Think you are good at multitasking? What do you do when you drive to a new destination, looking for a street number?
Most of us turn down the radio. Why? The music we hear has nothing to do with what we see, but looking for something (such as an address) is an energy/focus hungry activity so we need to reduce distractions.
Emotionally Intelligent time management with the brain in mind requires using our attention and energy as efficiently as possible. Being able to multitask may seem like a time saving decision, but the research shows it has the opposite impact.
Think you are good at multitasking? The research says we can’t. In fact it shows that we become less effective and productive when we try unless it is doing two automated tasks that take little or no energy. e.g. walking and chewing gum. For any task that takes attention to accomplish (e.g. learning to drive) we can only really concentrate on one task at a time. Even when we have made driving an automated task, we cannot add another attention-rich task without reducing effectiveness.
Multitasking like texting while driving is very dangerous as it takes our attention off changing traffic conditions and can be fatal. Even talking on the phone can be dangerous (even on a hands free kit). When we have a passenger in the car and we are talking they understand when we stop talking as they can see the pothole or taxi we are trying to navigate around. The person on the phone doesn’t and may try get your attention at a potentially dangerous moment by asking a question or calling your name.
So you still think you are good at multitasking?
Richard Riche
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