Multitasking: Art or recipe for disaster?

The art of multitasking is not an easy one to master. We often go about our day, juggling more than one chore at a time without even noticing. This feat has become prevalent in our professional lives as well. Many professions require you to be excellent at multitasking at any given time.

While this particular skill has its ups and downs, it might end in a disaster if not done efficiently. As a result, learning how to multitask efficiently can allow you to be more productive at work while making better use of your time and energy.

Plan your tasks

To avoid getting overwhelmed by handling numerous tasks simultaneously, plan your work ahead of schedule. Try to plan your work according to their level of difficulty. For example, if you plan on juggling two functions with the same difficulty level, you might not get either of them done. Try to set a difficult task with an easy one for seamless and hassle-free transitions between functions.

Set realistic goals

It is simpler to prioritise your workload when you have a documented list of chores. Taking on too much at once might lead to undue stress. It is also wiser to divide your work into bite-sized portions that are simpler to get through. Hence, set manageable goals for yourself.

Adjust expectations

Doing plenty of tasks may seem like your secret to success. However, because you are too busy taking on new initiatives, you end up with more work than you can handle. So, while setting a goal, remember to make sure that it is discrete, achievable, practical and time-bound. 

Group tasks

Grouping allows you to manage numerous activities while improving productivity. Working on entirely separate things at the same time will almost certainly lead to confusion. When arranging your work week, group similar jobs together so that you may flip between them and accomplish your deadlines simultaneously.

Take a break

Constantly switching from one task to another without any break will eventually lead to massive burnout, which is why it is vital to give yourself short breaks when necessary. When you are preoccupied with your work, you might not even realise when the workload takes over your life. However, taking time away from work to relax will clear your mind with renewed inspiration and motivation, allowing you to focus better on your work.

The benefits of multitasking

Saves time

You can accomplish your goals more quickly when you multitask. An expert may complete several things at once while another person completes one.

Increased productivity

Productivity may increase through multitasking. Good multitaskers may also be more productive at home, which would enable them to finish their duties more quickly and have more leisure time after work. When professionals can accomplish this, their stress levels may decrease.

Increased resilience

It takes effort to multitask. To complete many duties at hand, one must concentrate wholly. The ability to shift concentration between tasks comes through training. Such concentration and flexibility can also boost resilience. 

Steady work progress

Even if the process is sluggish, multitasking enables tasks, projects, and assignments to move toward completion. Most of the time, slow progress is preferable to stagnant progress. It is crucial for completing projects that need concurrent or subsequent work before moving on to the next stage or for tasks with similar deadlines.

The drawbacks

Increases stress

Constant multitasking often leads to stress and anxiety, which can affect an individual's mental health. Professionals who strive to do two or more tasks could feel anxious about their achievement. Constant multitasking may result in cycles of stress and anxiety, which can eventually reduce productivity.

Compromise in quality

Multitasking necessitates speed. It can sometimes result in enhanced productivity and efficiency, but it can occasionally result in a quality compromise. There may also be a lot of errors that go unnoticed due to the haste of getting multiple jobs done at once. It is nearly impossible to juggle multiple tasks at a time and get them done perfectly.

Memory impairment

You run the danger of losing crucial information needed to complete a task if you are working on a project or assignment while often interrupted by coworkers, phone calls, or clients.

When you are bombarded with too much information, your brain struggles to distinguish between what is crucial and what isn't, which harms your memory. In addition to immediate harm, multitasking risks include neglecting to secure objects correctly, which might result in a fire, theft, or other catastrophic problem.

Accumulated time-gap

Even for people who are skilled at multitasking, the act of switching from one activity to another causes a temporal lag. The time spent switching between tasks might be wasted. Even while switch costs can be little, when people transition between jobs often, they can add up to considerable amounts of time. This is similar to a computer slowing down when it has one too many tabs working at the same time.

All of this suggests that even though multitasking might speed up the completion of your tasks, it can also undermine your effectiveness and interpersonal skills. You merely need to be aware that the modern world not only requires the task to be completed but also evaluates how well you complete it. The multitasking rule is not universal, and not using it does not make you a loser. Try to learn new ways to do tasks effectively, but never compromise the quality of your work.