What are you doing?
Nothing much. Just writing emails.
And eating dinner.
Uh-huh. Heeeey! Did you see that putt?
And watching the golf.
Not really. Listening to some music. But I’m all yours. Just let me . . . send . . . this text.
I’ve been reading about concerns that we are all getting frazzled by this multitasking world and that we should try to monotask.
Monotask, eh? Do you mean: do one thing at a time?
Well, yes. The name doesn’t really matter, but I do think it’s important to take this on board.
I am a superb multitasker. That’s how I work.
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A lot of neuroscientists believe there is no such thing as doing several things at once. You are just rapidly switching from one to another and this makes you less effective and more stressed.
I get stressed if I can’t go on Facebook while working.
In the United States 25,000 people have signed up to Infomagical, a project that helps you deal with information overload. They set challenges like “single-tasking” where you try to get through the day doing one thing at a time. For example, you don’t break off from writing an email, you finish it and send it before making your coffee.
Don’t be offended by this, but while listening to you I was also googling and I see there are other studies that show that multitaskers who switch between social networks while doing their work are actually more productive than the Luddites who insist on doing only one thing at a time.
Will you just try to focus?
I’ll try.
And get down off that pogo stick please.