Multitasking - The Frankenstein ofModern Business World

June 2012New Delhi

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The ability to do multiple tasks at one time is considered a virtue in this competitive business culture.

What is it? Are we aware of its consequences??

Multitasking

Multitasking, by traditional definition found in the dictionary is: “the performance of multiple tasks at one time.” Rather than focusing all available attention on one task and completing it before moving on, many tasks are accomplished at one time

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Thanks to“To do two things at a time is to do neither”– Publilious Syrus 1st century BC

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Today's generation is capable of doing this.

But do we compromise something in doing so ??

Technological help while multitasking

Common statement:

“Role expansions have resulted in workers having to do more with less, and multiple technologies have made that seem possible”

Research says this:Technologies often translate into multiple interruption. On average, workers are Interrupted once every ten and a half minutes.

Once interrupted it takes a worker 23 minutes a day to get back to the task he/she was working on.

A report from Basex quantified the cost of interruptions. It found that the average knowledge worker loses 2.1 hours per day to “unimportant interruptions or distractions.” At $21 per hour, the cost of interruptions to businesses would be $588 billion a year

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We often thank Intel but research indicates some serious loss of business

Source: Herman miller study

Gerald Weinberg proposed Rule of Thumb

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Adding a single project to your workload is profoundly deli-bating by Weinberg calculation. You lose 20% of your time. By the time you add a third project to the mix, nearly half your time is wasted in task switching.

Recent study by Mckinsey says, participants who completed tasks in parallel tookup to 30 percent longer and made twice as many errors as those who completedthe same tasks in sequence

Source: Gerald Weinberg research

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How does our Brain function when we Multitask ??What happens to creativity?

Multitasking & Brain

“ We are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously” - Dr. John Medina (Director of the Brain Center for Applied

Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University)

French biomedical research says: When it comes to task management, the prefrontal Cortex of the human brain is key. The anterior part of this brain region forms the goal or intention.

While working on two task brains split the labor: activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex corresponded to one task while the right side took over the other task.

The research also says the brain can’t efficiently juggle more than two tasks because it has only two hemispheres available for task management

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Source: Science now study

Loosing Creativity

“If the firms don’t innovate they will die” – Philip Kotler

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It demands a lot of creative thinking

Harvard Business School evaluated thedaily work patterns of more than 9,000individuals working on projects thatrequired creativity and innovation. Theyfound that the likelihood of creativethinking is higher when people focus onone activity for a significant part of theday and collaborate with just one otherperson

Source: Mckinsey study

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Stress is the biggest reason of reduced Task Engagement

What is the root cause ??

Stress – more and more multitasking

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One international survey of more than 1,300managers found “one-third of managers suffer from ill-health as a direct consequence of stress associated with information overload.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that stress cost American business about $ 10,000 annually per employee – an overall economic impact of about $ 300 billion.

The National Institute for Occupational safety and health estimated that 40% of the nations workforce is affected by stress, making it the No.1 reason for work disability.

“Multitasking, almost by its very nature, creates stress, and long-term stress, in turn, is likely to make us less able to multitask”. - Dr. Jordan Grafman to Los Angeles Times

Stress can result in depression and anxiety, and put people at risk for diabetes, hyperthyroidism, lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, and other diseases. - Assistant U.S. Surgeon General Marilyn Gaston

Health at stake

Source: Prochain Solution study

Watch this two video

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo to watch “Selective attention test video”

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Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bHwAjoIvJw to watch “How the brain makes creative connection”

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