multitasking
Work
Self-Proclaimed Multitaskers Aren’t That Good At Multitasking
12:00AM Kevin Purdy | When co-workers claim they can do only one thing at a time, do you silently smirk from behind your multiple monitors and tabbed browser windows? Psychologists suggest you’re the one who actually rates lower on straight-up memory and attention tests. More »
Work
Singletasking Is The New Multitasking?
9:00AM Azadeh Ensha | While multitasking is invariably useful, excessive multitasking can make it difficult to get things done (as we’ve previously noted). Productivity weblog WebWorkerDaily suggests now may be the time to adopt a singletask approach. More »
Work
Study Claims Women Multitask TV/Internet Twice As Much As Men
1:00AM Kevin Purdy | A data-capture study finds that from ages 15 and 48, women tend to watch TV while surfing the net at the same time nearly twice as much as men. The data, released by Integrated Media Measurement Inc., also finds that while men’s use of both major screen media tends to drop off toward age 40, women’s ramps up, possibly due to the time constraints of children. The study leaves a lot of questions lingering, of course, like what kind of “internet use” is being done. Whether surfing channels while surfing the web is benign background tasking or destructive switchtasking depends on the person, and the data being handled. It is intriguing, though, to look down the road and wonder whether multitasking will remain a young person’s game, or become a fact of grown-up life. Female Media Multitaskers Outpace Males; Disparity Increases Over Time [via ReadWriteWeb] More »
Organise
iPhone-Backgrounder Lets You Run Multiple iPhone Apps
11:06PM Kevin Purdy | Jailbroken iPhones/iPod touch only: iPhone-Backgrounder, a free app utility available through the (jailbreak-only) Cydia store, makes running apps in the background seriously simple. After installing the utility, you simply hold down the Home button to “minimise” an application. Call it back up again using its app icon, and then hold the home button again to kill it off for real. Backgrounding worked with at least four apps I tested, and kept the audio playing from Last.fm while checking email or web browsing. There are bound to be a few bugs and inconsistencies, but it’s a great hack for keeping music, instant messaging, and other streaming programs close at hand. iPhone-Backgrounder is free and requires a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch (check our guides for Macs and Windows for help with that). iPhone Backgrounder [Google Code via CrunchGear] More »
Work
Debunking The Myth of Multitasking
9:00PM Gina Trapani | In a fast-paced business culture of “get everything done yesterday,” it’s easy to admire and reward those busybusy people who always seem to be juggling 14 things at once. But business coach Dave Crenshaw argues that the most common kind of multitasking doesn’t boost productivity—it slows you down. In his new book, The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done, Crenshaw explains the difference between “background tasking”—like watching TV while exercising—and “switchtasking,” juggling two tasks by refocusing your attention back and forth between them, and losing time and progress in the switch. Crenshaw’s on a mission to reduce distractions, interruptions, and fire-fighting at work, and create environments that let employees see through tasks with their full attention before moving onto the next thing. Here’s what Crenshaw had to say when I asked him a few questions about changing perceptions and habits around multitasking. Photo by Elsie esq.. More »Stick to Groups of Four to Remember Things
11:05PM Kevin Purdy | Scientists have long held that seven items—be they images, numbers, or tasks—was the best a brain could manage to hold at once, but LiveScience points out that, without specific practice, the best-case scenario for most people is three or four. It’s a good explanation why phone numbers are written and spoken as three and four-digit groups, and a better reminder that if you’ve got a lot to do or remember, writing it down is probably the only way to hit 100 percent. What’s your personal limit on non-practiced memory? How do you break up tasks and must-remember items into small groups for better recall? Share your successes in the comments, and check out our top 10 memory hacks for some pointers on augmenting your grey matter’s somewhat paltry RAM. Mind’s Limit Found: 4 Things at Once [LiveScience via Dumb Little Man] More »AP
3:30AM Gina Trapani | The Associated Press takes on a few ways to stop multitasking and start focusing, with quotes from Gina and Merlin Mann of 43 Folders. More »Stephen Covey on Balancing Work and Life
11:15AM Gina Trapani | The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People author Steven R. Covey advises readers how to to strike a balance between work and life: Today the average college student or corporate worker considers themselves a “multitasker”. It’s not unusual to meet people in their 20s who are working, going to school, starting their own company, married, raising kids and enjoying hobbies. They end up with a huge list of things that fracture their attention. This isn’t wrong in any way-for the most part it’s admirable-but there is an old saying: to a hammer, everything looks like a nail. More »
Control Email Interruptions
1:30AM Gina Trapani | If email’s got you sidetracked more often than you’d like and taking up hours you should be spending getting real work done, it’s time to take charge. The NY Times offers up a Q&A about email management and our ability to multitask. Interestingly, email can stimulate creativity, to a point: Adam Cox, a clinical psychologist whose work focuses on the effects of multitasking and interruptions, said that when we receive work-related email messages, they often stimulate the prefrontal cortex of the brain, our creative center, and make us better at problem solving. More »
