.htm
5) Multitasking. (2015). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/397270/multitasking
6) Multitasking. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=multitasking
7) Multitasking: Switching costs. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://apa.org/research/action/multitask.aspx
8) Robbins, Stephen P., and Timothy A. Judge. Organizational Behavior, 16th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014. VitalBook file.
9) Rubinstein, Joshua S.; Meyer, David E.; Evans, Jeffrey E. (2001). Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27(4), 763-797.
10) York, Mitchell. (n.d.). Small Business Owners Need to Focus on One Thing at a Time. Retrieved May 21, 2015, from http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/beyondstartup/a/Multitasking-Is- The-Enemy- Of-Small-Business-Owner-Productivity.htm