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[Jason Echols]

From today's blog post...

Recently, my Black Belt Productivity and WLC partner, Michael Ramm introduced me to a book by Dave Crenshaw called "The Myth of Multitasking".  In the book Crenshaw introduces a more accurate term for the phenomenon we call multitasking, it is "switchtasking".

The truth is that we cannot devote undivided attention to more than one thing at a time.  Have you ever tried to read or study something while watching television?  I have.  If I am reading, I cannot focus on the telelvision.  If I hear something on the television that grabs my attention, I look up to focus on it...and I am no longer focused on my book.  As a result, I cannot retain the information from either media very well.

Read here for the complete post.

So are you a switchtasker?

How do you avoid that urge to try to work on more than one thing at a time?

[Shane McCarron]

My worst example of this syndrome used to be when I was working on a computer.  I always have a ton of windows open, and I was forever switching among them.  I would flit from email to instant messaging to code I was writing to web surfing to...  You get the idea.  I have taken a purely technological approach to reducing this thrashing.  I use a virtual screen manager (GoScreen on Windows) to create 10 virtual screens on my machine.  Each screen is assigned a task (page 7, for example, is always e-mail).  I have hotkeys assigned to each screen, so it is very easy for me to switch to a different screen when it is time to switch tasks - but I try hard to have only a single task on each screen.

Once I had made that leap, I also started setting my instant messaging status to "busy" when I didn't want to be interrupted. 

I realize that this approach is only for my at-the-computer work tasks, but that's the majority of what I do.  When I am not doing that, I still find myself doing flipping amongst tasks - reading and watching tv at the same time is a classic.  Cooking and reading.  Heck, pretty much anything and reading.  In general I don't mind that - usually those tasks are not work-related nor critical.

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Now playing: Billy Squier - Young At Heart
via FoxyTunes

[Jason Echols]

Hey,Shane.

I do think there are some things that can be done in parallel.  Most of the time, watching TV is not something that requires our complete focus.  So cooking and watching TV, for example, is not a bad thing in my opinion.

I sit at a computer all day at work as well.  I actually have two monitors (which might actually contribute to switchtasking).  Maybe I need to rethink that.

I am starting to make more use of my status on IM @ the office as well.

[Shane McCarron]

I sit at a computer all day at work as well.  I actually have two monitors (which might actually contribute to switchtasking).  Maybe I need to rethink that.

I should have said that I have dual monitors too - but even so I have multiple virtual screens - the screen manager switches BOTH monitors. All that does is give me a wider workspace - helps me when I am editing multiple documents or merging things together.

[Patrick Rhone]

I am very prone to distraction. I use a few tricks on my computer to (try to) keep me on task:

- I have a little program that has applications "hide on switch" so I only have one application open at a time.

- I use quite a few programs that have a "full screen mode" thereby even blocking out the desktop.

- I have my Dock auto hide so I don't see unread Mail counts or any enticing application icons.

- I group context specific web items together into their own application using Fluid (I am on Mac).An example of this is that I use Backpack, Highrise, Basecamp and Blinksale for my business and keep all of those in tabs in their own Fluid instance. This way, I can make that full screen and focus on nothing but work for a while. Fluid also has an excellent full screen mode.

These are just a few of the things that help me daily.

[Nathan Hale]

I'm also a big believer in multiple desktops or workspaces. It's a great tool that helps me focus at the computer. I also stopped using any mail counter in my taskbar...I only check mail intentionally. I've even turned off audible mail notifications on my G1, so do get an icon telling me I have mail, but I only see it when I look at my phone...no loud distractions!

[Flominator]

- I have a little program that has applications "hide on switch" so I only have one application open at a time.

Sounds interesting. Would you mind telling a bit more about this one?

[Brad Blackman]

At the moment I am talking to you (Jason) on IM, reading feeds in Google Reader, commenting here, and talking to my wife. Yeah, I'm a switchtasker, too. ;-)

I try to work pretty hard to set time aside for ONE thing at a time, but it can be tough, especially at work when there are a million things going on and the phone is ringing. I'm not sure I have any advice to offer on this front. ;-)

[Luther]

Doesn't Malcolm Gladwell have a similar concept called 'thinslicing"?  I think the goal would be to meld switchtasking and thinslicing together when maximising productivity when appropriate.

For instance, as I sail a ship, I switch tasks between taking bearings of other ships, looking at a radar for calulations, taking a visual fix/plotting/projecting, checking my helm, talking on the radio, etc etc.  The better I am I switch between activities with greater speed (thinner slices) and less transition catch up (the time taken to re-orient and 'get up to speed') the more it starts to seem like multitasking. 

But I think that most of the time we think we need to switchtask/thinslice/multitask when in fact it is just a psychological momentum that robs us of the opportunity to more deeply think and consider (let's call it thickslicing!!) 

[DaveCrenshaw]

Jason

Thanks for the article and the book mention. I'm new to the site, but I'm now adding your blog to my blogroll as I really like your work.

I do think there are some things that can be done in parallel.  Most of the time, watching TV is not something that requires our complete focus.  So cooking and watching TV, for example, is not a bad thing in my opinion.

I agree. In my book I refer to these types of activities as "background tasking." While switchtasking is always counterproductive due to switching cost, background tasking can actually be very productive.

For my definitions of the two, see: http://www.davecrenshaw.com/mythofmultitasking.html

[Patrick Rhone]

Wow. Welcome Dave, it is an honor to have you here sir. Looking forward to anything you have to contribute.

[Jason Echols]

Thanks for the article and the book mention. I'm new to the site, but I'm now adding your blog to my blogroll as I really like your work.

Dave, thanks so much for the kind words and joining our community.  Please feel free to share your thoughts on any topic of interest.

[Stephen Smith]

First of all, welcome to Dave Crenshaw, very glad to have you here.
Second, I am switch-tasking right now.

The past couple of days have been nuts re: internet resources. Anyway, this is a big problem for me due to my ADD issues. Most of the time it is just plain impossible for me to only do one thing at a time.

It takes tremendous energy for me to turn off everything else and just crank out some widgets, but it is enormously relaxing for me to watch news on TV and prepare dinner with multiple dishes at the same time.

[DaveCrenshaw]

The past couple of days have been nuts re: internet resources. Anyway, this is a big problem for me due to my ADD issues. Most of the time it is just plain impossible for me to only do one thing at a time.

It takes tremendous energy for me to turn off everything else and just crank out some widgets, but it is enormously relaxing for me to watch news on TV and prepare dinner with multiple dishes at the same time.

I'm not sure if I have the whole picture of what you're describing. However, as someone diagnosed by a psychologist as "freaking off the charts ADHD--if there were a fifth standard deviation you'd be in it!" let me put in my vote for MeeTimer.

It's a cool little Firefox plugin that tracks where you use your online time and even challenges you regarding your surfing habits if you give it permission.