Comments

The 3 Levels of MultiTasking (Part 1 of 2) — 12 Comments

  1. HI Ma’am, may I ask what are the sources on these level of multi-tasking so I can read more of it? Who are the authors? This might help me in my thesis.

  2. Loved your article, Isabelle!

    I’ve read about multitasking before, about why it’s bad and almost everyone does it these days. But I’d never heard of the “real multi-tasking”, which you refer to as the level 3. Had no idea our brain can transform itself from a “single-core CPU” to a dual-core when it comes to extremes. Biology never ceases to amaze me!

    Your post made me remember my maths teacher from several years ago. We had 2 blackboards in our class, one very close to each other. He always attracted our attention at the beginning of an important lesson by starting to write on both blackboards, with both hands, simultaneously.

    I think this would be one of the best exercises to do in order to figure out whether you’re multi-tasking level 2 or 3. You can try it out on two pieces of paper, with your eyes closed. Try to write 2 different words on each paper.

    You’ll figure out immediately if your brain processes the 2 words at the same time, or if it takes each word by itself, in turns.

    Thanks for the awesome article, and I’m really looking forward to the second part!

    • Hi Andrew,

      Well, I’ve just tried your exercise with the left hand writing ‘Merry’ and the right hand ‘Christmas’ (I figured it could come handy with all these Christmas cards to write!). But I failed miserably. I have to think very hard of the 2 letters before attempting to write them simultanously and even then, I tend to delay one hand. The 2 rs together were easier though 🙂
      So, I’m definitely a type 2 multitasker!

      Your teacher writing with both hands must have been quite something to observe. Must have made you all keep quiet. A good trick for a teacher to possess!

      Thank you very much for your comment
      Best wishes
      Isabelle

      • Another fun trick your brain plays on you is to use the same two-handed setup and write any word. Let your non-dominant hand (if you’re right-handed, then that’s your left) follow what your dominant hand is doing. It does this naturally. I haven’t found a practical use yet, but perhaps if I ever decide to write like Leonardo Da Vinci it will be most practical!

        • Hi Ray,
          You mean mirror writing? I’ve just tried it with my name: Isabelle. And I actually found it rather easy because my left hand is just following/mirroring the right one.
          That made me think of a study I read about driving and talking. If the talking you do is just repeating something you hear without altering it, it doesn’t affect your driving, or very little. That’s because you don’t have to think and formulate an answer, you’re just repeating what you’ve just heard.
          I guess it’s similar to writing the same word with both hands (same direction or mirror). You don’t have to think too much.
          Interesting.
          Thanks for your comment!
          Isabelle

  3. I used to think i was a good multi tasker but lately i’m finding like you said that i am dividing my time and not really multi tasking. My productivity actually goes down.

    So i’ve been experimenting with a couple of productivity methods to force myself to work on one task at a time. So far so good, I’m using the the pomodoro technique coupled with my a project management method called the Kanban methodology.
    Together these two really help me stay focused because I go for short bouts of intense focus on one thing at a time and also noticed i’m less stressed out.

    I still chew gum and walk at the same time. 🙂

    • Hi Annie,
      Wow, Kanban! That takes me back to my manufacturing/logistics days with the JIT methodology. I didn’t know it applied to a management methodology too. I’ll have to look into this. Have you got a link for this?
      As for chewing gum and walking… another proof that chewing does’nt require any thought process 😉
      Take care
      Isabelle

  4. I call myself a multitasker. I do make mistakes, but I get things done so fast that I am able to fix my mistakes and still be ahead of the crowd. It is not always the best, but I chose it because it works for me. In session, I am focused and present.

    • Hi Jodi,
      Well done! It looks like you know your own limitations and accept the level of mistakes that comes with multitasking. You also know when to multitask and when to concentrate on an important task. All these things we’ll discuss in more details in part 2 of this article: How to be better at multitasking.

  5. Hi Mark,
    I also struggle with listening to several voices/sounds/music at once. The fact that my hearing is not very good (hereditary) doesn’t help. But now I know it’s not a problem with me… just that multitasking is very hard, I feel a lot better about it!
    Isabelle

  6. I am also pretty bad at multi-tasking. I have a problem with multiple people talking at once. If the TV is on, I cannot focus on any other spoken words. Music is sometimes okay though. This might be due to all of those annoying commercials. They’re louder than the shows!

    • Hi Mark,

      I also struggle with listening to several voices/sounds/music at once. The fact that my hearing is not very good (hereditary) doesn’t help. But now I know it’s not a problem with me… just that multitasking is very hard, I feel a lot better about it!

      Isabelle

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Content Protected Using Blog Protector By: PcDrome.