The Only 3 Situations When Multi-Tasking Is A Good Thing…

Todd Gifford – Success Coach

I can’t count how many times I have heard someone tell me they are a great multi-tasker. For whatever reason, “multi-tasking” has been turned into some type of badge of honor. There was a time I thought that multi-tasking was a means to get more done in a shorter amount of time, and therefore, more efficient. On top of that, there was a time when being able to do 3 things at one time made you some type of top performer in my mind.

As I gained more years of experience, read more books, and spent time around extremely successful people, it became very apparent to me that multi-tasking was a recipe for ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Bottom line in my book is that multi-tasking is a very bad thing with only a very few limited exceptions, which I list below. The fundamental reason that multi-tasking (aka doing more than one thing at one time, or bouncing around quickly between several things within a relatively short time period) is very detrimental to overall performance is that your brain is never allowed to fully focus on any of the tasks or projects —- and hence, less than full performance output.

Structured Distraction

Multi-tasking can feel good and feel effective, but science is flat out against you in multi-tasking mode. Multi-tasking is ‘structured distraction’ at its best. There is a lot of scientific research about how your brain behaves and performs under various situations. When you are momentarily distracted from a train of thought or focus, even for just a few seconds, your brain takes a significant amount of time to reengage back to the previous task/focus at an effective performance level. The amount of time to refocus back into a well-concentrated state varies in the various studies, but they all agree it takes minutes (not seconds). Further, another big problem with distraction is that you can lose information and ideas that were developing in the well-focused time period. It is a bit like ‘starting over’ after a distraction takes you out of your focused concentration zone. A lot of creative ideas and innovations are a result of a cumulative process of thought or sequential thoughts: “XXX leads to YYY which is linked to ZZZ, which is just like AAA, etc…” Jumping in and out of topics or concepts does not allow your mind to as effectively accumulate the sequence of ideas as does consistent focus and concentration on one task. If that is not enough, distraction creates more errors.

Being In the Zone

We have all had those periods of time where we lost track of time or forgotten what we are even doing at the moment because we were so deeply engaged and focused. It could be doing a sport, being engaged in a hobby, working on a project in our job, etc… We have come to anecdotally call this state as being ‘in the zone’. More technically defined, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote a best-selling book called “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” where he unpackaged the concept of being in the zone (he calls it a “Flow state”) and describes how to achieve it whenever you want. Although Csikszentmihalyi describes the Flow state (aka ‘in the Zone’ state) as more than just focused and distraction-free (he also includes extreme state of satisfaction, enjoyment and highly creative), the Flow/Zone state is a period of massive productivity and innovation. Think about a hobby or sport you are extremely passionate about and then think about times where you have been so immersed in that activity, that hours have gone by and it felt like just minutes. In these situations you tend to accomplish a great deal. Your concentration and focus is extraordinary in the zone/Flow state. And in these instances, you probably ensured that you were not going to be distracted because distraction is too disruptive and distasteful. In the case of some hobbies, distraction from focus can be downright dangerous.

You don’t find very many wood workers in their shops trying to saw wood, talk on the phone, watch TV, and check their email simultaneously! The KEY POINT here is that maximum effectiveness (and efficiency) at any given task is achieved by consistent singular focus and concentration on that one task. When the task is done, move to the next task with equally high concentration and distraction-free environment.

The Only 3 Situations Where Multi-Tasking Is Good And Truly More Efficient/Effective

Having said all that about singular focus and distraction-free concentration on a single concept or task produces the greatest results, there are always exceptions that should be noted. I feel there are only 3 times when multi-tasking is highly effective and efficient: Multi-tasking while Exercising, Eating, and Traveling. In these case exceptions, the core task (eating, exercising/moving around, flying/driving/riding) is effectively on auto-pilot, which allows you to make use of that time for other important or valuable activities. And this is the key difference with these exceptions. Basically everything else you are doing or should be doing is not on auto-pilot and requires full and undivided attention.

Exercise – most types of exercise provide the opportunity to multi-task one or two other things simultaneously, with the side benefit of these other activities making exercising more fun and enjoyable. I watch TV while exercising, but I can also exercise while passively watching/listening to TV AND skim a magazine, mail, or newsletter. Arguably I am not intently focused on either the TV, mail or the magazine, but am entertained or educated while getting in a good workout. Other variations like exercise+TV+Read Book or exercise+Audio Book+TV, etc… are good multi-tasking options.

Eating – here is another great opportunity to effectively multi-task. Listening to an audio book or reading a book while eating is super productive. Layer in “light” exercise while eating and listening to an audio book is mult-tasking maximus! Most people don’t think eating and exercising mix well, but doing a walk on a treadmill, while eating a light meal or snack, and listening to an audio book works pretty well.

Traveling – I am amazed at how few people on airplanes (or buses or other public transportation) are not reading an educational book or magazine/newsletter, etc… This is a tremendous opportunity to multi-task (travel while learning). With respect to driving, most agree that multi-tasking is not a safe idea. However, one really great multi-tasking activity while driving is listening to audio books. It is safe and super productive. I know people who have learned a second language simply by doing audio books in their time behind the wheel.

Multi-tasking is rarely a good idea, and generally is a great way to achieve less than stellar results. The uninformed think multi-tasking is a badge of honor based on how many things they can do at the same time. The reality is, with the exception of Exercising, Eating, and Traveling, the super successful people take great measures to work singularly focused on just one task at a time.

Be Your Best,
Todd D. Gifford