Uncle Scrooge on Multi-Tasking (Switching between Tasks)

"Uncle Scrooge," chorus the nephews. "We just learned that multitasking (like Minnie does doing housework at home), is a killer of productivity and speed. Multitasking prevents Flow! Can you explain why this is so, please? After all, a task cut into smaller portions should take the same work time as doing it from beginning to end. Right? Anyway, multi-tasking is not always avoidable - you, for instance, tell us to do something before we have finished the prior task."

“Ah, lads, gather 'round and let ol' Uncle Scrooge enlighten ye about the perils of multitasking. Ye see, multitasking seems like it should make us more efficient, but it's a trickier beast than it appears. When ye chop up your tasks into smaller portions and switch between them, your brain has to reorient itself every time you move from one task to another. This process is called "context switching," and it takes up more time and energy than ye might think.”

“Imagine ye're diggin' for treasure, and every few minutes, ye switch to counting coins, then to writing in your ledger, then back to diggin'. Each time ye switch, it takes a bit o' time to remember where ye left off and get back into the swing of things. This constant switching breaks your concentration and makes it harder to get into the "flow" state where ye can work most efficiently and creatively.”

“Flow, lads, is that magical state where ye're so immersed in a task that ye lose track of time and everything just clicks. It's like when I'm countin' my gold and the world fades away. When ye multitask, ye're constantly interrupting this state, making it hard to achieve (flow)”.

Now, multitasking might seem unavoidable sometimes, and yes, even I might ask ye to jump from one task to another quickly. But it's important to remember that each time ye switch tasks, there's a hidden cost. If ye can, try to group similar tasks and give yerself enough time to focus on one thing at a time. This way, ye can minimize the time lost to context switching and be more productive in the long run.”

“So, while multitasking might seem like a way to get more done, it's often a productivity killer. Focus on one thing at a time whenever ye can, and ye'll find ye're much more efficient and less frazzled. And remember, even ol' Uncle Scrooge can learn to be patient with ye if it means better results in the end!”

“And, by the way, Minnie is a good housewife. The way she and all mums work does minimise multitasking. It’s the kids like you that cause multi-tasking or task switching. You should watch her some time and note what causes task switching”.

“By the way, we all have many tasks in front of us – you have homework in several subjects, you train for football, you need to talk with friends, you read books and magazines (maybe some you should not!). So you and we all multi-task – it’s the level of task-switching that should be reduced.”

“When I go to bed I read a book -I usually do not finish it – I pick it up again the following night or after I get back from a business trip. Every restart requires me to go back some pages to remind myself of the story."

"Have you noticed this too?”