The Myth – and Reality – of Multitasking

Multitasking has become a bad word in the parlance of job-performance critics and observers. A recent newspaper article ponders the question of why multitasking doesn't work, or why the human brain doesn't do well trying to do too many things at once. Research findings on the myth of multitasking provide compelling reasons for why employers might want to review work flow and distribution.

Yet, for the job seeker, proving that you are a multitasker is essential to getting hired for many jobs. Just look at all the want ads that feature phrases like "Must multitask well!"

So, are employers not at all enlightened about the myth of multitasking, or are we perhaps talking about two different things? If the people who wrote the want ads were a bit more enlightened, perhaps what they would advertise something more like: Must be able to handle multiple priorities, and transition between them successfully.

Because what researchers have found is that it's the transitioning between tasks that eats up time and energy. And the more complex the tasks, the more time is needed between them. Severe pressure to jump between tasks can actually impair the brain's ability to function, hence the growing awareness that multitasking actually makes people "stupid." The good news is that people can actually jump around from task to task pretty well when they are familiar with what they are doing.

The pantheon of multitasking gaffes is full of tragically humorous woes. The Wall Street Journal Online edition recently told of the executive who booked a vacation by phone while sending out an email to underlings on the need to fire one of their peers. Turns out he mistakenly sent the email to the individual he planned to fire. As for the vacation, he unknowingly booked himself into a $3,000-a-night presidential suite. Then there is the story of a marketing company stretched so thin it sent 4,000 nuns direct mail offers addressed "Dear Mr. Sister."

We all probably have some stories of our own. The point is that doing tasks well requires attention. Yet this knowledge may come as cold comfort to those responding to classified ads demanding skilled multitaskers.

So do employers actually want people who will work at such a level and pace of handling multiple jobs that they will actually be cognitively impaired, or do they want something a little more doable, like being able to move between projects without getting addled?

If you foresee a time where you will have to elaborate on your multitasking abilities, you may want to sit down for a few moments to reflect on how you have multitasked successfully in previous jobs. Think of it this way, if you have ever thrown a load of laundry into the washer and then gone into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, you have multitasked. At work, you may have prepared a draft of a document, distributed it to the appropriate reviewers, and then started in on another project, which you worked on until you had to stop to await input from another party. Then, with both of those tasks floating, you may have decided to answer some phone calls. In other words, you have completed a task to the point at which you could no longer work, and started on another. You didn't stand in front of the washer the whole time, waiting for the last turn of the spin cycle.

What helps us transition between tasks are organization and awareness. By keeping some sort of running list – mental, electronic or paper – of where tasks stand, and working on them based on priorities and deadlines, most of us can successfully transition between tasks throughout the day. And by being aware of ourselves – our abilities, and, yes, our limitations – we can best keep ourselves focused the job at hand.

Multitasking is a term borne out of the computer industry and defines a processor's ability to do more than thing at a time. In human terms, we can and do more than one thing at once, with discretion. But just as computers can freeze if too many memory-hogging programs are open at the same time, humans can burn out from competing demands.

So, a successful multitasker, you might say, is someone who knows there's room for only one item at the top of the priority list, and knows how to set that task aside when it's appropriate, and focus on the other important things. Don't let those want ads intimidate you. You are human, just the like the rest of us, and you've probably already multitasked your way through much of life.

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