Five Ways to Multi-Task

Multi-tasking is only as easy as you train yourself to do it, or rather, as you re-train your mind to do it. It is a neurological challenge for the brain to focus on several voluntary movements at the same moment. Most people think a huge part of the brain's job is to absorb and process as much stimuli as it can at any given moment. Yet it also works equally hard, if not harder, to ignore the world as much as it can! It filters the overwhelming information it receives and leaves only what is most important for you to concentrate at the present moment. Without that filtering process, you can neither do anything nor remember anything voluntarily. 

So how can we multi-task if the brain has such a limited scope of concentration? Well, multi-tasking does not mean doing many things at the SAME EXACT TIME, but NEARLY at the same time. The end result is in essence the same -- to complete the most tasks in the shortest amount of time. We do it all the time and don't realize it, but when we are pressed to do it, we naturally cringe at the uphill climb our brains have to make to get it all done. Here are some tips that may make the tasks a bit easier. 

1. PREPAREDNESS AND ENERGY. Plan your environment so that you can easily do those activities you want to do. Close your office door, silence your phone's ringer, or turn off your computer. If these are not necessary to the multiple tasks you want to accomplish, they will just drain your energy and distract you. Multi-tasking takes a great deal of effort.

2. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS. If you look closely at the masters of multi-tasking, such as circus jugglers and musicians, you'll see the steady concentration in their eyes. They may be smiling as part of the entertainment but deep down they are deep in focus on the various tasks at hand (literally). As you progress in your focus, you will develop a rhythm and pattern. That will be the sign you are truly focusing.

3. TIME MANAGEMENT (see my other post) Start with lengthy or more complex tasks. In between those times, do shorter less strenuous tasks that you can do while waiting for information on another project or taking a break from a larger, more complicated project.

4. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS. Set a timer or alarm, or make a mental or written note to remember to pay attention to a task again when the time comes to do them. As I had mentioned, the brain wants you to forget, so you need an extra hand in keeping track of the various task you want to do. Arrange tasks in a way that you are constantly reminded of all you have to do. If you are a visual person, create a workflow diagram that you can keep in front of you as you switch from task to task.

5. GROUP TASKS THAT DON'T CONFLICT. We can't talk and listen at the same time. But when we order for pizza to be delivered, we listen for the phone, the doorbell, the honk of the delivery car, and the grumble of our tummies at the same time. Choose tasks that you can do with ease and within the type of tasks that you can juggle.

NOTE: We all naturally want to work faster and produce in larger quantities, but remember the brain is like any other organ with human limits; it can only handle what it has been designed to handle. In 2014, an article in Forbes posed that multitasking not only hinders your performance, but it may even damage the brain. Far-fetched? Well, think for a moment about artificial processors of information. I can't tell you how many times I kept crashing my computer by working on more than one software application at the same time. If an intricately-programmed machine can't do it, what about our little delicate brains!

So why do I mention this after suggesting the tips above? Back to the start, multi-tasking isn't natural; it should be done with careful planning (my tips above), prudence and safety. Ask yourself how much you want to risk for a methodology that is highly prone to make errors. No matter how fast you work, if the accuracy or quality of your work suffers, then what have you really gained by multi-tasking?

Yet while other studies may corroborate the "brain damage" claim, I believe there should be more research into this. I'm pretty sure humankind has been multi-tasking since the Stone Ages, and so I don't see how it has significantly hindered the miraculous evolution of our brains. The difference is that today we live in age of multi-tasking exponentially; multi-tasking those things we are multi-tasking, mostly on mental activities, and trying to do this faster and faster. Sometimes multi-tasking is not a matter of choice; for example, it might be the only way to meet a deadline at the eleventh hour.

So my dear multi-taskers, whenever you find yourself in those situations, I hope this little article can help.  

Happy multi-tasking!