by Marlene M. Maheu, Ph.D.

Many people are proud to talk about how much they can multitask. In fact, if you don’t multitask in today’s world, you are out of it, old, finished, kaput.

What Is Multitasking?

Wikipedia [1] defines multitasking as such: “Human multitasking is the performance by an individual of appearing to handle more than one task at the same time.” The pivotal word in this definition is: "appearing."

The term originated with computer multitasking [2] - a computer solves problems by scheduling tasks and switching from task to task until each task gets addressed in turn.

The activity of switching back-and-forth is computer-friendly, but it’s far from human-friendly when it comes to home, office and when we’re on the road in between the two.

On page 29 of his book, The Myth of Multitasking, Dave Crenshaw [3] wrote: “Around the end of the twentieth century, some wordsmith saw the connection between our increasingly hectic world and the world of the computer. A catchword was born. Newspapers began peppering their articles with the word. Talk shows hosts began using it with frequency. Magazines began publishing articles about how to multitask more effectively. Multitasking quickly became as popular and accepted as the automobile and the hamburger.”

I might even go so far as to suggest you give it to your kids if they argue with you that multitasking is always cool.

Multitasking is not really conducting two or more (”multi”) activities (”tasking”) simultaneously; rather, it’s more accurately switching between those task, or switchtasking as Dave Crenshaw prefers to name it.

We all know that short-order cooks are switchtaskers as they flip pancakes with one hand and fry up a batch of home fries with another, keep an eye on those corn muffins and listen to the bacon crisping – and all as they keep their nostrils on alert for the smell of smoke!

Every parent knows about switchtasking. They spend years attending to multiple kids who demand attention simultaneously, while they try to get simple things done, like walking from one end of the house to another, or driving the kids to school.

Multitasking or switchtasking reduces efficiency (doing things right) and effectiveness (doing the right things) because it constantly requires a switch of cognitive (mental) focus.

As our concentration diminishes during the switch-over time (less than a second in most cases) the number of errors and mistakes we make can increase dramatically.

Lots of psychological research has been published supporting the early studies have repeatedly shown that people just aren’t able to shift attention in the ways they’d like –and especially not when they are doing multiple things and something life threatening is at stake.

Ooops – a finger is seriously cut. Ooops, we slipped because we didn't look up and notice that truck in the stairway. Ooops! We almost hit a darting dog or banged into someone’s else’s car. We’ve all done it, and we’ve all sworn we’ve never take that risk again. But do we stop? Not really.

In my case, a man mistakenly overestimated his ability to talk on his cell phone and drive around a corner at the same time. Sure, he probably looked up, saw the light was green, stepped on the gas, and rear-ended my car. My car was in a short line of 4 cars, all waiting for that same light to change.

I can only imagine that he didn't see us as he rounded that elbow in the freeway exit. He might have been looking at his cell phone, or talking to someone, or slapping a bee from his face - I don't know. All I know is that he hit me from behind, and that's when my life changed.

And I’ll never know what distracted him, but he said he only saw a green light. I'm sure he did. What he didn't see or realize that moment was that cars waiting for a light need a few seconds to start up again after stopping.

I have to believe he didn't see us waiting for the light because he was distracted. My life changed in his one, bad multitasking moment. Before I knew what hit me, I was headed for years of surgeries, rehab and waiting for my body to mend.

Do I blame him? No. He was simply doing what I (and most of us) had done a hundred times.

He just had one bad over-multitasking moment, which cost me 5 years of my life; my 30-year private practice as a psychologist; all the speaking and writing engagements it had taken me 20 years to build; my health; my office and retirement plan and much more. Furthermore, I had to spend my retirement nest-egg to cover necessary medical expenses to get well.

So yes, multitasking is a personal issue for me.

I, the former Queen of Multitaskers, was taken down in one bad over-multitasking minute - by someone who I couldn’t identify in a police line-up today, not if my life depended on it.

Did I learn a lesson? Yes. I learned things I never cared to know. But now I know them, so I’m sharing this one with you, in the hopes that your profession, your family and your health won’t be shattered by one bad over-multitasking minute – whether it be by your own hand or someone else’s.

The Crucial Issue Of Focus

Humans just can’t successfully focus on two things at once. We have to shift focus to attend to 2 things. That's ok - we can and do simply shift focus.

The problem, if one is to exist, is that something is always lost when attention is shifted from one thing to another. We either don't realize or don't like to admit that we lose something. Most of the time, it doesn't matter.

When it does matter, it often matters a lot. It matters a lot when we're hurling ourselves through space in a few thousand pounds of metal (in things called motor vehicles), or when working with power tools, or climbing cliffs. These situations involve physical safety.

Focus also matters a lot when we are expressing strong emotions, such as love, disappointment or sadness. Take love for example. If you happen to call someone by the wrong name while expressing love, you could get yourself into a lot of trouble. Movies have been made about people who have made that little/big mistake because of a momentary distraction. The consequences can be dire.

Imagine losing even a bit of focus when talking to a police officer who is shouting "hands up!" and has his hand on his gun; or losing focus and saying the wrong thing when a boss who is already upset in a disciplinary review board meeting because you've been out of work too much. These occasions involve your emotional safety or security, and they require your full attention and focus.

Our focus also matters when other people are depending on us for their physical or emotional safety. This is true when we are teaching children to swim or ride a bike, as well as when loved ones are trying to communicate something they consider important.

Your kids know about this, and your spouse does too, whether they talk to you about it or not. I have a psychologist friend who sighs wistfully every time she tells the story of her now deceased son wouldn’t let her get away with divided attention when he was just a boy. She tells it like this, "He would put his little hands on either side of my face and sweetly ask me to, ‘Pay attention to me, Momma!’”

He died many years ago, and she’s always glad that she let him grab her attention like that. As she puts it now, “He knew he deserved my full attention. And when he touched me so sweetly, I really wanted to listen to whatever he needed to say. Now I’m so glad I did.”

Our children, our elderly grandparents, and our spouses often need our undivided attention. How often do we give it to them? If you are like most people, you just don’t give that undivided attention often enough, to your loved ones or to yourself.

What To Do? Background Tasking

The key to productivity is identifying which things are ok to multitask and which involve important (if not critical) focus.

Every time we switch from one thing to another, our brains need time to re-adjust. That may be less true of some bright kids with technology and media who seem to multitask more easily than we did at their age (see Dr. Rosen’s teleworkshop eBook and audio downloads [4]) related to teens and technology for full details.

The evidence related to this basic human functioning is so strong that legislators in many states, including me own state of California have outlawed multitasking on the highway by making it an illegal to speak or sent text messages on hand held mobile phones while driving.

“A mere half second of time lost to task switching can mean the difference between life and death for a driver using a cell phone, because during the time that the car is not totally under control, it can travel far enough to crash into obstacles the driver might have otherwise avoided,” claims the University of Michigan’s Dr. David Meyer.

His findings aren’t very surprising to those of us who live with technology at every turn. But what is remarkable is that Dr. Meyer published his findings all the way back in August of 2001!

Okay, so let me ask you to be rigorously honest for a minute. How many of these 7 typical multitasking things do you do?

1. Answering email while on the phone?
2. Instant messaging while listening to teleseminars?
3. Disciplining children while driving?
4. Checking voice mail while speaking to your family?
5. Watching TV while having a family conversation
6. Driving a vehicle while talking on your cell phone?
7. Talking on the phone while emailing while IMing while tweeting …

If you’re like most people, you’ve done “most of the above” at some point in your adult life. But my point isn’t to nag you about multitasking as it is to make you conscious of how damaging it can be for your future – or mine!

Whether you do it too often at work or at home, the fundamental problem of multitasking is not about doing the tasks. It is about the divided attention you tend to experience as you think about doing the tasks. Your results become mediocre at best.

Background Tasking vs. Multitasking: If you can accomplish two things at once, but only keep the majority of your attention on ONE thing, that’s fine. Dave Crenshaw calls this background tasking.

Call it whatever you like, but success is the result of doing multiple things ONLY when 1 of the tasks you attempt requires focus, and when NONE of the tasks are life threatening. Background tasking then, helps us get more done, faster, better and with less intense focus.

Here are some background tasking activities that lead to increased efficiency:

• Bike riding, walking or washing a car while listening to your iPod
• Eating dinner while watching TV
• Driving while listening to the radio or an SHM podcast [5]
• Writing email while printing a letter
• Throwing out junk mail while standing over a trash can at your mailbox
• Fixing dinner while talking to family/friends (either in person or via speaker phone).
• Listening to the news while stretching and lifting weights
• Reading one of our eBooks [4] while getting a haircut
• Leaving messages on a voice recorder for an assistant (or child) while doing whatever else needs doing (this is my favorite organizing tip!)

Background tasking doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll become more effective (doing the right things). However, it can practically guarantee more efficiency (doing things right) which gets you increased productivity. This is also one of the secrets to getting maximum results in minimum time invested.

One Thing At A Time

The next time when you catch yourself multitasking, stop. Take a breath and decide which task to complete. Finish it before moving on.

You will reduce your stress load. We all become mentally stressed by splitting our attention on multiple activities at once (and making more mistakes along the way), By doing one thin g at a time, you will avoid some of the pressure related to looming deadlines and the guilt of failing at follow-through.

When you only multitask low-focus activities, you will become more efficient, more effective and your self-esteem will improve because you will get more jobs done well.

What To Do Now

Here are some action steps for you. Using the Comments section below, list 2 or more multitasking activities you typically do while at work or at home. If you are brave, mention a few things you do while driving you or your family to different places.

Treat this blog as your “going public” attestation to turning a new leaf. Make a public commitment to changing your behavior (well public in spite of your anonymity, which I encourage you to protect here by choosing a pseudonym when you comment about anything).

Then come back around in a few days to see what other people have said. Or click the option to receive email when someone else adds their frequently indulged over-multitasking habits, just in case you are doing things that you aren’t aware of yourself.

If none of you own habits come to mind, just scroll-up and re-read the 7 typical multitasking activities I included above.

Action Summary

The next time you find yourself multitasking, take a moment to decide which task you want to complete first. Then work on that task, and then the next. Come back in a week and tell me if you’ve been more productive - or not!

About the Author:

Dr. Maheu [6] is an author, speaker, and researcher. She is the lead author of "E-Health, Telehealth & Telemedicine: A Guide to Program Startup and Success" co-written with Pamela Whitten and Ace Allen, published by Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.

She has also been the lead author on these two books: "Infidelity on the Internet" and "The Mental Health Professional and the New Technologies."