multitasking

When in my work, i think people need to have the ability of multi-tasking, and the multi-tasking is through our behavior all the time, but later, I find that multitasking is actually a high risk behavior, it does not help us finish the works or other else more quickly and efficient.More serious is, multi-tasking will affect our work efficiently, or even other more serious things,like safety.

It’s very normal to multitask now. In our life and work, we always do multitasking. Even multitasking is the symbol you are high efficiency. It’s really the first time heard multitasking will kill your brain. Then we should think of slow down. Focus on one thing maybe better than multitasking. Do next step after thinking more.

multitask may reduce the performance as the different section of the brain is communicating for changing information etc, but it may a special skill somewhere need, at the same time, it may enhance the connections between neures.

Jason（Zeng Fanlin） wrote:Before professor class, I never notice the damage multitasking made. Im always multitasking no matter willing or not. Always interrupted by phone call,email.  after the class, I tried to focus and do not immediately reply mot urgent emails. It helps a lot. but many things happened not as plan. we are interrupted all the time. so we need learn to say no to some request and set priority.  its just time management + concentration

I have to admit that I have the same problem with Jason. Since when I was young, I always did homework while watching TV. I realise that efficiency was quite low at that time. But for now, we are facing more multitasking situations during our work and daily life: for example, a phone call dialled in when you are writing a email, a sms notification ringing when you are in a meeting. I think how to improve the efficiency and avoiding multitasking is really important but very hard.
I think understanding what you should do and what you need to do is very important. Which will help you distinguish the importance of tasks. You could decide the order in which the tasks should be handled, then finish them one by one.
And we also have to control ourselves to avoid be affected by unimportant phone calls and messages, such as setting white list for contacts during working time, turning off the volume of cell phone, setting non-disturbing mode for communication apps, and so on.

Life is short. What we could do is to spend more time with whom we love and to do what we like, rather than wasting time due to low efficiency caused by multitasking.

Joanna(Zhang Xiaojing) wrote:It is not the first time we heard this that multitask lows down your performance. We design the production line with the operators repeating the same motion but not in less than 20 seconds. We don’t allow our children to watch TV the same time as eating. Law doesn’t allow drivers to speak on the phone when driving. A lot of evidence have shown us multitask is ineligible.
But to improve the productivity or efficiency, some actions should be taken anyhow:
1. We have all kinds of tasks every day, divide them with the priority like this:
Important, less important, emergency, less emergency.
Write down what you are going to deal with every morning, separate them with:
First, complete the important and emergency tasks;
Second, complete the important and less emergency tasks;
Third, complete the less important but emergency tasks;
Fourth, complete the less important and less emergency tasks.
2. 5S is also a good tool for you to cope with everyday tasks, when you put everything at the right place, you don’t even need to think about it to get it. Tidy up your desks every day after work; take out your notebook every morning to write down today’s work. Open and completed tasks folder to separate files. You will feel inspired when you complete every task on your notebook, the same time you can figure out the time you spent on each task, find a better way to improve;
3. Once you start a task, try your best to complete at one time, the disturb will cost you more time and more attention on the same thing that doesn’t create value. So anytime somebody is coming to you to stop you, be polite to tell them to wait for a moment;
However even though we can find all the ways to improve efficiency without doing multitasks; we still have too much work which couldn’t be completed in the work time. But we have to remember, we would rather do overtime work, not do multitasks. You think you have improved your efficiency; in fact you are damaging your brain and your health.

For the measures that Joanna suggests, I really agree.
And here I also to say something from my own experience. For the last 4 years, as the branch manager, i need to focus on the sales data, the expense, the project that we bid, and the people, etc. I thought that I was hard-working and almost spent all day sitting in front of the dest, or giving advice to the sales team. About 2 years later, I found that I had a very bad memory, even sometimes I forgot my dearest kid's birthday when others ask me: when was your kid born? This happened a lot and as days past, it was more and more seriously. So I asked myself what is wrong, and finally started to see whether there are anything wrong I did in the work. I thought it was the multi-tasking that ruined my memory.

So from that day, not only the suggestions that Joanna gave, I also thought delegate powers to your employees is good way, just advise and lead them in the right way. Some times later, they will know what you want, and clearly understand how to get the sales contract and follow a project.

As for the multi-tasking this article mentioned,it said the case that multi-tasking usually makes most of us not to focus,so we can not concentrate to do our work efficiently.at the same time,it do harm to our brain since we have to convert our mind to consider other task when we are doing one task.
meanwhile,it is very common for us in daily work,as office employees,we are supposed to carry out our work with multi-task,since it is harmful to both our brain and the efficiency,we`d better focus one task according to the priority.
for the business operation,every company should also concentrate,it could choose its main prodcuts and direction and make the corresponding strategies and plan.It is not wise to change at will or do a lot of business in many fields under one orgnization or leader.Actually many companies have noticed the negetive effect of multi-tasking and taked actions already.
so focus during one period of time,no matter for individual or organization.

As we have learned in Ali's class. We know that being able to multitask—doing several things at the same time—is considered a welcome skill by most people. But if we consider the situation of the young people aged from eight to eighteen, we should think again.
What we often see nowadays is that young people juggle a larger number of electronic devices as they study. While working, they also surf on the Internet, send out emails, answer the telephone and listen to music on their iPods. In a sense, they are spending a large amount of time in fruitless efforts as they multitask.
Multitasking is even changing the relationship between family members. As young people give so much attention to their own worlds, they seem to have no time to spend with the other people around them. They can no longer greet family members when they enter the house, nor can they eat at the family table.

Letian.wang wrote:As we have learned in Ali's class. We know that being able to multitask—doing several things at the same time—is considered a welcome skill by most people. But if we consider the situation of the young people aged from eight to eighteen, we should think again.
What we often see nowadays is that young people juggle a larger number of electronic devices as they study. While working, they also surf on the Internet, send out emails, answer the telephone and listen to music on their iPods. In a sense, they are spending a large amount of time in fruitless efforts as they multitask.
Multitasking is even changing the relationship between family members. As young people give so much attention to their own worlds, they seem to have no time to spend with the other people around them. They can no longer greet family members when they enter the house, nor can they eat at the family table.

Yes, I agree with you that sometimes multitasking is even harmful to the relationship in family. We cannot focus on what we are doing.

In yesterday course ABD(Accounting for Business Decision), professor has mentioned the business strategy for corporation: One is diversity, the other one is focus on one sector.

In course CBI, Prof.Ali has told that a company declines and goes bankrupt in the end, in fact because the people fail.  Then I think if multitasking damages our brain and career of people, how about multitasking as diversity development strategy for company?  

In the past few years a lot of Chinese companies have chosen diversity strategy. Clothes manufacturer expanded his business in real estate. The eyeglass company invested photovoltaic industry. There are two major causes for this choice: 1) more and more fierce competitive market 2) reduce risk-don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
But the result is likely not good.

In Zhe Jiang province such as Wenzhou in China, the owners have more floating capital and don’t want to overlook any opportunity to make a buck. The company prefer to invest in varies sectors. While in Fujian, Sichuan and Guizhou Province in China, the owners concentrate on one sector in all their life probably because of their local traditional culture - focus on one thing.

In Europe and U.S.A, compared with companies who practise developing in various sectors, the companies which focus and insist on one thing have much better performance in market, for instance, UPS, Wal-mart Stores, Microsoft.

In Asia, the situation is different. As we know, Sir Li Ka-shing is a very successful business man; his business involves real estate, ports and electricity, retail, asset trader, pyramid structure, internet and technology and some other sectors. But Asia is not a completely opened and fair market, which is different from western market. In China, the companies which have more information, resources, and relationship from government, will likely be more competitive and successful in the business market.

In my opinion, the company should not multitasking. I respect more those companies who focus on one thing, although maybe finally some of them failed because of decay of the sector.  They win the reputation and become the icon in their area, which is just Chinese company lack of.

1、From this article, since multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time, we should try our best to concentrate on one subject and avoid being interfered with other things which are not emergent. This is meaningful especially for works which need logic and intelligent thinking.
2、On the other hand, contrast to logical work, I think one’s talent for multitasking may be helpful in art field, especially in music. For example, when you are playing the piano or drums, your left hand, right hand, and even your foot are doing totally different tasks. So your brain will have to handle a multitask circumstance at that time.

The article provided indicated that multitasking damages the brain and career. While the discussion of multi-tasking reminds me of a book I read before---“Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning,” “Flow”, from the author’s point of view, is one of the key factors leading to good business. Achieving flow is often referred to as being in the zone. And “concentration” is one of the criteria to achieve it.
Flow, also known as the zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. Named by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields ----education, music, sports and gaming. Nowadays, more and more companies are figuring out how to apply it and create conditions in workplace to encourage people doing so, which may be correlated with increased performance.

So we should be away from the mobile, iPad, ect. when we are doing homework!

Multitasking, this is a popular word especially in multi-national company. The management tends to encourage employee multi-task. By looking at open positions posted on website, being able to multi-task is a kind of desired skills. We are in a fast-moving world, people are anxious to seek for quick success. We are also in information era, we are surrounded by multiple pieces of network information. We are impatient, we are distracted all the time. This is the reason why people tends to think multi-tasking is the way to handle things effectively. However, it is not true. Our brain can only focus on one thing at a time - this is what we call “concentration”. Concentration is the only way to improve efficiency and perform things better.

Be slowing down and concentrating, enjoy the whole process, don’t multi-task, don’t rush across your life.

According to my point of view, the meaning of multitasking in this article is that person does several things at the same time in a very short period in seconds or minutes dimension, just as the case "you’re writing your boss an email during a meeting". It doesn't include the situation that person does several tasks in a sequence in one hour or a day, even the tasks are switch from this one to that one frequently.
So multitasking in this article is more like a kind of distraction, can't focus on one thing at one point, can't judge which one is more important or has more priority.
The key issues are time management and decision-making.

Multitasking breeds from today's business environment, which calls for diversified roles of one occupation. I think most people are unconsciously participate in multitasking activities even though they do not feel happy with it. So, once viewed as a method to solve problems simultaneously, multitasking actually is an undesired burden for most employees when we go back to see its rise. Thus, it's not surprising that it decreases efficiency and damages people's brains. What's more, since most people are forced to take multitasking, they certainly are not happy with it, thus further decreasing the working efficiency. We should manage to make good use of our time to avoid multitasking.

I used to be very proud of multi-tasking. The new Ipad launched weeks ago has a new feature of multi-task APP on the same desktop. It seems that the whole is innovated by multi-task. However I somehow feel so stressed while doing several tasks at the same time. I enjoy baking at my spare time but I feel so exhausted while baking a cake and making a bread at the same time. The efficiency seems to be improved because you finish two things at the same time. But if I really pursue for high efficiency, why should I bother baking by myself. I'd rather go bakery to buy some well-made food, which is faster, cheaper and easier.
So it's really the time to think about why I push myself to be a multi-tasker instead of specializing in one particular task and enjoying the whole process.

We may consider and connect multitask with efficiency, but deeply digging out this problem we find that they're not so related even may be an illusion. Process and priority are most important things instead of information itself, so how to category the problems and tasks makes more sense. Multitask is a good choice with logical and suitable arrangements for the doer himself, and it doesn't mean do all the things together but in some orders. Ohterwise, it's chaos maker which leads thingings disrupted.

I thought multitask is an efficient method to solve the problems within the work. Now I realized that it is not good and sometimes I messed up some issues because of the multitasking. It made you not focusing on one things. At the end it turned out the result was not satisfied and I was tired as well. For us, it is necessary to learn to arranging work one by one without multitasking.

Multitasking is our daily life, since we have a lot of titles, such as son or daughter of parents, husband of wife of the spouse, father or monther of the child, emplyee of a company and even head of personally owned company. Even when it only refers to the work, we normally work under multitasking. We have more than one goal to achieve, more than one project to work on. Although concentration could lead to high efficiency, we have to accept the truth that the time for concentration is very limited. A better way is to make the multi-tasks less during a short period, and slove the resemble tasks at a some period.

Multitasking makes it more difficult to organize thoughts and filter out irrelevant information and it reduces the efficiency and quality of our work.
Our brains weren't built to multitask. Our brains are designed to focus on one thing at a time, and bombarding them with information only slows them down.
Try to do in this way. Commit yourself to checking emails only three times a day, (maybe when you get into work in the morning, at lunch time, and before leaving work at the end of the day). Turn off texting notifications and choose specific times to check your phone as well.

Human multitasking is the apparent performance by an individual of handling more than one task, or activity, at the same time. An example of multitasking is taking phone calls while typing an email.With regarding to a team or company, we intend to absorb as much resource as we can, pursuing the efficiency and focusing on fruitful outcomes. Thus, companies are expending their business scope and involving themselves into those areas they are even not quite familiar.
New- growth teams need to be focusing and nimble, and they should include seasoned members. Big teams often bog down as they purse too many ideas at the same time, whereas it's better to quickly focus on the most-promising initiatives as we throwing all lights on one target. Having too much voice with colorful ideas hardly make sound judgment calls.

Yvonne (Gao Yiwen) wrote:I could not agree more that multitasking damages my work, but how about multitasking in Relationship?  I always focused on one man if I like him. But my parents and friends suggest: why don't you date with different men, that would be more efficient. You may have more choices." Now I am confused...      
In addition, we have just studied the word BANTN in the course Business Communications last week.  BATNA means Best Alternative To a Negotiation Agreement. If you have BATNA, you will be more confidente and successful in negotiation. You know if you always focus on one man, he would feel breathless and then he want to run away....So maybe multitasking in Relationship would be a good idea...

Interesting perspective ~I agree with Yvonne, Multitask is not only damage our performance at work, it's also ruin the relationship with partners and friends, which is the EQ part of oneself.
Connecting another points Ali mentioned many times--we should avoid be kidnapped by smartphones which makes us monkey brains.No one likes others watching their phone tiny screen when talking with you without the eye contact, it's necessary to do things once at a time, enjoy the food when you're eating, enjoy the chatting and brain storming when you're gathering with friends, enjoy the quality time with partner,children or pets, don't be interrupted by TV or smartphones.

After reading this research, I was very impressed about the conclusion. For a long time, I used to think multi-tasking is a special skill or gift for certain type of people who have the ability to manage one more things at the same period, while I’m indeed a normal person who can only do one thing at one time. A typical multi-tasker example is one of my former colleagues. She can easily draw out business idea pictures during conference calls, write a report in training courses, and listen to news when gym... Multi-tasking is not only a work habit but also a life habit in her world.
She’s very smart, innovative and can easily link the dots between different things. She became a role model of work efficiency that I can never catch up. In the meantime, it seems that she did not pay much attention into details and sometimes made big mistakes or missed important information for the actions. Now I understand from the article, every special skill has a “dark” side. Maybe multi-tasking can make you work faster but not perfect or even have risk to make big mistakes. From my point of view, multi-tasking is not only a simple time management issue, it also reflects individual expertise and value. There is no need for me, a typical “one-thing-one-time” person, to become a multi-tasker considering the risk factors. However, it might be also hard for a multi-tasker to change his/her habit totally. To keep balance between work efficiency and brain health, maybe multi-taskers can try to practice focusing on one thing at one time starting from the most important or difficult things and leave some capacity for other easier things by using their special skill.

Shirley Zheng wrote:Human multitasking is the apparent performance by an individual of handling more than one task, or activity, at the same time. An example of multitasking is taking phone calls while typing an email.With regarding to a team or company, we intend to absorb as much resource as we can, pursuing the efficiency and focusing on fruitful outcomes. Thus, companies are expending their business scope and involving themselves into those areas they are even not quite familiar.
New- growth teams need to be focusing and nimble, and they should include seasoned members. Big teams often bog down as they purse too many ideas at the same time, whereas it's better to quickly focus on the most-promising initiatives as we throwing all lights on one target. Having too much voice with colorful ideas hardly make sound judgment calls.

Very good observation which also reminds me of our Ori team task moments, from overwhelming with multiple voice and colorful ideas to efficient team work with single individual tasks under one leader:)

Nowadays being able to multitask-doing several things at the same time-is considered a welcome skill by most people. We often see that young people juggle an ever larger number of electronic devices as they study. While working, they also surf on the Internet, send out emails, answer the telephone and listen to music on their iPods. In a sense, they are spending a significant amount of time in fruitless efforts as they multitask.

I believe man’s energy is limited. If you spend more time on playing, correspondingly you will have less time for other things. As a mother, I spend lots of efforts on training my daughter being focus whenever she does something. And I make sure that my daughter doesn’t addict to modern gadgets as those stuff have made it unnecessary for them to learn special skills to study. Just as educators feel that multitasking by children has a serious effect on later development of study skills.

I really feel lucky that I had the chance to ready this press and keep doing right.