Multitasking Harmful To Productivity

Greyfox writes: "According to a CNN article, a person who is multitasking several things takes a hit on his productivity. Oddly enough, it reads almost exactly like a description of the problem with multitasking on computers; context switches cost, especially if you have to swap a lot of crap out in order to fit the new process into memory. So basically, an employee who can stay focussed on one thing for long periods of time is going to have higher productivity than one who has to handle constant interrupts. Now if I could get my manager to buy into that ..."

Twice the results?

[wiredog]

You pee twice as much while brushing your teeth? Better see a doctor about that.

hrm, Assembly line maybe?

[Leknor]

Didn't Henry Ford relize this first.

Don't tell that to cavalry pilots

[HerrGlock]

Four radios, talking to six people, a co-pilot, maps, weapons systems, mast mounted sight, scanning for other aircraft, while on a screenline looking for bad guys, setting up relief on station and tracking the movements of everybody.

Multi-tasking? What's that?

DanH

Re:I multitask for a reason

[Zico]

You got that right. I've got 18 freakin' browser windows open right now, forget about all the other stuff that's open, too. I'm impatient, and some of us can actually handle multitasking, thank you. Sure, there are some times when it slows me down, like I won't read a book while listening to something like the Phil Hendrie Show because that my brain doesn't handle very well. Then again, knowing the simps that work at CNN, it wouldn't suprise me in the least if they have one browser window open at a time, spending 50% of their time just watching that little blue ball spin 'round and 'round...

Re:Multitasking is ...

[csbruce]

Trying to think of something profound, while going for First Post.

That'd be real-time multitasking.

Analogies, continued.

[Observer]

A high level of interrupts is bad for throughput, too.

But the tendency to use words and analogies drawn from current technology has a long history. Popular-science accounts of the working of the brain used to compare it with a telephone exchange. At the time they were written, this was the highest vaguely relevant technology. Fifty years later, comparisons were being made with computers. Most such analogies and comparisons become misleading if you try to extrapolate from the analogy back to real life - the brain isn't a telephone exchange or a computer, after all.

Vaguely related: long ago, when the organisation I was in had far too much work for its headcount (something to do with a recession and layoffs - little changes in business) our group manager once picked on 'concurrency' as his word of the week. "Up your concurrency!" he exhorted his staff at an open meeting. A prim female voice from the back of the hall responded "Up yours."

Sad but true

[Robotech_Master]

I find myself trying to multitask a lot of the time during my free time...and usually what I'm trying to do suffers for it. Roleplay online, read net news, read Slashdot, read email, read net comics, watch a DVD movie...I guess I'm easily distracted by things.

Oooh! Bright shiny object, sorry gotta go!

Re:Multitasking Efficiency Dependent on Sex?

[Zico]

Yeah, you tell yourself that women are good at multitasking the next time you let your girlfriend drive and when she's looking for a particular street sign, she starts screaming at you to turn the radio down. Come on! :)

New government studies show:

[Kierthos]

• Sky indeed blue, research study concludes.

Don't confuse multitasking with distraction

[pieterh]

Being distracted by irrelevancies is one thing, but switching between different projects and tasks can be very productive, if done right. First off, it is tiring to concentrate on one thing for too long. Secondly, when I work on different projects, the cross-fertilisation of ideas is often very useful. Lastly, in my experience, the cost of context switching between projects can be kept very low by using standard tools, similar environments, etc.

There is some evidence that people who learn to speak several languages at once learn faster than those who learn a single one.

Computers multitask stupidly. Many people multitask naturally and creatively. The trick is to make it easy, painless, and pleasant.

Re:I guess it depends on..

[jcarley]

I think I have the same problem although it sounds less acute. When my wife talks to me I can't hear her. The disorder seems to be hereditary because my kids can't seem to watch tv and hear their parents either...

Goldfish..

[marcushnk]

Is it just me or is this story kinda like say we're just like Goldfish??
Ohh look a rock
ohh look a rock
ohh look a rock
ad-infinitum (or something to the effect) Marcus

Multitasking is ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Trying to think of something profound, while going for First Post.