Multi-Tasking

Can you read this article while listening to your favourite song?

Currently there are evidences against multi-tasking. Yet, scheduling multiple tasks and execution at the same time is still the requirement of the modern work environment. Hence, I believe that whether we like it or not multi-tasking is a practice that we all have to deal delicately without affecting our physical and mental status.

According to many individuals, the act of juggling two or more activities/tasks simultaneously is known as multi-tasking. I feel this explanation is not practically correct. The human brain is not naturally built for poly-focal attention. That is why we cannot effectively focus more than one task at a time. Honestly, when a person is multi-tasking this is what really happens. They are showing their improved analytical skills by switching the focus between parallel tasks quickly. It seems like that s/he is working on multiple things simultaneously to the outsiders. One’s ability to multi-task is viewed as a core competency.

As a person who is practicing multi-tasking for 20+ years, this month I would like to share some of my proven techniques in multi-tasking. I hope that you will be able to be more productive in life without being stressed.

But before that, I need to share some of the disadvantages that I have faced as a multi-tasking personality. I have felt burned outs by the end of the day as doing many things at a day can diminish your cognitive abilities. Physical and mental exhaustion is unavoidable. Sometimes the inability to focus on one particular thing is quite evident as I have split focus. Due to partial attention I have missed data or inaccurately processed information in some circumstances.

With the maturity, I learn to organize and prioritize the things to be done. That is the main technique you must master if you wanted to multi-task in life. First, you need to create an overview of what needs to be done in a list. Then you need to organize them according to the particular time frame with deadlines. I normally prioritize according to Eisenhower Matrix under important and urgent basis.

Take the breaks that human body needs. As multi-tasking requires lot of brain activity, you need ways to relax, deviate your attention and do things differently to break the monotonous life cycle. I normally slow down during the weekends as I need to recharge my bio-battery to enhance my creativity and build up strength for the upcoming week.

Next is to keep on track to finish the task. While doing so, you need to identify your capacity and set boundaries accordingly. You can easily fall prey to the habit of over-commitment if you are a people-pleaser. Hence, you need to be realistic about what you can achieve within a given timeline. I am not afraid to say ‘No’ and sometimes I extend the request to a later date with proper communication. What works for me may not work for you because each human has a unique personality. But you need to track the progress and celebrate the milestones. For example, when I have nearly 500 final exam answer scripts to correct in the semester, I divide the number into five hundreds and move forward with specific timelines without worrying about the workload along with my other work and life commitments.

When there are so many things in my plate, I delegate. I view delegation as a convenient way to get things done in a shortest period of time successfully. You need to know your priorities while assigning the rest of work to trusted people who are capable of completion equally or better than yourself.

Finally, I try to master time management. This will help you to be able to multi-task without feeling burned out, frustrated, irritated and overwhelmed.

According to the current trends of workplace, employees are requested to manage several demands simultaneously, maximizing the output while maintaining the enthusiasm. I feel that improving the multi-tasking skill of yours is one of the best ways to be efficient to achieve the performance that you are looking for in this 2024! 

(This article originally appeared in Probe January 2024 issue)