Multitasking

[bara]

Specifically when people say they can do several things at one time.

We cant. Humans can switch between several different tasks quickly. But the brain must pause between tasks. Sort of like minimizing and maximizing windows on a computer.

Like a computer running a game, this switch takes considerably longer.

Why do I hate this? So glad you asked!

Employers believe everyone can and should do it, bad drivers think they are gods at it.

Causes undue work stress and kills people.

The science is down the page.
http://cs.dogpile.com/ClickHandler.a...1E2B47CCD9BEE6

[HYHYBT]

It does, though, depend on what the tasks are. There's very little overlap in what's needed to drive (especially a familiar route with nothing unusual going on) and what's needed to listen to a radio, for instance.

[bara]

True enough.. Im referring to the lovely people that like to text/talk/put on makeup, shave.. things like that.

Look for that (fill in the blank) that they dropped.. you know those folks.

[blas87]

My shift lead at work tries to multitask. Though I prefer to call it "panic tasking", because she will run around like a headless chicken, getting way too far ahead of herself in our work, and she'll make a disaster of the work area trying to get things ready for several hours later and NOT manage her time properly, then will have a royal fit when things don't work out the way she thinks they are supposed to.

Normal people can only focus on one thing at a time. Some people can do two things at once, I usually attempt to do my job and the job ahead of me at the same time, IF I know everything will add up correctly and I won't get distracted and make mistakes, because sometimes when she's tried to force people to do that before, we've made some big doodoos.

And yes, with short staffing in many different workplaces, people are expected to stretch themselves out and do multiple people's jobs.

[Gravekeeper]

Thing with multitasking is the brain just isn't capable of doing it. Like bara said, you're not doing two things at once, you're just rapidly switching attention between two tasks, and doing both tasks worse as a result.

I would not define listening to the radio while you drive as a "task" however, heh ;p

It's certainly kind of silly to be pushing it as a job requirement though. That seems doomed to failure in the long run.

[blas87]

You are quite correct, GK.

I've made mistakes even when I thought it would be easy to do twice the work by myself. A lot of it is short staffing and us being pushed to do multiple jobs at once.
But, many times, like can be predicted, I've forgotten what I was doing before and gotten mixed up and just made an already difficult task worse.

[Gravekeeper]

But, many times, like can be predicted, I've forgotten what I was doing before and gotten mixed up and just made an already difficult task worse.

Pretty much, yeah. I know how easy it is to fark something up myself while at work and trying to juggle too many windows. Even just having a coworker try to talk to you while you're doing something can throw a monkey wrench into things.

[blas87]

Yeah, I pretty much don't have a lot of sympathy for people who choose to try to do too many things at once, even including myself. There's a sense in the area of being expected to be psychic, and I've found myself sometimes wanting to avoid being treated like a slacker, so I'll try to get things going better, and some of my coworkers do as well, and we all just end up making a cluster out of it. Brown Noser does it just to prove he's "better" than the rest of us, but when he screws up because of it, I just smile on the inside and it makes my shift a lot better.

But the forced multitasking element, it is just a setup for clusters. I can't fathom how some people have these expectations that people have more than two arms and two legs and are able to be in two different places at one time and are able to know what will and won't work.

[siead_lietrathua]

i think part of the issue is multitasking has changed to just another corporate buzzword.
but its not impossible. i mean, even the definition of the word isnt being able to do multiple things at the same time, but "The practice or capability of handling more than one task at the same time. " (from ninjawords)
i do it constantly at work myself, its the only way to keep on top of stuff. while one order is printing i'll be prepping the next, etc. because they are different tasks in the same work area.
once it involves having to go to another department to complete the task (like cashiering while trying to finish planos on the other end of the store) then its no longer multitasking. its having separate assignments that do eventually have to be completed but cant be done at the same time. just take the word right out.

[Boozy]

Of course people can "multi-task", it's just a matter of choosing the right two tasks.

Multitasking doesn't refer to writing two TPS reports at the same time, or rapidly shifting between a phone call and an e-mail. It means taking advantage of forced wait times during a task to get another task done.

For example, proofreading your TPS report while you wait at the printer for your copies of another TPS report. Dicing the vegetables while the water boils for the pasta. Bringing paperwork with you whenever you go somewhere you may have to wait, like at the dentist's.

All this may seem obvious to you all, but you'd be amazed at the number of people I've met that don't do any of this. They're always running around complaining about not having enough time, and then they spend massive quantities of time standing around being non-productive.

[DrFaroohk]

I dunno if I can "multi-task", as in doing two different things at once, but I get pretty good with managing my downtimes. Like if I want to maximize my wow-time with other stuff I got going on, I make sure my bathroom breaks happen when I'm flying somewhere or crafting an inordinate amount of stuff.

[Rapscallion]

When I read of your WOW habits, my initial reaction was to suggest that there are perhaps more important things in life. Then I realised I do the same with games - currently Eve.

Rapscallion

[Gravekeeper]

Then I realised I do the same with games - currently Eve.

Yeah, forget rocks, you'd need a cannon to hit WoW from EVE's glass house. >.>

[DrFaroohk]

When I read of your WOW habits, my initial reaction was to suggest that there are perhaps more important things in life. Then I realised I do the same with games - currently Eve.

Rapscallion

Your initial reaction reminds me of a prejudice against video games that I find very very frustrating. Millions of people do this very same thing. They revolve their lives around meaningless things. WoW is pointless. So is Eve, and so is just everything on TV. People wait for the commercial to get up and do something else for a minute. No different than me waiting for a break in wow time to do something else, but it's seen as an addictive and self destructive behavior rather than just being good with time management.

[bara]

i think part of the issue is multitasking has changed to just another corporate buzzword.

Buzzwords- useless words that once had meaning but no longer do. Are instead used to allow an idiot to sound intelligent rather than be intelligent. Most often used in meetings to get people to confused to asked pointed questions, or are used to deflect pointed questions so that the speaker doesnt actually have to answer.

(my own definition)