Beware of Multitasking!

by Don Sanders, 03/05/2003

Most of us try to save time by doing two or three things at once--sending e-mail while on the phone, listening to a colleague while sorting through the mail, or making a list during a meeting. Recent research has shown that your brain will likely "crash," because multitasking can actually make you less efficient. Trying to do two or three things at once or in quick succession can take longer overall than doing them one at a time, and may leave you with reduced brainpower to perform each task.

So what's the answer to dealing with all the tasks in our hurried world? Tone your multitasking muscles by weeding out distractions, honing your mental skills by making a point of continuously learning about new things, and getting plenty of rest. It also helps to occasionally put on the brakes, stay in the moment, and then move on to the next thing.

Moral of the story:

Patience is a virtue.